Pilates based rehabilitation exercise programs restore strength to the body in a safe and controlled way. Strengthening and reconditioning the body in this way is especially useful following injury and treatment, and to allow the patient a set of self directed exercises to work with at home at their own pace.

Our Pilates based exercise rehabilitation program is extremely gentle and tailored to suit patients who are or have been in pain. This approach separates our program from mainstream Pilates studios. The backup of osteopathic care and therapeutic massage when required gives our patients the best possible chance to re-establish a normal independent lifestyle with less risk of injury and pain.

Principles of Pilates Exercise

1. Centring: stabilise the core by engaging the upper and lower body centres (triangles).

2. Concentration: If one brings full attention to the exercise and does it with full commitment, maximum value will be obtained from each movement.

3. Control: every exercise is done with muscular control and awareness.

4. Precision: There is an appropriate placement, alignment relative to other body parts, and trajectory for each part of the body, in each exercise.

5. Breath: the breath is the initiator of all movement and is the primary source of timing and focus for all exercises.

6. Flow: Fluidity, grace, and ease are goals applied to all exercises.  This agility will then spread to everyday life and the quality of life will improve.

All exercises are to be done to your best ability.  If there is pain or discomfort, modify the exercise, or change to another and come back to it later.
Your focus is on counting breaths, and the principles above. If you get distracted just estimate your count and return to the exercise.

Core Stability
In our classes we will define the core as everything except the arms and legs. The skull, the neck, the chest, the lumbar region and the pelvis, this is the “core” we wish to stabilise. 
We will view the arms and legs as moving against a central core which anchors and stabilises the movement of the limbs.
The limbs are our physical presence in the world enabling locomotion and activity in our environment.
The core consists of 3 bony cages, relatively immobile areas and two areas connecting them.
The skull, chest and pelvis are relatively stable areas with the chest being the most mobile and the most vulnerable area.
The neck and the lumbar area are vertebral “stacks” and this is where the majority of pain and injury occurs.
When we stabilise the upper triangle the focus is on the neck and shoulders and when we work with the lower triangle the attention is on the low back and abdomen.
© Simply Well 2011