The state we are in
Take a look around, how are we doing these days as human moving beings? Are we moving efficiently or as Joseph Pilates desired “with grace and ease?”
Recently I was sitting in an airport people watching. After 15 minutes I had to stop because I was getting really depressed. Why? It seemed like everyone passing by was moving inefficiently, limping, walking with painfully poor posture, exuberating little to no energy and basically struggling to do simple movements.
What’s going on?
If I want to grossly generalize the problem, I see it related to the American trademark of all or nothing. Meaning we are either exercise fanatics or couch potatoes. This issue is playing havoc with our ability to do basic activities with energy and efficiency.
Essential movements
Obviously I am a huge believer in the power of Classical Pilates but here’s why I see it even more vital today than ever before. Bodies are made to move. No matter what exercise philosophy you believe in we can agree certain movement elements most humans should be able to accomplish. (Given of course no existing physical or mental handicap).
- Pushing
- Pulling
- Rotation
- Basic Locomotion
- Changing Center of Mass
One can divide or add on to the above list but let’s use it for simplicity. Every day, whether at work, home or play each one of us needs to accomplish simple movement skills.
Example, my morning coffee; I have to walk to the kitchen (locomotion), bring the coffee off the shelve (pulling), turn around to the stove (rotation) and eventually go sit down (change my center of mass). Thus, in one simple task I need to complete 4 of the 5 above.
Let’s broaden the analogy to a stay at home Mom or Dad with small children. Think of the host of up and down movements an adult will do in one hour? The same applies to an individual that works in a retail or restaurant environment.
OK, so you get the point. Normal daily life needs a body that can squat, pull things, push open doors, turn around quickly, bend down and pick something up. It does not require a million biceps curls or a deadlift of 300 pounds.
Practical vs. Olympian
Classical Pilates has inherently built in to the system all the requirements of essential human movements. In general one starts exercises on the back and slowly progresses through the training to a standing position.
Throughout the progression different planes of motion, actions of both pulling and pushing are executed, change of mass is necessary as are a variety of different spinal orientations; round back, tall spine, twisting, tilting, side bending and rotation. The brilliance of Joseph Pilates’ work and order of exercises was tailored to combat the negative impacts of the modern environment on physical health. Those combative forces are even more intense now then they were in the 1950’s.
Where I see fitness as going astray these days is in the push to do herculean feats, as opposed to learning how to move one’s body through basic activities with “grace and ease.” I’ve spoken about this in one of my wellness blog posts, “Rational Fitness.”
My regular clients range from age 70+ to college students. I also work individually and independently with certain teenage kids. What is most striking currently is that the younger individuals exhibit the postural inadequacies of many older persons, without the decades of normal wear and tear behind them.
Thus, young boys and girls already have back issues, disc damage, shoulder and neck conditions that one expects to see in a more aged body. This trend of poor body mechanics in the younger generations continues to rise.
Is there any good news?
Pilates is exercise (see earlier post) that trains all the essential movements a body needs on a regular basis. The diversity in apparatus challenges the training and presents unique opportunities to enhance balance, change of body mass and utilize a maximum number of motions, like pushing, pulling, lifting, rotating and more.
Pilates exercises prepare your body to take on daily life. Physical training in its’ raw form is about turning down the noise. Allowing your body to use the minimum number of muscles to execute an action efficiently.
In other words through practicing a movement such as “going up front” on the High chair or Wunda chair certain daily physical activities are enhanced. Some of those benefits are walking up and down stairs, stepping in or out of a bus or car, improved running stride, and overall strength to the gluteal muscles needed in both stationary and locomotor movements.
As a nation we have to come to grips with the fact that good body mechanics is essential to a productive society. Learning essential movements in your exercise routines is the lifeline to efficiency in overall daily motion.
Basic questions to ponder on your current exercise regime
- Do I feel invigorated after sessions?
- Can I utilize skills learned in other aspects of life?
- Are basic body mechanics improving, such as balance and coordination?
- Do I have less pain in normal situations?
- Has my posture improved?
Think critically about where you are now and where you would like to be next year? It’s a worthy investment.
Final note
“Good posture can be successfully acquired only when the entire mechanism of the body is under perfect control. Graceful carriage follows as a matter of course. Just as a good smooth-running automobile engine is the result of proper parts correctly assembled so that it operates with a minimum consumption of gasoline and oil with comparatively little wear, so too is the proper functioning of your own body the direct result of the assembled Contrology exercises that produce a harmonious structure we term physical fitness reflecting itself in a coordinated and balanced tri-part unity of body, mind, and spirit.”
Joseph Pilates, “Return to Life Through Contrology”
