The Five Pillars of Pilates

I thought it would be fun to do a blog post series where I review each of the 5 core pillars of Pilates. Today, I’m going to talk about the second pillar of Pilates, Control. Did you know that Joseph Pilates originally called his work Contrology? He said:

“Through contrology, you first purposefully acquire complete control of your own body and then through proper repetition of its exercises you gradually and progressively acquire that natural rhythm and coordination associated with all your subconscious activities.”

By developing strong connections between your mind and body, you are better able to execute movements with control. As you practice moving with control, it will become second nature to perform each exercise slowly and accurately. You will also find your movements become more efficient and flow better.

When you can control your movements and complete them with precision, you are on the way to healing and health maintenance by keeping your body safe in your Pilates sessions. This is important because it allows you, over time, to achieve greater mobility, strength, flexibility and self-awareness.