Founder of this system, Joseph Pilates, took some of his inspiration from yoga. It utilizes the power of the mind to help with the exercises and to increase harmony between body and mind. The exercises are different from yoga because they work the body as a whole, not particular muscle groups. Mr. Pilates was sickly as a child. He became interested in fitness while working with immobile patients as an orderly during WWI. He developed a series of exercises using springs attached to their beds. He discovered that people became stronger more quickly when certain apparatus was used. After the war he moved to America and opened a fitness studio in NYC. His techniques attracted many well known people.
Although the use of equipment is part of the Pilates program, the original system was based on matwork. The basic principles concentrate on rhythmic breathing, centered posture, smooth movements and a focused mind.
There are many benefits to be obtained from doing Pilates regularly, including more self- confidence and an increased sense of well being. Physically, you will develop a leaner body, have better circulation, more efficient digestion and an enhanced immune system. Other benefits may include improved skin, less stress and clearer thinking through increased oxygen intake. Pilates helps you to build strength and flexibility, but to increase stamina it should be combined with a cardiovascular program such as aerobics.
If you are in reasonably good health, Pilates is suitable for you. If there is a qualified teacher near you, you may want to take classes. However, you can design a program in your own home and practice at your own convenience. Some things to keep in mind if you choose to do this are: Have a comfortable spot for floor exercises, wear comfortable, non- constricting clothing, drink plenty of water, warm-up before and cool-down after you finish.
While learning the different exercises, don?t forget the importance of rhythmic breathing. When you inhale you are not only taking oxygen into your lungs, the act also circulates blood around the body. When you exhale, you expel stale air and gasses such as carbon dioxide from your lungs. If you hold your breath during physical effort, carbon dioxide will accumulate in your body and weaken your muscles. Holding your breath can increase blood pressure, make you tense and waste energy. Also, good posture is an important part of doing the exercises correctly.
If you suspect that your posture is poor, you may want to consult a qualified Pilates instructor to help correct it. A useful tip to help check your own posture is to have someone take two photographs, one in a standing and one in a sitting position (side views). Some things to look for: rounded shoulders, a protruding stomach, your head or chin jutting forward. Before you begin each set of exercises, be sure to begin with the right posture.
There are websites and books available to teach you the various exercises. Proceed at your own pace. Taking the time to do them correctly is vital. Learn the art of visualization. It is a fact that visualizing something can help it to come true. So put a picture in your mind of how you want to look or feel and it will help to keep you motivated to get the results you want.
J Kane is an author and webmaster for Learn Yoga
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label inspiration. Show all posts
March 1, 2009
February 25, 2009
Dancing For Your Whole Life: Yogic Advice from the Vijnanabhairava Tantra
Wander or dance to exhaustion in utter spontaneity. Then, suddenly, drop to the ground and in this fall be total. There absolute essence is revealed.?
~ Vijnanabhairava Tantra, verse 111
Each of has the desire (yes?) to become ~ with each breath we take, with each step of our lives ~ more fully alive ? And yet there is the paradox that each breath we take, each step of our lives, brings us one step, one breath closer to our death. So how do we work with this? Is there a ?solution? to this paradox?
The traditions of Buddhism as well as Kashmir Shaivism see (the appearance of) this life of ours as training-ground for (the appearance of) that moment of our death. They resolve the paradox through the understanding that only by training ~ in every moment ~ in the art of being fully alive, fully present here and now, in this moment, in this moment, in this moment ~ only through a practice such as this are we able then to be fully present (fully alive!) at the moment of our ?death.?
The quotation above, from the Vijnanabhairava Tantra (a text written by the Shaivite School of Kashmir around the first century A.D.), points to such a resolution. Let?s take a closer look ?
?Wander or dance to exhaustion in utter spontaneity.? Have you ever danced, or performed any other activity, so completely, with such total abandon, such love and absorption, that the point of ?exhaustion? (what distance runners call ?the wall?) opens into a whole new realm of experience, puts you in touch with a whole new flow of energy/inspiration? It?s the moment when years of training (our accumulated ?expertise?) is allowed to open, to fall away into a ?mindless? spontaneity ? when movement becomes both divinely precise and effortless (Michael Jordan, Baryshnikov, & Jet Li come to mind here) ? when ?I? am no longer doing anything, yet all things are still manifesting, radiantly, perfectly. In the language of Taoism this state of effortless doing is called Wu Wei.
?Then, suddenly, drop to the ground and in this fall be total.? Have you ever gone out on a warm summer night, laid on your back on a grassy hillside, and let your mind & heart & vision travel out into the starry sky, with its countless galaxies? When we surrender, we surrender completely ? no holding back. We let the whole thing dissolve. We die into the present moment. In the language of Tibetan Buddhism, this is called the Completion Stage.
?There absolute essence is revealed.? What if the essence of life and the essence of death were one and the same? What if both our ?wandering? and our ?dancing? were expressions of that one essence, and equally wise? What if we could touch ~ with each breath, each step, each of our ?awakened? daily activities ~ the sweetness & power that is this essence?
And now, please feel free ?. to Dance!
Elizabeth Reninger holds a Masters degree in Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga - in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu varieties ~ for more than twenty years. Her teachers include Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. To read more of her yoga-related essays, please visit her website: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger
~ Vijnanabhairava Tantra, verse 111
Each of has the desire (yes?) to become ~ with each breath we take, with each step of our lives ~ more fully alive ? And yet there is the paradox that each breath we take, each step of our lives, brings us one step, one breath closer to our death. So how do we work with this? Is there a ?solution? to this paradox?
The traditions of Buddhism as well as Kashmir Shaivism see (the appearance of) this life of ours as training-ground for (the appearance of) that moment of our death. They resolve the paradox through the understanding that only by training ~ in every moment ~ in the art of being fully alive, fully present here and now, in this moment, in this moment, in this moment ~ only through a practice such as this are we able then to be fully present (fully alive!) at the moment of our ?death.?
The quotation above, from the Vijnanabhairava Tantra (a text written by the Shaivite School of Kashmir around the first century A.D.), points to such a resolution. Let?s take a closer look ?
?Wander or dance to exhaustion in utter spontaneity.? Have you ever danced, or performed any other activity, so completely, with such total abandon, such love and absorption, that the point of ?exhaustion? (what distance runners call ?the wall?) opens into a whole new realm of experience, puts you in touch with a whole new flow of energy/inspiration? It?s the moment when years of training (our accumulated ?expertise?) is allowed to open, to fall away into a ?mindless? spontaneity ? when movement becomes both divinely precise and effortless (Michael Jordan, Baryshnikov, & Jet Li come to mind here) ? when ?I? am no longer doing anything, yet all things are still manifesting, radiantly, perfectly. In the language of Taoism this state of effortless doing is called Wu Wei.
?Then, suddenly, drop to the ground and in this fall be total.? Have you ever gone out on a warm summer night, laid on your back on a grassy hillside, and let your mind & heart & vision travel out into the starry sky, with its countless galaxies? When we surrender, we surrender completely ? no holding back. We let the whole thing dissolve. We die into the present moment. In the language of Tibetan Buddhism, this is called the Completion Stage.
?There absolute essence is revealed.? What if the essence of life and the essence of death were one and the same? What if both our ?wandering? and our ?dancing? were expressions of that one essence, and equally wise? What if we could touch ~ with each breath, each step, each of our ?awakened? daily activities ~ the sweetness & power that is this essence?
And now, please feel free ?. to Dance!
Elizabeth Reninger holds a Masters degree in Chinese Medicine, is a published poet, and has been exploring Yoga - in its Taoist, Buddhist & Hindu varieties ~ for more than twenty years. Her teachers include Richard Freeman and Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche. To read more of her yoga-related essays, please visit her website: http://www.writingup.com/blog/elizabeth_reninger
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