Contrology is…

September 8, 2013

Pilates friends, 

It is with great pleasure that Benjamin Degenhardt and I release this video clip. We hope you enjoy watching us work and play!  We hope you can join our Retrospective Mat Workshop on November 3, 2013 in Newburyport.  

For me, this video also serves as a small token of love, respect and appreciation for my teacher Romana Kryzanowska - your spirit lives strong in our hearts and in our teaching.

"Contrology is..." is an homage to Joe Pilates, the genius of physical culture whose exercise method has become widely popular since his passing in 1967. Pilates teachers and educators Benjamin Degenhardt and Clare Dunphy collaborated in studying the original Mat exercises with the help of archival materials, and decided to pay tribute with this demonstration - and illustrate the power, grace, control, and movement quality that represents the work.

Contrology, the original name of the method created by Joe Pilates, is more than just exercise. His desire was for the method to be understood as a "return to life", simply by maintaining our physical instrument - our bodies - to the best of our abilities and capabilities. So that we, as a human species, can function better, and live better lives.

In a world where physical fitness is generally more determined by looks, and not by health, we want to pay tribute to the concepts that inspired Joe Pilates to create his amazing work by showcasing his original exercises. The quotes in the film were taken from his book "Return To Life".

Please note that this clip is not intended as an exercise video, and we would like to discourage from attempting to follow along with the exercises without proper guidance and instruction by a trained professional. Feel free to contact us for assistance in finding a teacher for you.

Special thanks to GRATZ Industries for providing us with original Mat apparatus, and to our helpers on site: 
Tina van Heyst Lyon and Jennifer Bender Ferre.

Learn more about Benjamin and Clare on our websites:

benjamindegenhardt.com
progressivebodyworksinc.com

Music by: "Plasma" by Redmann (freemusicarchive.org/music/Redmann/Best_Bytes_Volume_1/11--Redmann--Plasma)

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Filed under: Lifestyle Matters,Movement Matters

Pilates Can Heal

April 21, 2011

My appreciation of the profound holistic healing benefits of the classical Pilates system in working with special populations has once again been renewed.

Whether the primary issue is:

• a foot,
• knee,
• hip,
• back,
• shoulder,
• ankle
• or wrist,

…it is the consistent application of the classical format and exercise orders that positively address faulty movement patterns and compensatory patterns reverberating through the kinetic chain. After a simple assessment using the fundamentals (for new clients), and by addressing alignment issues throughout the session, the exercise order is maintained with exercises either modified or eliminated only as needed.

In the Individual needs section of the class format, numerous choices exist with the other apparatus allowing strong areas to work in conjunction with weaker areas, thereby impacting the entire body. Often the painful body part reflects an underlying issue somewhere else, usually closer in the core and responds well to a whole body approach.

The beauty of the Pilates system is that it recognizes that the whole body is greater then the sum of the individual parts. Pilates knew!

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Filed under: Lifestyle Matters