Every Body is a Pilates Body.

The images of long thin limbs, toned abs and Hollywood looks as prerequisites to be a pilates devotee are just plain bunk. Although Joseph Pilates himself had many ballerina’s and actresses as clients, what he professed and was so passionate about was the health benefits of his method for the average person. He was far ahead of his time with his focus on exercise as vital to overall health status, the importance of managing stress, and the importance of posture as it relates to health, longevity and mobility. The evolution of pilates into a contemporary approach, like the STOTT PILATES^® method we teach, has truly made pilates an exercise form that is accessible, appropriate and impactful for every body.

The evolution of the method to make the exercises more prescriptive, instead of universal, has helped to make it safer for those with medical conditions or injuries that would have made the original method harmful or less impactful. For example, a client with osteoporosis should not be performing rolling like a ball or front rowing with a flexed spine. Contemporary approaches consider the osteoporotic condition of the client and exercises are specifically chosen to avoid flexion with load and positions that excessively load the vertebral bodies of the spine to minimize the risk of fracture. And exercises are chosen to help strengthen spinal extensors, provide resistive strength training to the extremities, promote neutral spine alignment, and improve balance; all of which will work to minimize progression of the condition and provide maximum function for the client.

This is one example of modification of a pilates program to meet the specific needs of a client with consideration of their medical condition. At Inspire Health, every client is evaluated based on their medical conditions, posture, and goals for their pilates program. The instructors then specifically choose exercises that will safely address the client as a whole and their goals. So no pilates program is exactly the same for any two clients. This is what makes pilates at Inspire individual and accessible to everyone and every body. We look forward to working with you and your body!