Pilates Body in Motion

Posted by Carol on November 20th, 2008 at 04:41pm

Pilates Body in Motion

The most authoritative, step-by-step guide to Pilates available on the market. Popular for decades with dancers, athletes, and celebrities, the Pilates Method is the perfect equipment-free workout for a stronger, leaner, fitter body. With great emphasis on precision and awareness, not only is Pilates great for the body, but for the mind as well. Using step-by-step mat-work exercises and a wide range of programs, from beginner to advanced, Pilate’s Mind and Body is the only practical guide that shows you all of the proper steps to follow and how to avoid common mistakes in your conditioning.

User Ratings and Reviews

5 Stars Good for beginners.
This is a well-illustrated, well-written book that explains the Pilates method and the origin of Palates. The pictures and captions make learning the basics very easy. I’m now ready to take a Palates class without feeling awkward and uncomfortable. I recommend it for anyone interested in training in Palates. A must book to read before taking a class.

5 Stars A treasure chest of Pilates exercises for a hard body
Joseph H. Pilates, the German inventor of the Pilates exercise method must be smiling in the heavens. The lifelong pacifist who was born in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1880… devoted his life to the study of physical education. He moved to the United States in 1926 and afterwards became active with the New York City Ballet. “Pilates; body in motion,” by Alycea Ungaro of Tribeca Bodyworks is a treasure chest of Pilate exercises for a hard body.

Mr. Pilates passed away in 1967 but not without leaving behind his philosophy of form. He established six basic principles…breath, concentration, control, centering, precision and flow in order for men and women to attain, “the inherited birthright of physical perfection.” This book is comprehensive. It includes an introduction and four exercise programs. The introduction and beginner’s program are short…but the intermediate and advanced programs provide a wealth of drills.

Please be warned…this is difficult stuff (especially for the over 50 crowd)…even for those who frequent the gym on a regular basis. The key to success is to follow the instructions carefully and gradually work your body into shape. If you rush the program your body will be talking to you (with pain or soreness) the following morning. At the risk of being redundant…do not fast-forward the exercise unless you are in outstanding condition…the Pilates school of thought looks easy but is a challenge to master correctly. The photos in this slim book are excellent. Moreover, the narrative is clear and succinct. Highly recommended.

Bert Ruiz

5 Stars great travel or miss the studio solution
Great tool for travel or when you miss the studio. I am just a pilates student, so having something to hold my hand and direct me is needed, so just flipping through the deck in the suggested order has been great. I don’t think its a beginners tool because the descriptions somewhat assume you already know the basics IMHO. I had a cheat sheet I made myself with little drawings and notes, but this is so much easier.

4 Stars For beginners
This basic manual for Pilates is especially helpful because of the cautions about avoiding poor form while you’re doing the exercises. The limitations of any book attempting to teach you how to do physical movements is offset by the authors’ knowledge of what mistakes typical beginners make.

3 Stars Not good for a complete novice.
I’m training for a certain activity and was told that Pilates would be great to do because many people in the sport do it. I knew _absolutely nothing_ about Pilates. I asked around at local fitness clubs but couldn’t find any instructors. Lacking local instruction, I bought this book based on the recommendations here.

The many pictures and instructions for the actual exercises were very easy to follow. However, the information in the introduction (including an explanation of the 6 basic principles) left me so very frustrated and confused! The book says to flatten your lower spine against the mat (’neutral spine’) by ‘lengthening’ your spine without moving your hips or other body parts…but that’s physiologically impossible! Does she not understand the basic mechanics of the body? And ’scooping’ is described as feeling like a corset being tightened around your waist…which is only helpful if you’ve worn a corset before. Since the book implies that the exercises do little good if you don’t have these principles right, the good, clear instructions on the actual exercises are probably useless to me because I don’t clearly understand most of the basic principles.

I also doubt some of the claims of Pilates now that I’ve learned more about the system. I’m sure the system works fairly well at ‘core’ strength training for most people who use it, but some of the other claims seem a bit mystical in nature. If you love this method, that’s great. If you understand the basic principles of Pilates, then this is probably a great book for you. Otherwise, I just can’t recommend this book. I’ll stick with “Straighter, Stronger, Leaner, Longer” by Renee Daniels which works the ‘core’ muscles as well as every last bit of the rest of your body.

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