What are the Pilates principles?
There is a lot of confusion out there when it comes to “Pilates principles.”
Since the trademark lawsuit in 2000 deemed the word “Pilates” a generic term, more and more spin-offs of the popular exercise system have emerged under the “Pilates” umbrella.
From “athletic reformer Pilates” classes, similar to an aerobics fitness class on a modified Pilates reformer, to “yogalates” and other fusions, which combine several trending modalities into one class, the Pilates craze is crazing!
Which leads us to the question: “What even is “Pilates,” anymore?”
Is any movement on a spring-based apparatus Pilates? Or is there more to it?
When this question comes up, Pilates enthusiasts point to the “principles.”
And that’s where things get funny…
What the *^%$ is a “principle,” anyway?
I don’t know. Let’s ask Merriam-Webster.
principle
noun
prin·ci·ple ˈprin(t)-s(ə-)pəl -sə-bəl
1a: a comprehensive and fundamental law, doctrine, or assumption
1b(1): a rule or code of conduct (2): habitual devotion to right principles (a man of principle)
1c: the laws or facts of nature underlying the working of an artificial device
2: a primary source : ORIGIN
3a: an underlying faculty or endowment (such principles of human nature as greed and curiosity)
3b: an ingredient (such as a chemical) that exhibits or imparts a characteristic quality
4 capitalized Christian Science : a divine principle : GOD
Ok. So there’s that.
Where did the 6 Pilates principles come from?
The most commonly referenced and accepted Pilates principles are:
Breath
Concentration
Control
Precision
Centering
Flow
Although many believe these principles came from Joseph Pilates himself, they were created 13 years after his 1967 death.
The Six Principles first appeared in The Pilates Method of Physical and Mental Conditioning (1980) by Gail Eisen and Philip Friedman, two students of Romana Kryzanowska. Kryzanowska was one of Joseph Pilates’ proteges. She took over his studio after he passed and went on to organize and share the method through a robust teacher training program.
The description on the Amazon page describes it as “the book that brought Pilates out of the elite studios and into the lives of millions of Americans.”
Eisen said in a Pilatesology interview that it was the first Pilates book published after Joseph Pilates’ book Return to Life Through Contrology.
The authors condensed his theories into these 6 principles in an effort to make his concepts and system digestible and understandable for all.
Most classical Pilates training programs still use these 6 principles today, although it’s not uncommon to see a 7th principle, “rhythm.”
Check out the below interview, in which Eisen discusses the development of the 6 principles with Pilatesology.
What about the 3 “Guiding Principles?”
You may have also heard of the “Guiding Principles” of Pilates:
Whole Body Health
Whole Body Commitment
Breath
These principles were also not developed by Joseph Pilates.
They were developed by the original leaders of the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) as they were putting together the certification exam which sought to measure skill and knowledge of a person who has received comprehensive Pilates teacher training.
Kevin Bowen, who co-founded the PMA in 2000, said these guiding principles were “gleaned from interpeting “Return to Life” (one of Joseph Pilates’ books) to distill down what truly is the essence of the Pilates method.”
But wait, there’s more.
Additionally, many Pilates teacher training programs today have developed their own “principles” that are unique to their interpretation of the Pilates system.
How close and far they stray from Joseph Pilates’ vision of his system varies widely.
On one end, the Pilates purists constantly analyze and reanalyze Joseph Pilates’s writings and videos in search of the true essence of his intentions.
Some contemporary versions have created their own to incorporate new science and exercise trends.
While other Pilates environments today simply don’t bother with Pilates principles.
What about Joe?
So what were Joseph Pilates’ original Principles?
Well, that seems to be open to a bit of interpretation.
While Joseph Pilates did write two books which do allude to “principles,” they are not explicitly drawn out, leaving those practicing his work to fill in their own blanks by “doing.”
The article “To Keep In Shape: Act Like An Animal” from Sports Illustrated, February 12, 1962, Author and Pilates student Robert Wernick said, “Don't ask me what Contrology is. Don't ask Joe either, for orderly exposition is not one of his talents.” (A sentiment likely to be shared by all who have read, re-read, and re-re-read his books.)
He continued, “It has something to do with rational tension and relaxation of the muscles, and it comes from a profound knowledge of bodily kinetics begun three quarters of a century ago when Joe as a child in Germany began observing his fellow children at play and animals bounding through the forest.”
“The full principles of Contrology were revealed to him during World War I.”
Joseph Pilates was interned in an abandoned hospital on the Isle of Man. Over the months, he watched his fellow prisoners “sink into apathy and despair” as they grew weaker. The cats in the facility, however, who got even less food than the internees, were ”lithe and springy and terribly efficient as they aimed for their prey.”
He noticed the cats were constantly moving, stretching, and keeping their muscles limber. He studied their every move and developed an “orderly series of exercises to stretch the human muscles, all the human muscles.”
Pilates taught the internees his exercises, and they became more and more bouncy, ending the war in better shape than when it started.
Your Health / Return to Life
Joseph Pilates wrote two books, Your Health and Return To Life. While nothing is as clearly defined as we would like, many Pilates purists point to different parts of his writing that they interpret as his attempt at outlining principles.
In Your Health, Joseph Pilates says that the “art and science of Contrology” (the original name of “Pilates”) is the “absolute coordination of body and mind” and goes on to define that as (Chapters 3 and 5):
The conscious control of all muscular movements
Correct utilization and application of the leverage possibilities of the bones comprising the skeletal framework of the body
Complete knowledge of the mechanism of the body
Full understanding of the principles/laws of equilibrium and gravity in motion, at rest, and in sleep
How to inhale and exhale i.e how to breathe properly, normally
The range and limitation of proper muscle tension and relaxation
While these attributes are present in Pilates, that’s not super specific.
But many people would say the actual principles unique to Pilates need to be extrapolated from his instructions.
So what do you think? What are your Pilates principles? Please feel free to leave your thoughts below. And, if you are interested in more Pilates history and factoids, subscribe to Pilatay.com here.