What makes Body Control Pilates Different?

Body Control Pilates has been established as a membership body and training school for more than 15 years and plays a big part in the realisation of Joe’s dream that Pilates would one day be available to everyone. Body Control Pilates work on regular basis with Mary Bowen and Lolita San Miguel, both of whom trained directly with Joe and Clara Pilates, providing an invaluable first-hand link back to the origins of the Pilates Method.

Body Control Pilates is internationally renowned and the membership body for Body Control Pilates teachers is the largest professional Pilates organisation outside the USA.  The teacher training courses are very thorough and rigorous, with trainee teachers being required to teach a minimum of 50 hours supervised teaching hours in real classes with real clients as part of their certification as well as passing their anatomy, theory and practical examinations.   This is not the case for all Pilates training bodies.

Body Control Pilates offers a comprehensive programme of exercises for both mat and machine work. They are adapted from the ‘classical’ exercises developed by Joseph Pilates in order to make them safe and effective for everyone at all levels of fitness. As many of the classical exercises are often not suitable for the average person and the average body, Body Control Pilates have broken them down so that anyone can benefit from Pilates. This more accessible programme of exercises allows the individual to establish good movement skills thus building the best possible foundation upon which to progress towards the classical, more advanced work if and when appropriate. This is the essence of the Body Control Pilates Method.

Body Control Pilates is remarkably effective – and medically-approved. It is of an holistic nature, based upon a well-constructed philosophical foundation. Central to the Method is ‘awareness of your own body’ and each and every exercise is built around its eight basic principles:

By working on the deep architectural structure of the body, ‘core stability’ is achieved, and then maintained, through increasingly complex movement sequences. Specific problem areas can be targeted by an exercise, but always in relation to the rest of one’s body.

 Your body awareness is heightened by bringing together mind and body – Body Control Pilates literally teaches you to be in control of your body, allowing you to handle stress more effectively and achieve relaxation more easily.

The Body Control Pilates Method can work for everyone, regardless of fitness level! Exercises can be mat or machine-based, but matwork exercises have a great attraction in that they need no special equipment, and are particularly safe for those with back problems (and don’t forget that 95% of the UK population has, or has had, backache).

Its consistent success rate in solving such problems has brought it to the attention of osteopaths, chiropractors, physiotherapists and homeopathic doctors, many of whom have either set up Pilates studios as part of their practices or established a close working partnership with their local Body Control Pilates teachers.