10/06/2023
-There is probably no piece of Pilates equipment more famous than the Pilates reformer—and for good reasons.
-The reformer makes a dramatic impression when you first see one, and an even more dramatic change in your body when you use it.
-The reformer was invented by Pilates founder Joseph Pilates.
-German-born Joseph Pilates was living in England and working as a circus performer and boxer when he was placed in forced internment in England at the outbreak of World War I. While in the internment camp, he began to develop the floor exercises that evolved into what we now know as Pilates mat work.
-As time went by, Joseph Pilates began rehabilitating detainees who were suffering from diseases and injuries.
Joseph Pilates developed his work from a strong personal experience in fitness. Unhealthy as a child, he studied many kinds of self-improvement systems. He drew from Eastern practices and Zen Buddhism. He was inspired by the ancient Greek ideal of man perfected in the development of body, mind, and spirit. On his way to developing the Pilates Method, Joseph Pilates studied anatomy and developed himself as a bodybuilder, wrestler, gymnast, boxer, skier, and diver.
-A wide variety of exercises are done on the reformer to promote length, strength, flexibility, and balance. Most Pilates reformer exercises have to do with pushing or pulling the carriage or holding the carriage steady during an exercise as it is pulled on by the springs.
-One of the best things about the reformer is its versatility. Exercises can be done lying down, sitting, standing, pulling the straps, pushing the footbar, perched on the footbar, perched on the shoulder blocks, with additional equipment, upside down, sideways, and all kinds of variations.
-The reformer offers all the benefits of Pilates including overall strength, flexibility, coordination, and balance. These things, in turn, lead to daily life improvements like better posture, graceful and efficient movement, and for many, relief from pain associated with physical imbalances such as back pain.
Vid. Pilates Reformer Training - Body in Progress by Henriette Letzner
