Pilates

A comprehensive guide to Pilates for all experience levels.

The most acclaimed, comprehensive guide for Pilates is back with all-new photos and more variations, modifications, and progressions than ever before.

In Pilates, Third Edition, world-renowned Pilates expert Rael Isacowitz draws on over four decades of experience to offer you a path to total health and well-being through the Pilates method. Whether you are a beginner, a teacher using Pilates in a therapeutic setting, or a veteran instructor working with athletes, this resource will help you tap into the potential of the mind–body connection to gain the elusive edge in training.

Pilates starts with the foundation for all the exercises by presenting an in-depth treatment of mat work, including photos, imagery, and detailed instruction on breathing to help you perform the movements correctly. After the mat work, Pilates goes on to apply the same depth of instruction and photos to the full range of Pilates apparatus:

• Reformer
• Cadillac
• Wunda chair
• Ladder barrel, also known as the high barrel
• Step barrel, also known as the spine corrector
• Ped-a-pul
• Arm chair (F2 chair)
• Magic circle

There are more than 200 exercises, categorized by body region. The exercises include difficulty ratings, recommended resistance ranges, and explanations of not only how to perform the movements but also how practitioners will benefit from them. New variations, modifications, and progressions for many of those exercises offer additional options for tailoring the exercises based on ability, skill, or preference.

The book includes a purposeful grouping of exercises into programs that work all regions of the body and progress from the fundamental level through the intermediate and advanced levels to challenge you at all stages of Pilates practice.

Pilates is a holistic approach to well-being that offers a bridge between mind and body, between everyday life and optimal performance, and between rehabilitation and healthy movement. When used to its full potential, it can enhance every aspect of life. So whether you are young or old, are able-bodied or live with restricted mobility, Pilates can improve your balance, concentration, coordination, posture, muscle tone, core strength, flexibility, and overall well-being.