About the Book
Much has changed in the 21st century since 1934 when Joseph Pilates wrote his first book, Your Health, about fitness and health. In 1945, he followed up that first expression of fitness theories and principles with his detailed and definitive book of exercises, Return to Life through Contrology. Both of these original books were copyrighted and republished by Presentation Dynamics in 2000 in the book Pilates Primer: The Millennium Edition. Presentation Dynamics has now added 96 new pages of content to this book with the release of Pilates Evolution for the 21st Century. It details the very latest in 21st-century modifications, methodology, and enhancements to Joseph Pilates exercises. The new text opens with an introduction to 21st-century evolutionary developments, discussing how Pilates original students became the next generation of teachers. It also describes how these students have, in fact, gone on to develop a wide range of variations in their teachings, bringing new science and techniques to new variations in body positioning, balancing, centring, and aligning.
In some cases, the teachers use exercise props, and in other cases, this new generation of teachers brings Pilates methodologies from the ground and mat into standing positions. Other variations in instruction blend Pilates principles with dance, yoga, and various sports to make Pilates instruction applicable to a growing number of students and disciplines. This book organises the new Pilates developments into 10 primary chapters, each focusing on a different 21st-century speciality. Each of these new chapters focuses on a different major area of Pilates evolution, such as standing or circular work, sports-specific Pilates, or Pilates exercise variation with individual props. Each chapter introduces the technique, concept, prop, or emphasis, while the chapter ends with a list of resources from companies specialising in training, certification, videos, or books. The remaining pages present new exercises in the same manner that Pilates introduced his exercises a century ago; that is, a photographic sequence tracing the exercise combined with step-by-step instructions for the student. (There are two or more demonstrative exercises in each of the first nine chapters.)
Two facing pages include a series of photographs on the right side with step-by-step instructions on the left side. Visual sequencing allows you to use or teach a novel exercise that is both effective and fun. The instructions include explanations of the various aspects of the exercise, along with modifications for less- or more-advanced bodies. Joseph Pilates based his work on the concept of a balanced body and mind and on the approach espoused by the early Greeks. New practitioners of Pilates forms and exercises in the 21st century continue to expand upon this earlier work by presenting a variety of creative new approaches involving circular movements, standing postures, and core strengthening exercises using props such as tubes, weights, poles, bands, magic circles, mini-balls, stability balls, foam rollers, and more. Joseph Pilates has been nothing short of revolutionary in his impact on the world of fitness and exercise. You will learn in this book his original observations and conclusions about peoples approach to physical fitness.
He describes the results of decades of scientific study, experimentation, and research into the variety of troubles and ills that upset the balance of body and mind. You will also learn every single one of his original 34 mat exercises taught to his own students. Living testimony to the validity of his own teachings, Joseph Pilates shares in these writings his fundamental tenets of posture, body mechanics, correct breathing, spinal flexibility, physical education, and his law of natural exercises. It is a fascinating look into Pilates original thinking and represents the foundation of an entire discipline embraced by fitness enthusiasts, health educators, and exercise trainers around the world.
Table of Contents:
Preface to 2004 edition; The Three Pillars of the British Empire; Europe, Japan & a Response to the Oil Shock; Imposing the New World Order; From Evil Empire to the Axis of Evil; A New Millennium for Oil Geopolitics; The Lines are Drawn: Germany & the Geopolitics of the Great War; A Global Fight for Control of Petroleum Begins; Oil Becomes the Weapon, the Near East the Battleground; Combined & Conflicting Goals: U.S. Rivals Britain; The Anglo-Americans Close Ranks; Oil & a New World Order of Bretton Woods; A Sterling Crisis & the Adenauer-de Gaulle Threat; Running the World Economy in Reverse: Who Made the 1970s Oil Shocks?; Index.
About the Author :
Joseph Pilates based his concepts of a balanced body and mind on the approach espoused by the early Greeks. His books discuss fitness, health, and include his original exercises that currently sustain a world-wide revolution in fitness strategies and exercise techniques. He has been nothing short of revolutionary in his impact on the world of fitness and exercise. Judd Robbins has spent more than thirty years teaching physical fitness to students across the United States. During more than half of that time, he has specialised in teaching and enhancing the fundamental guidance and instruction of Joseph Pilates. He has multiple certifications in Pilates, yoga, and martial arts from various organisations. Lin Van Heuit-Robbins brings a master's degree in exercise physiology from the University of California, Berkeley, to her regular teachings in Pilates and personal training. Certified by the Physical Mind Institute in Pilates, she is also certified by the American Council on Exercise as both a group instructor and a personal trainer.
Review :
Reviews -- Reviews of the two books contained within this new, revolutionary and evolutionary volume of Pilates work, writings, and trainings:
Joseph Pilates called his work "Contrology." He defined Contrology as "the comprehensive integration of body mind and spirit." This philosophy is beautifully elucidated in his book, Return to Life Through Contrology.
From: A Brief Biography of Joseph Pilates, By Marguerite Ogle, About.com Guide, Updated February 01, 2011
