“It’s not physical therapy, it’s not yoga, it’s not meditation. It’s just hard, sweaty exercise.”
In her book ‘ Contrology Handbook’ Sandy Shimoda gives a perfect explanation of what Contrology is. Contrology is corrective exercise that prevents unnecessary deterioration of your body by keeping the muscles of the center primed and ready for action. There is no quick fix. Your movement can’t be corrected with a prescription. You can’t just pay someone else to service your body. You have to do it yourself. For the rest of your life.
When Joe’s Pilates’ exercises are executed using his method, that is called Contrology. When his exercises are taught randomly, the goals of Contrology miss their mark. Joseph Pilates believed in the importance of sustaining good health through a systematic approach to exercise with an emphasis on developing “perfect balance of body and mind”. Joseph Pilates or Joe devised a system of exercises and equipment to correct asymmetry, misalignment, and dysfunction. His exercises required the mind to focus on the movement of the body to develop coordinated and controlled movement. By training the body to work in every direction against gravity, Joe’s method prepared his students to respond instinctively and effortlessly to life.
At Studio Lilyfit we aim to stay as close as possible to Joseph Pilates’ original teachings. This includes the routines and movements themselves, how you execute them, as well as the order they are performed—known as sequencing. We follow the lineage of Jay Grimes.
Jay Grimes arrived at Joe’s studio in the 1960s, Joe had spent roughly 40 years developing his method. During that time, he experimented with exercises and equipment, keeping some, and throwing out others as he refined his system. The method Jay learned it was the culmination of Joe’s lifelong explorations.
“I’ve never seen anything better than what Joe did, so I don’t see any need to change it.”
Joe’s Gym – The Original Pilates Method:
