Pilates Quotes

A man of ideas and action, here are several Pilates quotes

below for you to enjoy reading.

These definitely provide insight into the man, his life and his thought processes.

Many of these quotes are famous.

Some might be taken from books, some from conversations, but we thought a list of quotes would be interesting to learn a little more about the man and his method. Enjoy reading the Pilates quotes below.

"In 10 sessions, you will feel the difference. In 20, you will see the difference. And in 30, you'll be on your way to having a whole new body."

"Not only is health a normal condition, but it is our duty not only to attain it but to maintain it".

"Contrology (Pilates) develops the body uniformly, corrects wrong postures, restores physical vitality, invigorates the mind, and elevates the spirit."

"A few well-designed movements, properly performed in a balanced sequence, are worth hours of doing sloppy callisthenics or forced contortion."

"Contrology is not a fatiguing system of dull, boring, abhorred exercises repeated daily "ad-nauseam." Neither does it demand your joining a gymnasium nor the purchasing of expensive apparatus. You may derive all the benefits of Contrology in your own home."

"The first lesson is that of correct breathing.Children must be taught how to take long, deep breaths, sufficient to expand the upper chest to capacity. They must be properly instructed how to draw the abdomen in and out at the same time holding their breath for a short time. Then they should also learn how properly to fully deflate the lungs in exhaling."

"...Man should bear in mind and ponder over the Greek admonition - Not Too Much, Not Too Little."

"Rome was not built in a day" and patience and persistance are vital qualities in the ultimate success of any endeavor. When all your muscles are properly developed, you will perform your work with minmum effort and maximum pleasure. As small bricks are used to build large buildings, so will the development of small muscles help to develop large ones. Pilates is "the attainment and maintainence of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind, fully capable of naturally performing our many daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.""

"The acquirement and enjoyment of physical well-being, mental calm and spiritual peace are priceless to their possessors if there be any such so fortunate living among us today. However, it is the ideal to strive for, and in our opinion, it is only through Contrology that this unique trinity of a balanced body, mind, and spirit can ever be attained."

"my work is 50 years ahead of its time".

"However, in order that one may receive the maximum benefit and resulting normal health from one's daily activities, one should understand at least some of the more rudimentary underlying principles governing the mechanism of the human body in motion, rest and sleep. For example, the leverage possibilities of the bones composing its skeletal framework, the range and limitation of proper muscle tension and relaxation, the laws of equilibrium and gravity, and last but not least, how to inhale and exhale; i. e., how to breathe properly - normally. A knowledge of these are essential if we are to benefit from any exercises."

"I invented all these machines. Began back in Germany, was there until 1925 used to exercise rheumatic patients. I thought, why use My strength? So I made a machine to do it for me. Look, you see it resists your movements in just the right way so those inner muscles really have to work against it. That way you can concentrate on movement. You must always do it slowly and smoothly. Then your whole body is in it."

"Contrology is complete coordination of body, mind, and spirit. Through Contrology you first purposefully acquire complete control of your own body and then through proper repetition of its exercises you gradually and progressively acquire that natural rhythm and coordination associated with all your subconscious activities. "

"As the spring freshets born of the heavy rains and vast masses of melting snows on mountains in the hinterlands cause rivers to swell and rush turbulently onward to the sea, so too will your blood flow with renewed vigor as the direct result of your faithfully performing the Contrology exercises. These exercises induce the heart to pump strong and steadily with the result that the bloodstream is forced to carry and discharge more and more of the accumulated debris created by fatigue. Contrology exercises drive the pure fresh blood to every muscle fibre of our bodies, particularly to the very important capillaries which ordinarily are rarely ever fully stimulated once we have reached adulthood."

"Physical fitness can neither be achieved through wishful thinking nor outright purchase”

"The science of Contrology disproves that prevalent and all-too-trite saying, "You're only as old as you feel." The art of Contrology proves that the only real guide to your true age lies not in years or how you THINK you feel but as you ACTUALLY are as infallibly indicated by the degree of natural and normal flexibility enjoyed by your spine throughout life."

"Above all, learn how to breathe correctly."

"Here we see the correct and incorrect way to stand. Note the posture in each. On top we see three poses, front, side and back. Note the perfect body.Below we have the author posing first, in (A) the Macfadden Hollow Back incorrect posture; (B) the average incorrect posture of an athlete who is broad-shouldered and muscle-bound; (C) the usual position of ninety-five percent of persons, showing protruded stomach (and double curvature of the spine in both lumbar region and the neck."

"Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness. Our interpretation of physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure."

"Patience and persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor."

"...the millions of dollars today foolishly expended in the purchase and maintenance of gymnasium equipment, etc., could be more wisely expended for the purpose of training teachers, living examples of normal health, not mere preachers of what normal health (if they really knew) should be."

"...What is balance of body and mind? It is the conscious control of all muscular movements of the body. It is the correct utilization and application of the leverage principles afforded by the bones comprising the skeletal framework of the body, a complete knowledge of the mechanism of the body, and a full understanding of the principles of equilibrium and gravity as applied to the movements of the body in motion, at rest and in sleep."

"With body, mind, and spirit functioning perfectly as a coordinated whole, what else could reasonably be expected other than an active, alert, disciplined person."

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