160 pages

The Anatomy of Pilates by Paul Massey

Created by Joseph Pilates during the early 20th century, Pilates is used by millions today to improve their physical and mental well-being. Much of its appeal lies in its simple, low-impact approach, which is ideal for injury prevention, rehabilitation, and general physical health. Based on a series of precise movements and the employment of equipment such as rubber balls and exercise bands, Pilates emphasizes concentration, control, alignment, core stability, and proper breathing.

The Anatomy of Pilates shows what actually happens to the body’s muscles and joints during Pilates exercises. Each two-page spread features detailed anatomical illustrations of an exercise (with muscle actions highlighted in red), a detailed description of the exercise and its objectives, the particular breathing pattern to be used, a list of the specific muscles being worked, visualization techniques, complementary exercises, and more. The Anatomy of Pilates is an accessible, authoritative guide for current and prospective teachers of Pilates, practitioners at all skill levels, physical therapists, and other health professionals.
 

Pilates is an exercise method designed to elongate and strengthen the body emphasizing balance, alignment, proper breathing and core stability. Osteopaths, physiotherapists and general practitioners recommend its simple, low-impact approach as one of the safest forms of exercise, ideal for injury prevention, rehabilitation, and overall physical health. Pilates can be beneficial for just about everyone, regardless of age and fitness level. The Anatomy of Pilates takes the reader inside the body to show exactly what is happening to the body's muscles and joints during a Pilates exercise. At the heart of the book are 150 full-colour illustrations that show the muscles that lengthen and strengthen in 41 classic exercises, together with information on anatomy, technique, breathing, pitfalls, and more.

Review
This book is very informative, very well presented and very practical. The author has that quality of being able to present his material in a very clear, enjoyable and user friendly manner. --Positive Health, April, 2009

This is a 'must have ' book for all students and teachers of Pilates, as it assumes a good level of prior knowledge of the classic Pilates exercises. It is written in a clear no-nonsense and understandable style with handy colour tab referencing for easy each chapter.
The book is packed full of essential and relevant technical information with sections on making postural assessments, how to identify common faulty patterns of movement and corrective exercises. - P. Whyte (Amazon)

Also Recommended