pilates exercise


How does Pilates exercise benefit you?. . . 

    Now you can develop a strong, flexible, and beautifully relaxed body in a calm and professional studio setting.

  • Improve your posture and your mood
  • Be more creative in your career
  • Save on expensive medical bills
  • Improve the quality of life
  • Have more enjoyable relationships .. !
"Pilates has changed my life! My body used to be foreign to me, and I viewed physical exercise as an unenjoyable obligation. Through private sessions with Lucille, along with class participation, I have gotten to know my body and have discovered joy and great satisfaction in movement and core strengthening. Pilates has inspired significant improvements in my diet and self esteem as well. I am a happier, healthier, stronger person inside and out thanks to Lucille Dyer and Natural Bodies Pilates!" — Karen L., Colchester


People in the News practicing Pilates

  • Racecar driver Davy Jones practices Pilates saying

    • "... The combination of Pilates and SPIN is the perfect program to prepare me for racing." From K2Pilates' Website

  • Colts Middle Linebacker Gary Brackett

    • This two-time Super Bowl champion prepares mentally and physically incorporating Pilates into his workout regime to get that extra gear he needs to be the best he can be in one of the toughest and most physically challenging positions in football." from http://pilatesblog.com/

  • In Golf News

    • Pilates is catching on among professional golfers. Rich Beem did a lot of Pilates leading up to his win at the 2002 PGA Championship win over Tiger Woods. New York Times reports Tiger does it to. Rocco Mediate ditched the weights and does Pilates to preserve his back. From http://pilatesblog.com/

  • 2010 Winter Olympics

    • Gold medalist Hannah Kearney of the U.S. Ski Team and Canada’s silver Olympic medalist Jennifer Heil practice Pilates core exercises to train to be the best in the world. Heil talks about how she trained to win her 2006 Gold and 2010 Silver Olympic medals.. "I do a lot of Pilates. I love it." From http://pilatesblog.com/

  • Olympic Swimmer and Silver Medalist Dana Torres

    • "I spend two hours in the pool, five days a week, and I alternate weights one day with running and Pilates core training on the other two days. I also do resistive stretching three days a week. In swimming, speed comes directly from the core so Pilates helps immensely." From http://pilatesblog.com/

"Dear Lucille, Your classes are a wonderful resource for the communities around you. The facility is lovely, inspiring. I find your regular use of email and quick response appealing. You have a lovely demeanor, are a great teacher, describe things in way that are generally easy for me to understand.

"I like how you explain the movements and the way you lead with descriptions of what I should be feeling or where a specific body part should be moving. The images you give me to help me direct my energy towards the movement or the goal of the movement. I also think you’re excellent at keeping track of each individual in the class as it happens so people can get the most from their efforts.

"I particularly like your premise that each individual does what feels right, never pushing past the bounds of what might feel comfortable, especially when just starting Pilates exercise."
— Julie W.


Who was Joseph Pilates, and What is the Original Pilates Exercise?

Joe was born in Mönchengladbach, a small town near Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1880. He was a small and sickly child who suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. His name had been spelled "Pilatu" and was of Greek derivation but was changed to Pilates. His father was a prize-winning gymnast and his mother a naturopath. A family physician gave him a discarded anatomy book and as he put it "I learned every page, every part of the body; I would move each part as I memorized it. As a child, I would lie in the woods for hours, hiding and watching the animals move, how the mother taught the young." he said. He studied both Eastern and Western forms of exercise including yoga. By the time he was 14 he had worked so hard he had developed his body to the point that he was modeling for anatomy charts.

Growing up in Germany, he achieved some success as a boxer and a gymnast in addition to being a skilled skier and diver. In 1912 he went to England for further training as a boxer. He found employment there as a circus performer. By 1914 he had become a star and toured England with his troupe. He and his brother were performing a Greek statue act!

In 1914 after WWI broke out he was interned along with other German nationals in a "camp" for enemy aliens in Lancaster. There he taught wrestling and self-defense, boasting that his students would emerge stronger than they were before being interned. It was here that he began devising his system of original exercises that later became "Contrology". He was transferred to another camp on The Isle of Man where he became something of a nurse and worked with many internees who suffered from wartime diseases and incarceration. He then began devising equipment to rehabilitate them, taking the springs from the beds and rigging exercise apparatus for the bedridden! In 1918, a terrible epidemic of influenza swept the world, killing millions of people, tens of thousands in England. None of Joe's followers succumbed even though the camps were the hardest hit!

After the war Joe returned to Germany and began training the Hamburg Military Police in self-defense and physical training as well as taking on personal clients. He said, "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."

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

It was at this time that he met Rudolf von Laban, a famous movement analyst, who is said to have incorporated some of Joe's theories and exercises into his own work. Mary Wigman, a famous German dancer and choreographer was a student of Joe's and used his exercises in her dance class warm-up.

In 1925 he was invited to train the New German Army but because he was not happy with the political direction of Germany he decided to leave. On the urging of boxing expert, Nat Fleischer and with the aid of Max Schmelling he decided to come to the U.S. It was en route to America that Joe met Clara who was to become his second wife (there is really no information available about his first wife). She was a kindergarten teacher who was suffering from arthritic pain and Joe worked with her on the boat to heal her.

Upon arriving in New York City in 1926 they opened a gym at 939 Eight Ave, in the same building as several dance studios and rehearsal spaces. It was this proximity that made "Contrology" such an intrinsic part of many dancers' training and rehab work and many were sent to Joe to be "fixed". George Balanchine, the famous choreographer, studied with Joe and sent many of his dancers to Pilates for strengthening and "balancing" as well as rehabilitation, as did another famous dancer/choreographer, Martha Graham.

Joe Pilates described fitness as: "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 spontaneously zest and pleasure."

From 1939 to 1951 Joe and Clara went every summer to Jacob's Pillow, a well-known dance camp in the Berkshire Mountains. He was a friend and teacher to such renowned dancer/choreographers as Ted Shawn, Ruth St. Denis, Martha Graham and Jerome Robbins and many required their dancers to go to Joe. Both Hanya Holm and Martha Graham incorporated Joe's exercises into their students' lessons.

In January 1966 there was a fire in their building. Joe returned to his studio to try and save anything possible and fell through the burnt out floorboards, hanging by his hands from a beam for quite some time until rescued by the firefighters. It is assumed that this incident directly led to his death in October 1967, at the age of 87. Clara, regarded by many as the more patient teacher, continued to teach and run the studio until her death 10 years later, in 1977.



How will natural core strength make a difference?

  • Alignment and Posture:

    • Classes at Natural Bodies Pilates promote dynamic alignment of the whole body, which can be remarkably beautiful.

  • Strength:

    • Pilates exercise results in balanced strength for the entire body, promoting better alignment and ease of motion, and a healthy level of bone density.

  • Flexibility:

    • Pilates exercise is designed to restore flexibility around the spine and all of the joints, allowing for a greater range of motion with more stability.

  • Endurance:

    • Pilates exercise is practiced as a continuous sequence of movements which promote endurance and improved circulation of oxygen.

  • Weight Management

    • Regular practice of Pilates positively impacts effective weight management plans with reduced stress, better sleep, effective digestion, and increased muscle mass and metabolism

  • Stress Relief and Relaxation

    • An essential but often under emphasized principle of Pilates is Relaxation. Learning to release unnecessary tension in our bodies helps us to find ease and flow in movement and in the rest of our lives…

Here is what some experienced students have noticed:

  • Increased mental alertness and memory
  • Improved mood, digestion, and sleep
  • Increased ability to discover creative solutions to life's challenges.
  • Overall, an improved quality of life.

"Whether the Pilates routines seem daunting or simple, they are guaranteed to acquaint your body with itself. Parts that never corresponded with each other will gradually learn to relate. The fertile imagination of the instructor will present images you can use to integrate all the cogs and wheels into a smooth, functioning whole!" — NB

"Lucille is a skilled and motivating instructor. She works with you from the ground up as you develop your program." — C.C.


Have You Tried Pilates on the Reformer?

Today you can find Pilates DVD’s, balls, straps, gizmo’s — even the book Pilates for Dummies! You might think that those are an "easy way" to learn Pilates, but in fact they are not. Many people I talk to say they tried using a DVD and found it was too difficult, or were even injured. You can find flimsy Pilates "reformer" equipment sold on the home shopping channels, and unfortunately see television models demonstrating repetition after repetition of a select few exercises. The method of exercise is hawked as a way to shape certain parts of the anatomy, and they practically guarantee you’ll look just like the model on the screen if you buy their products.

In the real world, one simple feature is far superior to all the DVD’s, home systems, books, and gizmo’s: a certified Pilates instructor. A skilled instructor helps you to develop control, precision, and mindfulness. A skilled instructor can adapt the exercise for your current level of strength and flexibility, and when you have developed a level of mastery, will continue to challenge you.



What is a Mat Class?

The 55-Minute Mat class is a series of strength and flexibility exercises practiced on a mat - mostly lying or rolling on the back, side, or front of the body, with some standing exercise for balance and coordination. Sometimes we use stretch bands, light weights, or other portable equipment. Some of the exercises are similar to yoga or ballet stretches, and are more "movements" than "postures." In addition to strength and flexibility the exercise relieves stress, promotes whole body health, restores awareness, and results in a general sense of well-being.


Are you Ready for a Mat Class?

We'd love to have you join a class! If you have health concerns, you can always schedule a brief free private conversation or a specially priced full private session to learn the exercises with adaptations.. (classes are designed for generally healthy individuals with no chronic or acute joint pain or limiting health concerns). If you are ready to join a class, just email or telephone to let us know you are planning to attend. Any other questions, please feel free to contact us!

"After a few months of classes, I have discovered a new relationship with my body and how I feel about it — and I like it!" — Carolyn C.

. . .  pilates is a way of exercising that makes every other enjoyable activity feel even better!


What is the Pilates Method Alliance?


The PMA promotes the evolution of Pilates by maintaining the highest standards of education and distribution of information across the industry. Membership to the PMA is open to any individual or business wishing to further their knowledge and professionalism or support within the Pilates method of exercise.

Anyone interested in the study and practice of Pilates, supports the objectives of the corporation, and is willing to contribute to the achievement of the organization's objectives is eligible to become an Individual Member of the PMA. Individual Membership Fee: $150 annually Pilates Method Alliance