Centering

Our first requirement in concentrating on our bodies and gaining full control of them is a starting place: somewhere to begin building our own bodily foundation. Consider the part of your body that forms a continuous band, front and back, between the bottom of your ribcage and the line across your hipbones. We call this your “center”. (This is not the same as the center of Yoga or other Eastern disciplines. It is a physical, not a mystical center.)

The center is the focal point of the Pilates method. Firming and strengthening your center while keeping it stretched and supple is the prime physical result of practicing the method, and what a glorious result it is! It means a trimmer waist and flatter belly; It means better posture and a more regal carriage. A properly developed center can also mean less fatigue and a lowered incidence of back pain and injury. (It is widely recognized that suppleness and balanced strength in the lower back are important preventives of the chronic lower back pain that has become a major health problem in this country.)

In the instructions for the Pilates movements, we refer repeatedly to establishing a firm center and to techniques which are intended to help you develop and strengthen your center. Sometimes, when people see something over and over again, they get the impulse to say, “Oh yeah, that again,” and then slide by to the next thing. In this case, don’t do that. If you do, you’ll be missing a lot.