Flowing movement

In describing the essence of a Pilates movement, Romana Kryzanowska frequently speaks of “flowing motion outward from a strong center.”

Nothing should be stiff or jerky. Nothing should be too rapid or too slow. Smoothness and evenly flowing movement go hand in hand with control.

                                                                        Precision

Precision is another vital partner of control.

“Concentrate on right movements each time you exercise,” Joe Pilates said, “else you will do them improperly and lose their value.”

Haphazard movement can be useful for certain kinds of muscle building: there is nothing precise in the popular image of “pumping iron”. But concentrating on precision of motion and precision of placement creates a kind of bodily fine tuning that carries over into everyday life as grace and economy of movement.