Southampton - What sets pilates apart are the six principles that we utilize whenever we are practicing pilates.They are concentration, control, centering, flowing movement, precision and breathing. These principles are the reason behind pilates being at the forefront of the mind-body movement. Most true pilates enthusiasts will be aware of all or most of them.

Concentration is the key element to connecting your mind and body. Quite simply, you must pay attention to each of your movements as you perform them. Stay in the moment, which means engage your mind with every movement. Focus on the muscle(s) that you are working and visualize the detail of each and every motion. This is what it is to have your mind and body work together to produce better results then if you were to mindlessly go about your routine. When we are mindful of our movement the body works harmoniously.

Be present in your movement and take notice of your control.

Control in pilates translates to not haphazardly going about your exercise but to control your movements. Control, or more specifically lack of, can end up in injury so this principle is vital. Be present in your movement and take notice of your control. Ask yourself, am I in control of this or am I flailing? With control you will have better results. Quite often a beginning Pilates student will not feel as though they have much control due to working an area of the body that you are not use to working.

When you are patient and stick with your routine, the "aha" moment will happen when you begin to feel that sense of control over your muscles and therefore your body. A good pilates instructor should always be able to help a beginning student to modify a movement so that they can feel the exercise. This way someone is able to "feel" the control right from the onset.

Something I have heard fairly often in the past is men observing that pilates is more of a woman's workout then a man's. This is because when done correctly pilates can appear very graceful. What these unsuspecting men soon find out when they give it a go is that it takes a lot of control and strength to be graceful and that pilates is indeed a challenging workout for both sexes.

Pilates is indeed a challenging workout for both sexes.

This brings me to the next principle, flowing movement or fluidity. As you become more advanced in your pilates routine you can think of it as a dance where one movement flows into the next. This is not to say that it is mindless simple movement. What I like to tell my clients is to visualize that there is no beginning or end to a particular exercise even if there is a place where you do stop to think about it as the motion continues, the length or the energy continues beyond your leg or arm or head, so to speak. It is dynamic movement, so even in the stops there continues to be energy throughout the body and beyond.

"Correctly executed and mastered to the point of subconscious reaction, these exercises will reflect grace and balance in your routine activities" as stated by Joseph Pilates.

Stay tuned for Part II of Pilates Principles: Centering, Precision and Breathing.