It makes sense that Joseph Pilates’ favorite quote was “It is the mind itself that builds the body,” by the poet Schiller. When practicing his method, one must always come back to this concept, for without thinking with body awareness and technical comprehension, one will never fully grasp Mr. Pilates’ work. The results you see from training in the Pilates technique are dramatically noticeable when you practice it with accuracy and consistency.

Joseph Pilates was born in Germany in 1880. Because he suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever as a child, he began intensively studying anatomy and ancient exercise regimes in attempt to overcome his physical challenges.

By the age of 14 years, Mr. Pilates successfully understood and practiced the art of boxing, diving, skiing and gymnastics. He joined the circus and moved to England, where he also trained detectives in the art of self-defense. Shortly after his move, World War I erupted and Mr. Pilates was placed in an internment camp as a nurse. There he built equipment out of bedsprings to rehabilitate and exercise the wounded and ill soldiers.

In 1926, Mr. Pilates took his vast knowledge and movement method to America, where he opened a studio in New York City. At this studio, Mr. Pilates trained dancers, including Martha Graham and George Balenchine, as well as athletes and non-athletes alike until his death in 1967.

Pilates taught his method based on these principles: concentration, control, centering, precision, flowing movement and breath.

One Pilates exercise that most people are familiar with is “the hundred.” It is the first exercise of his mat series. The tips below are written under the assumption you are familiar with this exercise. If you are not familiar with the exercise, it is explained in most, if not all books and CD’s of the Pilates Mat Series.

In order to truly master the hundred, one must first master ribcage breathing. Generally speaking, 75% of the power we use to inhale comes from our diaphragm and 25% from our intercostals (which are the muscles between each rib). In ribcage breathing, we attempt to change that ratio so that we primarily use the intercostals to pull the breath in.

To master this breath, start by sitting up tall. Place your hands on each side of your rib cage. As you inhale, expand your ribs out into your hands like an accordion pulling apart. As you exhale, close your ribcage, like an accordion squeezing the sound out as it is pressing together. When performing the hundred, you must utilize this breath while keeping the lower abdomen stable and flat. Take 5 sniffs in through the nose and make a shhhing sound for each count as you exhale in 5 increments. Repeat this 10 times. Less advanced students may need to start with 3 counts in and 3 counts out 8 times and very advanced students may need to lengthen the breath to 8 counts in and out 10 times.

The legs, when extended are externally rotated from the hip joint and the inner/medial parts of the thighs are pulling toward the direction of the nose while remaining actively engaged. The pelvic floor is lifted and the legs are lengthening out, away from the hips. If you are performing a modified version of this exercise, you will keep your knees bent and legs parallel to each other. Your inner thighs are still glued together and active. Your arms pump at the pace of your breath. There is a steady rhythm to the exercise and the head does not move. The arms are also lengthening outward, activating the latissimus dorsi (back) and triceps muscle (back of the arm).