Many Pilates trainers and students of the method treat Pilates as a way of life. It's more than just a workout. I tend to take what I do for granted. I've been at this over 22 years now and I live it daily. I forget that not everyone has had the Pilates experience. Joseph Pilates created this wonderful system and referred it to it as "Contrology". Often times you will find that there are six basic principles that we adhere to when teaching.
Concentration Pilates is mind-body exercise. Make sure that you concentrate on each movement and how it is done. Concentrate on correct breathing and execution of the exercises in order to obtain real results. Control Moving without using control can cause a world of injury to the body. Control each movement by using your mind. Avoid quick, jerky movements that lead to injury. Besides, those types of movements just aren't pretty.
Centering
Pilates helps your body stay young, fit, and full of vitality. As Joe himself once said, "With body, mind, and spirit functioning perfectly as a coordinated whole, what else could reasonably be expected other than an active, alert, disciplined person."
Precision Fine tune your movements and use precision when doing them. Remember 5 good reps are more important than 10 sloppy ones. Two things to remember. Quality over quantity! Less is more!
Flow
Make the exercises flow. Use the previous principles about your center, control and concentration to achieve a smooth flow with the exercises and avoid those jerky movements. Breathing Sounds easy doesn't it? Coordinate your movements with your breath. This helps purify the body, increase stamina, reduce stress, dilute the mind of stressful thoughts and most importantly breathing helps execute the movements properly. Don't ever hold your breath. If all else fails.....just exhale. Remember that practice makes perfect. Pilates needs to be practiced about 2-3 times a week in order to be effective.