Pilates benefits
Transform the way your body looks, feels and performs
Pilates combines strengthening and stretching exercises from Gymnastics, Dance and Yoga. It emphasizes core strength, a stable center, good alignment and posture, making it one of the safest and most effective forms of exercise.
Pilates creates a strong, lean, balanced body, reduces the risk of injury and eliminates chronic aches and pains. People, who practice Pilates regularly, experience and increased body awareness and immediate results.
At the West-Island's Pilates Center, you have a selection of Pilates classes.
Mat Pilates
Increase core strength and muscle tone with our Mat Pilates Classes
Pilates on a Reformer
Maintain a full body workout adapted to your needs or with extra challenges with our Pilates on Allegro Reformers
Therapeutic Pilates
Therapeutic Pilates will help you with join, mobility or pain issues
Instructor Certifications
We offer complete Pilates instructor certification classes.
Short history of Pilates
Joseph Pilates was born in Germany in 1880. As a child he suffered from numerous illnesses which left him with the desire to get physically stronger. Over the years he developed a training method using his own body weight as resistance, to build strength and increase immunity to disease.
During World War I, he started to work with disabled patients (war casualties), devising special equipment to aid their progress. He attached springs to the hospital beds which gave gentle resistance to aid muscle strengthening and stretching: the prototype of the machines that are used today.
Pilates believed that imbalances in the body and habitual patterns of movement cause injuries. He studied the links between weaknesses throughout the body and overcompensation, and the exercises he developed were based around re-education and re-alignment of the body.
Since Pilates’ death, followers of his method have modified the original 34 exercises to make them more user-friendly. The Pilates method is practiced in one of two ways: using equipment called a reformer, or as the classical Pilates Mat Exercises on the floor.
Today there are many different accessories to aid with a more efficient training. One of these is the Foam Roller, known for its versatile use to enhance stability of the body during movement and core control.