PILATES  IN  PROVENCE

Pilates tuition from a qualified Pilates instructor in the Luberon, Provence. Classes in English or French.

One-on-one or small groups, based in Oppede.

Hello, this website for Pilates Provence is not yet complete, if in the meantime you are interested in taking pilates classes, please get in touch via the email address below.

I have a small studio in Oppède – a village in the very heart of Provence – 40 minutes from Avignon and 20 minutes from Apt.

I have been practising Pilates myself for 15 years and teaching for 4 years. I trained through the Pilates Foundation UK and teach in English and French.

Kim De Paolis

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The Pilates methof is an exercise system. the founder wrote two books: "Return to Life through Contrology" and "Your Health: A Corrective System of Exercising That Revolutionizes the Entire Field of Physical Education".

Pilates called his method Contrology, in reference Provence

in reference to the way in which the method encourages l' use of l' spirit to control the muscles. C' is a program allowing to rebalance the muscles of the body, while concentrating on the principal muscles which intervene in l' balance body and the maintenance of the spinal column. In this method, one tries to reinforce the too weak muscles and to relax the too tended muscles, one also takes account of the rate/rhythm of breathing at the time of l' execution of the movements, the good alignment of the column and the maintenance d' a good general posture Cavaillon

In its popular form, Provence Pilates is practised on the ground, on a carpet. This technique takes as a starting point the yoga, the dance and the gymnastics. The Pilates method rests on eight basic principles which must always remain present at the spirit of that which practises it: concentration, control, centre of gravity, breathing, fluidity, precision, sequence and isolement3. The muscles abdominal, glutei and dorsal are requested in the majority of the exercises. A good posture is essential with the practice of Pilates. The Pilates drive can be done using “proprioceptive toys”. These objects (balloons, springs, rubber bands) induce imbalances, which encourages the body to call upon a specific series of stabilizing muscles

Pilates in Provence can be also practised on apparatuses. The main thing, “To reform it”, consists of a wood framework, which has the format of a bed, is provided with a sliding plate, pulleys and other accessories. Springs make it possible to adjust the whole with more or less large tensions. The recourse to the springs rather than with the haltères with the advantage of offering a controllable resistance as well as an assistance to the movement. This process is less demanding for the ligaments and the tendons. Thanks to the versatility of the apparatuses, one can practise hundreds of different exercises there. These exercises are hard, but soft: without abrupt movements and shocks of impact. They should never cause pain, nor to surtax a muscular group. On the contrary, a complete program of exercises aims at putting in action, in alternation, all the muscular groups, sometimes in unusual combinations. One insists particularly on the exercises for the bottom of the trunk (abdominal muscles and glutei), area that Pilates, the creator of the method, called the “generator”. One setting also much on breathing. As they ask an unquestionable concentration, these exercises allow a good its control and awakening of the muscular function.

The Pilates method is mainly used from the point of view of drive in order to improve the force, the flexibility, the coordination and the maintenance of a good posture. According to the experts, practised regularly and over enough a long period, it would act on the total health of the individuals. Here certain benefits of which they could profit. ¦Corriger and to improve the posture by hardening and invigorating the muscles. ¦Développer flexibility. ¦Éliminer stress thanks to a technique of breathing. ¦Améliorer coordination. to ¦Prévenir the wounds caused by a bad posture. Few scientific studies on the therapeutic applications of the Pilates method were carried out. The principal articles published on the approach relate to the readjustment (parallel to other care) and the treatment of lumbagos, tendinitises and pains articulaires5-9. Research To relieve the chronic pains of the back. In 2008, a systematic review on the Pilates method in the treatment of the chronic pains of the back was publiée10. Only two small random clinical studies, gathering 88 subjects, were listed. One of them showed that after four weeks of drive, the subjects of the Pilates group significantly felt less pain than those of the reference group (usual care of the doctor) 11. Twelve months later, the reduction of the pain was still observable. The authors of the review however concluded that, in spite of the presence of beneficial effects, other studies of greater scale will be necessary before being able to recommend the Pilates method.

To improve flexibility. The objective of this study of observation was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Pilates drive in the field of flexibility, the body composition and the perception of the degree of health of the individus12. Thirty-two subjects, 37 years old to 48 years, practitioner one hour per week of the Pilates exercises, were evaluated after two, four and six months of drive. After six months, no significant difference was observed compared to the body composition and of perception of the level in health. On the other hand, an improvement of the flexibility of the bottom of the back was noted. To help the women during their pregnancy. In 2004, an article indicated that the Pilates method