RE: rjroubiRobin..pilates ?..please/Melody
Melody,
Since you are new to Pilates, and you are jumping right in....you are going to find their are generally 2 main approaches to Pilates...one is commonly called a New York Style and the other is called a California Style. Joe Pilates and Romana practice the more classical repertoire and traditional posture cues where the base of the lower back is generally flattened and the pelvis tucked using the butt muscles a lot in the work. The California (aka West Coast Pilates) teachers and Stott Pilates, in contrast, focus on a more neutral pelvis or spine which is more in line with the way a person naturally stands, with a curve in the low back and not a flattened low back. (Their belief is practicing in neutral spine protects the back from injury.)
So you are aware...Sara Picot practices more of a New York Style doing her work mostly in what is called an imprint position (back flattened). I really don't think you will be disappointed in her "More Than Mat Pilates (Intermediate)"....it really one of my favorites because mimics so many of the exercises (without the weights) that are done on the Pilates Reformer (coordination, short spine, elephant etc...). (I bring it on vacation...shhh
) She does have that entire instructional section on the fundamentals so you should be able to get the breathing down without having to buy the basic DVD;-)
As for style preference.... For me, neutral spine is more difficult to maintain because of my body type, but I will never ever limit myself to any style.
I just wanted to make sure I gave you this info before you picked up another Pilates DVD that was another style and you were totally confused when they told you to do something else with your lower back ;-)
Pilates is just so odd yet wonderful....it borrows from dance, gymnastics and yoga but still has so many of its own movements that distinguish itself from other techniques......hope you enjoy it.
Please let us all know how it all goes!
HTH,
Robin;-) ;-)
