Pilates! What Is It?
by Kathy Bond

It’s what many athletes, celebrities, and maybe even YOU and your neighbour rave about! Pilates is great for the whole body, the whole mind, and even a great career.
First introduced to the public in 1925, it is a system of physical exercises created by Joseph Pilates, that emphasizes mental and physical conditioning to assist in strengthening the body.

Joseph Pilates believed in focus, breath, movement that required thought and control, bringing flexibility and alignment to the spine and improving coordination and balance.

Saskatoon Pilates Centre was the first Pilates studio in Saskatchewan and I, as owner and director, have been teaching for over sixteen years. I was one of seven Gold Certified teachers in Canada, under the Pilates Method Alliance, and now have the designation of PMA®CPT. With my background in dance and fitness, I can design a program suitable for any body.

The centre is a fully equipped boutique studio that puts our clients first, so classes are kept small and intimate for individual attention.

Pilates can be done on a mat or with various pieces of equipment that use pulleys and springs for resistance training, or assistance. Everything we do in a Pilates workout is about the spine, so we make sure that you are using it in the most functional way possible and educating you about how your body moves is a primary goal of how we teach.

So, who can do pilates? EVERYBODY! Whether you are young, old, fit, weak, tight, strong, it doesn’t matter. The beauty of this work is its adaptability to each client’s needs and goals. It is not a one-size-fits-all workout. This is why choosing a qualified teacher is so important!

At Saskatoon Pilates Centre we have qualified teachers and, after being a mentoring studio for eight years with Core Dynamics, we will become the first Core Dynamics Education Centre in Canada starting in the fall of 2015.

We offer complimentary classes in TRX; Pilates for 50 Plus; and the ever-popular Pilates for Golf.
We hold workshops on Myofascial Stretching, Ball Release (TKM) and the Pelvic Floor. Bringing in International Teachers to add to our Continuing Education is a priority and is opened to the larger Pilates Community to attend. We will be hosting Kevin Bowen, from Core Dynamics presenting a workshop for Men in Pilates, on May 23rd.

Saskatoon Pilates Centre is the Trusted Saskatoon expert for Pilates and are proud to carry that designation. If you feel that you deserve the best, then come to work with us on achieving your goals. Trust the experience.

Kathy Bond, owner and director of Saskatoon Pilates Centre, has been teaching pilates for over 16 years. She brings a wealth of experience and expertise to her clients and is passionate about helping others to have healthy and functionally moving bodies. Working with mature clients is her speciality. She has trained over 20 people to become pilates teachers and is always an advocate for continuing education for the larger pilates community. For more information about upcoming classes and workshops visit www.saskatoonpilates.ca and also see her display ad on page 38 of the 20.6 March/April issue of the WHOLifE Journal.