The Pilates Body with Brooke Siler
WebMD Live Events Transcript
Event Date: 06/07/2000.
Personal trainer, fitness instructor and author Brooke Siler will discuss her views on the Pilates body conditioning techniques.
The opinions expressed by Ms. Siler are hers and hers alone. If you have
questions about your health, you should consult your personal physician. This
event is meant for informational purposes only.
Moderator: Welcome to WebMD Live's Mind and Body Auditorium.
Today we are discussing The Pilates Body with Brooke Siler.
Brooke Siler is a personal trainer, a certified Pilates instructor, the
co-owner of the successful re:AB Studio in New York City, and the personal trainer of a number of
celebrities. As the youngest of six athletic children, including four brothers,
and the daughter of an Olympic-level athlete, she was constantly encouraged to
develop her physical skills. Siler has spent over 600 hours under the tutelage
of Romana Kryzanowska, a prot?g? of Joseph Pilates for more than 30 years, and
has since gained her own reputation as a respected teacher in the field. She is
the author of The Pilates Body: The Ultimate Guide to Strengthening,
Lengthening and Toning your Body--Without Machines.
Brooke, welcome to WebMD Live. How did Pilates begin?
Siler: Pilates himself was born in Germany. And he began
creating a method for himself because he was a sick child with asthma and
rickets and, in order to do the things he wanted to do, he needed to strengthen
his body. He began to study the human form and how it moves. He even studied
animals and the way they moved their bodies. And, in that way, his interest in
the body's movement became greater and he was able to develop a series or a
system of movements that strengthen the circulatory system, the cardiovascular
system in terms of breathing, and the muscular tonality and stretch. And the
combination served to strengthen him to the point where he was able to become a
gymnast and acrobat and boxer and skier and swimmer. He became a true athlete in
every sense of the word. And this was all due to the system of exercise he
developed. Later on, he was interned during the war and began to teach this
method of mat or floor work to fellow internees. Going further, he worked in a
hospital during the war with non-ambulatory patients who didn't have the
muscular strength to do his system and so he took bed springs from the hospital
beds and attached them to the bed frames and thus was able to work with the
patients' limbs that weren't able to move on their own. By moving them, he was
able to create a form of movement in which their circulation could be improved.
He and the doctors noticed improvements in the patients and this was the
beginning of his apparatus design. Many people associate Pilates with big
apparatus, but the foundation was the mat work, which is what The Pilates Body
is based on.
Moderator: In America, this started in the dance community
many decades ago. How did that happen?
Siler: When Pilates immigrated here in 1925, his studio
happened to be in the same building as the rehearsal space for Ballanchine. And
Ballanchine began to bring his dancers, injured dancers as well, to Joe Pilates.
And it became a forum for dancers to go to gain more strength in their bodies,
because dance is a very strenuous activity. Joseph Pilates' system worked in
conjunction with the movements that dancers were used to. However, with the
added resistance and control they were able to make their dance moves safer by
working within their joints and strengthening the muscles around their joints so
there was less injury. However, Joseph Pilates himself catered more to acrobats
and anyone willing to learn, actually. He was a big proponent of teaching his
method to any and all who were willing to be there with him.
Moderator: Tell us about Romana Kryzanowska. Who was she?
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