East Coast and West Coast rivalries extend beyond just politics and fashion. From swing to rap to pilates, the coasts have very different perspectives on just about everything and that includes pilates.
When Joseph and Clara Pilates came to the US, they settled in New York City where they worked with dancers who naturally benefited from the exercise both for training and rehabbing from injuries.
Ron Fletcher, a dancer with Martha Graham, studied with Joseph and Clara, and moved to Los Angeles, where he opened his own studio in the early 70's -- effectively west-coast-izing the work. Tupac to Joe's Biggie -- but without the guns.
Perhaps it was California in the 70's and 80's but it seems that west coast pilates uses more aspects of yoga and is often considered less true to the original work... according to east coasters. I think those of us on the west coast recognize that we are just innovators at heart and while committed to form, find room for further development of the practice. Whatever you choose to believe, the work is slightly different: East coast inhales on the muscular effort and exhales on the release, while west coast exhales on the muscular effort and inhales on the release. The former may be more difficult and a good explanation is here.
Personally, I've done both types of breathing and don't find a significant difference between the two, other than just remembering to be consistent.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment