Studio Corpus Pilates

With 36 manuals and eight videos devoted to Pilates to her name, Master Instructor Kelly McKinnon opened Belgium's first Pilates studio Corpus Studios in 1999 and also introduced the disciplines GYROTONIC, GYROKENISIS and CoreAlign to this country.

Corpus Studios for many years a watchword for quality among aficionados of Pilates has has three studios strategically placed around Brussels. The main studio was opened twelve years ago at: 33 rue Borrens followed by the second location five years later at: 33 rue Caroly, 1050 Brussels. The third Corpus Studios location has just recently opened at: 10 rue Blockmans, 1150 Woluwe St Pierre. Just about everyone has heard of Pilates, but ask around and few people know what it really is. An American thing that film stars do to keep slim? A girly thing that no self-respecting athlete would want to do? A therapy thing for people with injuries? Pilates is a movement system which can benefit young, old, injured, and the superfit: the deepest muscles close to the joints are challenged and developed to provide support, strength, mobility and awaken the nervous and respiratory systems. Joseph Pilates (1883-1967) created the exercises drawing on his experience of years in sport, boxing, circus arts and modern gymnastics.

The recent explosion of Pilates in Europe has largely focused on "mat" classes to be found in just about any self-respecting gym. Yet many of today's mat Pilates enthusiasts may not be aware that there is another extremely important dimension to Pilates based on mechanical apparatus designed and developed by Joseph Pilates himself.

Versatility

The mat is only one segment of a true Pilates "Hour of Power". Traditionally, Pilates challenges the body in its many relationships to gravity. The extraordinarily versatile apparatus offers endless possibilities to work the body on a moving base, against the resistance of springs and in different positions, from the horizontal to the vertical, building core strength, suppleness and stability, whether the goal is simply a healthy body or competitive sports.

Pilates is not a therapy. If you are broken, visit a doctor, physiotherapist, or chiroprator. But too often people injure themselves, and go to a doctor or osteopath and then right back to the fun sport they started with, and in no time at all end up back in the fix stage. The key is an adequate foundation which Pilates and other disciplines such as GYROTONIC®, Yoga or Feldenkreis can provide. Eventually everyone passes through the fix stage - bodies need maintenance - but regularly performed cognitive foundation exercises make for the most efficient working body. A healthy body delivers a healthy heart and respiratory system, which leads to a healthy mind and spirit.

Pilates offers a wide range of exercise possibilities and working with specially designed equipment is especially beneficial for sport-specific training, for tennis and golf players and dancers. It can also strengthen backs, buttocks and thighs, hips, the upper back and shoulders and tackle neck problems, frozen shoulders and much more. At whatever age, it helps keep its practitioners agile with lean, strong, and defined muscles. And Pilates can radically improve the quality of life.

Suality of Life

"I have one client who had a back operation and has several herniated disks. He was in pain simply from brushing his teeth. I took him on with the condition he committed to three classes a week. Two years later this person rides a bike to class and downhill skis again, is able to play with his children and enjoys the benefits of a healthy body." said Kelly McKinnon, Director and owner of Corpus Studios. "As the trainer it is my responsibility to understand the implications of damage to the spine, and factor this into my programming. Each client has to respect the reality of his or her own body, but quality of life can be improved 100 percent.

But remember that only an experienced teacher of many years should be working with the seriously injured and then only after suitable physiotherapy and with the green light from a doctor."

Ideal Teachers

The Borrens studio hosts one of the most popular Pilates teacher training programs for instructors and offers instruction in the complete Pilates repertoire as well as teacher training in GYROTONIC®, GYROKINESIS® and CoreAlign®. All certified instructors at Corpus Studios have undergone a through Pilates education with exams, apprentice hours, instruction in anatomy, pedagogical programming for Pilates - as well as observation, personal practice and teaching hours to teach clients of all fitness levels and backgrounds. A fully trained Comprehensive Corpus Studios teacher has undergone over 800 hours of training. Kelly McKinnon makes sure that her teachers are attentive and teach the students, not the exercise - they are trained to constantly check the student's body position and execution of the exercise. Teachers are trained to plan their classes, have an objective in each class, and a strategy for your development. They are informed about the individual needs of their students, and offer modifications to exercises when necessary to meet these needs.