In order to achieve control over your body, you must apply mindful concentration to the task. Wandering minds produce sloppy movements. Focus the mind to the task at hand.
As a beginner in the Pilates method, you must first learn the technique of each exercise – the minimal instructions to perform the movement. Concentrate, and ensure that the body is actually doing what the instructions require – nothing more, nothing less.
Then, apply these six principles to the movement. Finally, once you are practicing the movement with confidence, add the additional cues that follow the technique of each exercise.
Applying concentration to every element of the exercise is harder than it seems.
If you let the mind slip, it may not affect an obvious technique, but did you forget to breathe or initiate the movement from your center?
Mindful attention to every detail transforms the workout to a true “mind to body” experience.
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As you work from your center, you must also control the movement.
The genius behind the Reformer is that it gets you moving in an anatomically correct manner, under the full support of the apparatus.
But then, bit-by-bit, you remove elements of machine support, so that you must rely increasingly more on your own core strength to supply control.Take Footwork, for example. With feet on the secure foot-bar, there is simply no way you will lose your alignment during the exercise.
You do, though, exercise control by smoothly pressing the carriage in and out, without banging it. But when you proceed to Leg Circles and Frog, you replace the stability of the footbar with the instability of the straps.
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THE ORIGINS OF THE
TAMARA DI TELLA METHOD (Tangolates): Special populations: grown adults, their postural
and motor ailments.
TO UNDERSTAND THE CLIENTS
In order to design a set of movements, and recommend a series of exercises and routines for clients with motor or postural problems, we have to know how they feel. This getting to know the client, his/her ailments, the way he or she feels is essential to start working with them. Feelings are often not expressed because people may feel embarrassed, or because they themselves do not know how to put their feelings into words. This is specially the case in: 1) adult males; and 2) depressed males or females; 3) shy people in general.
The good news is: any movement, exercise, routine or method that can be performed without pain or discomfort on the part of the client is a good movement, exercise, routine and method. In other words, if the client can and likes to perform the movements and manifests that he or she enjoys the session and comes back for more sessions with visible signs of having enjoyed the movements, then we are in the right path and should continue. There is a general consensus among the medical community on this issue.
THE ORIGINS OF THE
TAMARA DI TELLA METHOD (Tangolates): Special populations: grown adults, their postural and motor ailments.
WHO IS IT GOOD FOR?
Statistics indicate that 1 every 100 people over 60 years of age suffer from some kind of motor dysfunctions in general and Parkinson in particular. If we add to these numbers, people with postural problems, be them in the cervical area, or the lumbar zone, then the number goes up to 1 every 12 people over 60 years of age.
This makes a good 30 million people in countries such as the United States, 6 million in France, and 10 million people in Mexico. This gives us a pretty good idea of the magnitude of the problem and the huge number of people who are in need of some kind of rehabilitative solution to their problem.
So you think you know what mind-body means, right? Well…you probably do. And you are thinking of Yoga, Tai-Chi, Pilates? Yes, you probably are. Now… let me tell you a bit more about its origins. OK?
Mind and Body Exercises
The idea that the mind interacts with the body goes back to the Old Testament. Yes, indeed, the ancient Hebrews attributed some physical illnesses to grief or anger.
How right they were! Later on, in Ancient Greece, Hippocrates said that health often depended upon a balance of the body, mind and the surroundings, and that disease sometimes had to do with imbalances in these three areas.
From Vipassana to Dance Therapy
Also Vipassana, an ancient Buddhist meditative practice, emphasized deep attentiveness and concentration of the mind in bodily movements.
Years passed and another little great contribution appeared: Dance Therapy. This therapy, based on dance and music, included martial arts , yoga, and tai chi, and emphasized routines of physical movements involving high levels of mental concentration and awareness.
So, you see… there is nothing new under the sun and nobody invents anything from scratch. Usually, one looks at things that happened earlier and adds to it one’s own little contribution.
A little Great Contribution
In the year 1915, a Harvard Medical School professor, Walter Cannon, coined the term "fight-or-flight”. Brilliant idea. Professor Cannon described the ways in which the body reacts when the mind feels threatened, like, for example: heart rate goes up, blood pressure also goes up, blood sugar and muscle tension change considerably too. These, among other things, of course. Cannon’s theories and work greatly influenced his times. Just about that time, young Joseph Pilates –probably influenced by the famous Harvard Professor-- designed some exercises in which, he argued, the mind controlled he body. It was not a coincidence. Hence the name of his method: Contrology, or “the art of control”.
Today, Contrology is very often called Pilates, for short, and few people know that these mind-body exercises are actually based on the original scientific discoveries that date back to Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, in the year 460 BC, much later developed by Prof. Cannon, another medical doctor, in 1915.
Much less do people know that mind-body exercises have already been put into practice long ago in something very conveniently called… Dance Therapy!
When we speak of the spine and pelvis in neutral we are referring to a position where neither of them are tilted outwards or tucked inside. In a neutral position the pubic bones and the hip bones are on the same plane, and not, as it often happens, rotated forward (hyperextension) or rolled back. So, no exaggerated curvatures in a neutral position, please!
PILATES BASIC PRINCIPLES:
CENTERING OR CORE CONTROL
In Pilates, all movement emanates from your center – those deep, core muscles responsible for stability and posture. By breathing correctly, as explained above, you have already connected your breath to your center, or powerhouse.
But we must also learn to move from our center. Though every movement involves the legs, the exercise focus is on the core, instead. For instance, in Footwork, Frog, Stomach Massage, and every exercise that involves pressing the carriage out with the legs, imagine it is the abdominals taking the carriage out, and the legs simply following the lead of the abs.
So the exercise order is to draw the abdominals in and up, and then feel the legs press away in response.
By working “from” our center, we ensure that we move from a stable foundation. We fix our attention on our core, rather than the legs or other peripheral parts of the body.
APPARATUS AND METHOD (PART 2)
TAMARA DI TELLA PILATES & TANGOLATES
The Tamara Di Tella Method® is the wave of the future. Just like Joseph Pilates used to say about his own method, that it was thirty years ahead of his times, I tell you that I feel so lucky and proud that he Tamara Di Tella Method is growing steadily among fitness enthusiasts who appreciate innovation and a good workout.
There is one more thing I wish to tell you: Despite its fancy name, this is one of the few methods of exercises that have truly scientific foundations for it was born in a hospital, with real patients, and real medical doctors. In sum, my Method has the scientific credentials Joseph Pilates sought for his own method –Contrology-- some eighty years ago but, alas, he could never obtain in his lifetime.
The combination of Tango and Pilates is explosive. Together, they become a strong, new concept in mind-and-body exercises to perform on an Apparatus, DI TELLA® and also on a mat. It’s ideal for those who are ready for a more cardio, calorie-burning Pilates to lose weight!. Just think. Tango has been around for almost two centuries and Pilates has been around for almost a century. They share the same basic concepts and basic principles, like, for example, core control, concentration, posture, balance, coordination, breathing and flowing movement. Yet, until now no one ever thought about combining them! Can you believe it?
The fact that international personalities of the jet set, like Sting, his wife Trudy, Bryan Adams, the American Ballet Company Idol, Julio Bocca, like it makes me so proud! Just think, these celebrities are professionals who need serious training to meet the demands of long hours on stage.
So I really hope you too like my DI TELLA Apparatus and its Method. I am absolutely convinced that it will change your body and your life just as it has changed mine. Thank you for giving me this great opportunity to share them with you!
APPARATUS AND METHOD (PART 1)
TAMARA DI TELLA PILATES & TANGOLATES
I am pleased to share my new DI TELLA Apparatus and its Method of cardio-conscious exercises with you.
Some people call it Tamara Di Tella Tangolates®, others call it DI TELLA®, for short. Whatever its name or nickname, it is an original fusion between Pilates and Tango. It consists of over one thousand movements that make up a new, distinctive and unique mind-body system that has the extra bonus of cardio provided by the music!
I enjoyed designing the DI TELLA Apparatus and creating every movement, every exercise and every routine. I also enjoyed writing every word, every page, and every chapter of the Manual for Professionals.
Let me tell you what this Manual is and what this it is not. This Manual is about the DI TELLA Apparatus and its Method of exercises I created to combine the coordination and core stability that is inherent to Tango, with the posture and core control provided by Pilates.
Only that, as I said above, it adds the cardiovascular element that comes with the music. Why did I choose Tango? My pick was not arbitrary. I chose Tango because, perhaps like no other music or dance, Tango is highly concentrated, focused, controlled, coordinated and balanced. In other words, Pilates is very congruent with Tango. They were made for each other!
Now, a word about what this Manual is not: this Manual is not about dancing. It may help professional dancers, and dance schools, yes, but it is not about dancing per se. What you will see in this book are exercises.
After almost twenty years of experience in the venue of health and fitness; after several books and many articles, after opening so many Studios in various countries; after having reached the five corners of the world, I have developed a special sense that tells me what people like and what they do not like. My new Method, let me tell you, people just love! As Sting, the famous rock musician once told me: “It is irresistibly attractive!”.
It’s a portable apparatus for a full-body workout.
The DI TELLA® Apparatus is great for full-body Tangolates and Pilates workouts in studios, dance schools, clubs, health centers, etc.
Small but most efficient, no other Apparatus is so versatile and functional. It includes two resistance bands, two 2.8 inch arches; two 10 inch arches which double the versatility; plus two platforms that slide open and close; four long 33” bars, and four short 19” bars; two small balls and two small pillows.
Lightweight and easy to move, The DI TELLA® Apparatus requires no assembly and it is adjustable for users of all strengths and sizes, whether men, women or both. The Manuals for Professionals as well as the DVD workout are included in the price, as well as an optional 4-Day course in Buenos Aires.
The Tamara Di Tella Method - also called Tangolates - adds cardio to stretching and balance exercises. It reliefs tension and, because of its aerobic characteristic, it increases blood flow and circulation. Try the Tamara Di Tella Tangolates Kit, or SET, which includes the DI TELLA® specially-designed Apparatus, Manual for Professionals and 60 minute workout DVD.
