What is Pilates

Pilates is a mind/body form of exercise that increases muscle strength and flexibility, joint mobility, and – when practiced properly – improves core activation and overall body coordination. Pilates is a discipline that requires focus on form to get the best results, and at MOVE we don’t sacrifice correct form in favor of “how much can you sweat”. Instead, we teach you to work on perfecting the form – and finding out just how very much sweating you can do with the right focus and concentration.

What is Movement Therapy?

Rudolph von Laban was a visionary artist and dancer, who developed a system of analyzing movement that encompasses qualitative aspects of Body, Effort, Shape and Space which is known as Laban Movement Analysis (LMA). Irmgard Bartenieff, one of Laban’s protégé’s and a trained physical therapist, focused on further development of the Body aspects of the work with an emphasis on the six basic developmental movement patterns and the connectivity of the full body creating easeful movement in all activities. Her work is known as Bartenieff Fundamentals (BF).

Movement Therapy allows a practitioner to analyze the movement of a client looking for areas of dysfunction and uses somatic movement approaches to correct the issues. As a CLMA, Lindsey Hanahan uses LMA and BF work to facilitate the client’s movement re-education with an emphasis on body repatterning. This approach ideally results in pain- free, easeful movement replacing what was previously dysfunctional movement patterns. And because the approach is so unique, movement therapy can often unlock pain cycles and relieve long-standing movement issues that have failed to respond to other, more conventional approaches.

Pilates + Movement Therapy: A Great Combination

While Pilates is a codified, established series of movements and exercises, Laban/Bartenieff Movement Analysis is a unique way of approaching movement that varies completely from person to person. By combining these two approaches, the experience becomes personal and each individual is psychologically and physically engaged on both a fitness level and a mind/body/spirit level, elevating the movement experience from an exercise to an art form.