User Friendly Pilates

How to get stronger without getting hurt?

Ernie Adams uses a non-traditional approach to Pilates incorporating principles of *Feldenkrais® Somatic Education, Yoga and Dance. Feldenkrais increases body awareness and improves coordination and balance. Pilates is designed to stretch and strengthen your body in an intelligent way, and engages your deepest core abdominal, lumbar, breathing and pelvic floor muscles. User Friendly Pilates can help you discover how to feel more powerful, age more gracefully, and move with more rhythm and flow.

*Note: For more information about Feldenkrais Somatic Education, please go to www.ernieadams.com.

Pilates Side Arching

New research demonstrates that just going to the gym, doing sit-ups, or pumping weights, will not necessarily give you the health benefits your are looking for. Like most things, it is how you do it that makes the difference. User Friendly Pilates can give you the opportunity to discover how to train with the proper awareness and mental focus to get fit without getting hurt.

Pilates Thread the Needle

A little background about Joseph Pilates (1880-1967)

Joseph Pilates developed an approach to fitness and health focusing on using the whole body in a balanced and efficient way. He was unhealthy as a child and driven towards self-improvement. He became a body builder, gymnast, and a boxer and was deeply influenced by Eastern and Greek ideas about body-mind integration. Feeling the natural rhythm and flow of movement is central to the approach. Performing the exercises with precision and developing strength and stability of the “core” is emphasized. Having a balanced body and “feeling” the movement cultivates an artistic quality that is similar to dance and choreography, and is one reason Pilates has been embraced by professional dancers around the world.

Roll Down Abs Exercise

about the core

In Pilates, “core” is usually associated with the lower back, abdominal, and pelvic area. This same area is also referred to as the source of energy or power in Yoga, meditation, dance, and martial arts. Functionally, this area is central to connecting the upper and lower body together. Having good stability and control at the core gives you more efficiency and power. Rather than developing huge muscles, the goal is to have a leaner, more coordinated and balanced body.

What People Say about Working with Ernie Adams

Studying "User Friendly Pilates" with Ernie Adams was a wonderful experience. He brought to the class an energy and ease that made the exercises both possible, strengthening and fun. I think his humor laced itself into the instructions did a lot to encourage the class and stimulate the energy. —Louise Todd Cope

Ernie Adams’ clinical and people skills are of the highest order. Mr. Adams has formally-acquired knowledge and certifications, and many years of experience treating, educating, and assisting a wide range of client populations. I am a Bay Area clinical psychologist, with specialties in rehabilitative neuropsychology, pain management, and psychoanalytic psychotherapy, Mr. Adams has been an invaluable referral source. He is very aware, in his practice, of the body-mind connection, and knows both the strengths and limits of his work, as any top clinician does. He has his clients’ best interests at heart, and the feedback I get from our mutual clients is excellent, both in terms of gains made, and the interactive experience. —Carrie Thaler, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist