11 Sep Harnessing the principles of Contrology
Joseph Pilates originally called his work “Contrology” before the world decided to name the exercises after their founder. As businesspeople, we like to control as much as we can and the six principles of Contrology can be applied to achieve greater success:
- Concentration: If you bring full attention to the exercise and do it with full commitment, you will obtain maximum value from each movement.
Being present, focusing and being “all in” on your projects will yield a better return than spreading yourself thinly. - Control: Every Pilates exercise is done with complete muscular control. No body part is left to its own devices. It is all a conscious, deliberate movement.
In business, inspiring a team to align behind a common goal, a common set of values is critical to avoid factions creating and tangents being explored. - Precision: In Pilates, awareness is sustained throughout each movement. There is an appropriate placement and alignment relative to other body parts.
Maintaining an awareness of the forces circling around your organisation is vital to maintain relevance and avoid being left behind. - Breath: Conscious breathing assists movement by focusing the attention and direction of the body and by delivering oxygen to the muscles being used.
Have you ever noticed how the greatest leaders never seem to get flustered? They know to take a breath in times of crisis, asses the situation and calmly arrive at a solution. - Flow: Fluidity and ease are goals applied to all exercises. The energy of an exercise connects all body parts and flows through the body in an even way.
Successful projects have passionate members connecting all stakeholders within the business, ensuring the engine works efficiently. - Centring: In Pilates, all movements originate from the centre of the body. From our centre we support our spine and major organs, strengthen the back and improve alignment and posture. With a properly developed centre we are less vulnerable to fatigue and pain.
Get your house in order first! If you don’t have a strong core (team, product & culture), everything else will collapse around you.
As my teacher said: “Pilates is all about strength from the inside-out. Get that right and it creates efficiencies everywhere else”. Same applies to organisations.