THERE ARE ALSO MANY LOW IMPACT stretching and toning methods that come from the west. Most recently developed exercise disciplines include Pilates and the Lotte Berk method, names after the people who developed them, Joseph Pilates and Lotte Berk, who were life long champion of physical fitness. Both methods can be used as a stretching and toning supplement, or even for rehabilitation because all movements are low-impact (no jumping or other jarring movements) and many can be done while lying down.
These exercise are great if you are rehabilitating from an injury or if you have a physical disability. The Pilates regimen sprang from Joseph Pilates determination to strengthen his frail and sticky body (he had asthma and rickets as a child), and Lotte Berk developed her exercises after experiencing a debilitating back injury. Photos of Joseph Pilates at age 70 reveal a slim, toned physique, and Lotte Berk also remained lithe and youthful into old age.
Pilates
Pronounced “pi-lah-tees” this 90 year old exercise can improve your posture, help you get long, lean muscles, and tighten those abs. It also gets the blood circulating and improves balance. Joseph Pilates began developing his method of strengthening and stretching he called “the Art of Controlology” in Germany in the 1900s
Lotte Berk method
Like Pilates, the Lotte Berk method, or just Lotte Berk, is namesd after the person who created it. The method involves some of the same principles of getting tuned into your body and of using small, controlled movements to develop along, little look
The famous modern dancer, Lotte Berk , created this method in Germany in the 1970s. After she suffered a back injury, she developed it to help her stay fit and supple without the use of equipment or machines. Now the method is used to help people develop the long, taut look of a dancer.
