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The mind-body experience

It's old, yet new. Read on about the latest Pilates craze

STRENGTHENING THE MUSCLES Deby Mendel,Pilates expert

What do Laura Bush, Madonna, Michael Crawford, Queenie Dhody, Irfan Pathan, Balaji and Rahul Dravid have in common? They all swear by Pilates, a fitness regimen that has been around for many decades but is becoming universally popular only now.

So what is Pilates all about? It is a method of physical and mental conditioning. It is a series of exercises designed to improve flexibility and strength through a variety of stretching and balancing movements. Posture, length and muscle control are at the core of the Pilates principle and many different styles of teaching are employed to reach these goals.

"The idea is to isolate the muscles and use the minimum number of muscles to perform a particular movement," says Ramji Srinivasan, a Pilates instructor at the MRF Pace Foundation in Chennai. He has taught Pilates to the likes of Irfan Pathan and Balaji.

The history

Pilates, as we know it today, was invented by Joseph Pilates (1880-1967). A sickly childhood motivated Joseph to strengthen his body and make it well. He developed a series of exercises to help improve his health. His influences are said to be yoga, Zen philosophy as well as exercises borrowed from the ancient Romans and Greeks.

When he was interned in Germany during World War II, Joseph introduced his exercises to other members of the German internment camp where he was placed. This helped them retain their strength and ward off illness. As he taught his exercises to the other inmates, Joseph developed movements for floor or mat workout as well.

These exercises have become the basis of modern day Pilates. Since yoga was a major influence on Pilates, a large number of postures are adopted from yoga. "However, they have to be modified keeping in mind the requirements of the person doing the exercises," says Srinivasan.

So how is Pilates different from yoga? The difference lies in the time devoted to each posture. "Whereas in yoga, each posture is held for maximum 20-30 seconds, in Pilates, you are required to hold a posture for 2-5 minutes," says Nischint Singh, a yoga and Pilates instructor at the Lighthouse - The house of Holistic Healing, in New Delhi.

So, if you manage to do 15-20 yoga asanas in class of an hour, you will be expected to do only 4-5 postures in a similar Pilates session.

While beginners start with mat or floor exercises, the second rung move on to Swiss ball (a huge inflated ball used to maintain balance and posture) and the experienced use machines. "Exercises are progressive and the demand on the body is increased accordingly," says Srinivasan. Beginners are recommended to do an hour-long session three times a week.

Pilates is both a preventive measure and a cure for several physical ailments, especially those related to the back or abdomen. "It concentrates primarily on the torso, exercising a muscle called transverses abdominus around the waist," says Srinivasan.

The health benefits of Pilates can be divided into the following:

a) Spinal alignment: Pilates exercises are performed with your spine in its correct position, which lays down the foundations for ideal posture, preventing and alleviating the majority of back problems. There is no stress on the spine, it is stretched and opened, allowing for better blood circulation throughout your entire system, resulting in increased energy.

b) Pelvic alignment: correcting pelvic alignment results in various health benefits. It improves hip joints, alleviates chronic knee, ankle and feet problems.

c) Core muscles: the core muscles include all of the abdominals, back muscles and buttocks. The exercises are designed to strengthen these muscles in order to maintain the spinal, neck and pelvic alignment — whether lying down, sitting up or walking.

Since Pilates involves gentle exercises without a lot of bouncing around, jumping or lifting, it is considered a good workout for the elderly and overweight. Those afflicted with arthritis also appreciate Pilates as it reduces stiffness in the muscles. Since it promotes good posture, it assists in the prevention of osteoporosis.

Pilates is perfect for helping women regain their shape after pregnancy as it specifically provides results in the abdominal area.

However, Pilates should only be done under supervised guidance since if done wrongly, it can prove to be counter-productive. "It is like a medicine. Just as different medicines are given for different ailments, similar exercises cannot be prescribed for all," says Srinivasan.

SMITA TRIPATHI

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