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What Is Pilates?
by Tera Schreiber

In recent years, my body evolved from fit and trim to round and achy. I cannot say whether this change was due to two pregnancies, my parenting lifestyle, or age. Regardless of the reason, I have been exploring different routes to fitness to try to stop the tide of roundness and aches. On my journey, I tried Pilates.

Pilates is a unique exercise program developed by Joseph Pilates (1880-1967). While interned with other German nationals who were in England at the start of World War I, Joseph Pilates taught fellow camp members exercises he had developed over 20 years of self-study and apprenticeship in yoga, Zen and ancient Greek and Roman fitness techniques. During his internment he also developed exercise equipment using bed springs so that bedridden internees could gain strength by doing resistance exercises. Over the last 100 years the Pilates method has evolved into various programs, each with its own perspective on the original equipment and exercises developed by Joseph Pilates.

Dorothee VandeWalle, from Metropolitan Pilates in Seattle’s University Village, is a master teacher trained by a protégé of Joseph Pilates. “Pilates is first of all exercise,” says VandeWalle. “It works on the principles of strength, stretch and control.”

“Anyone can do Pilates because it is gentle; the instructor takes into consideration where you are and customizes the workout to meet your specific needs,” explains Mary Hennesy, owner of Momentum Pilates & Movement Studio in Seattle. “Our youngest client is 13 and our oldest is 97.”

At a typical Pilates studio, clients begin with several private sessions involving the use of large and complicated equipment. VandeWalle explains that Pilates equipment helps to align the body so that it is balanced in strength and flexibility. “Private Pilates sessions are necessary because Pilates exercise must be customized for every person’s individual needs. With a private session, clients receive hands-on support to improve their skills, strength and flexibility so that they can then move safely to mat sessions,” she says.

After several private equipment sessions, a person might move to semi-private equipment sessions with two or three participants per instructor, and then to mat sessions, which do not rely on Pilates equipment. VandeWalle cautions against taking Pilates mat classes before learning the exercises in private sessions with Pilates equipment. She advises that without the support and customization of private sessions, people are likely to injure themselves by trying to muscle through the exercises without proper training, and lose the benefits they would otherwise gain by learning the focused work and precise movements of the true Pilates method.

Andi Wardinsky, assistant manager and Pilates instructor at Seattle’s PRO Sports Club, feels comfortable recommending that anyone dive right into a mat class. Private sessions are great for those with the economic resources, time and inclination to invest in private sessions, Wardinsky explains. However, she believes that taking a basic mat class to supplement an existing exercise routine will benefit anyone. Wardinsky also points out that a mat class can provide a social component lacking in private sessions.

VandeWalle says that one-on-one Pilates sessions with the support of Pilates equipment are especially helpful for people with injuries, those who are out of shape, or those who are looking for a commitment to exercise that will keep them on the path to a life of fitness. Pilates can also reduce chronic pain such as that caused by arthritis, and is great for improving the posture of anyone who spends a lot of time sitting in front of a computer, adds Ronel Kleinloog, PT, owner of Lifestyle Pilates in Kirkland.

The goal of Pilates is to help people obtain a well-balanced body, as well as the strength and independence to perform the exercises on their own, without private instruction. Wardinsky agrees that private instruction is optimal for beginners and encourages her students to ask questions both during class and outside of class, or to take occasional private sessions to help improve their technique.

Pilates is an extremely efficient way to quick results. Because it is a restorative exercise, when it is done, one should feel invigorated rather than exhausted. “Many people come in for Pilates sessions during their lunch hour because they get a great workout and don’t get sweaty,” says Hennesy.

“This is not a no pain, no gain exercise program,” Wardinsky says. Pilates focuses on form over repetition. More value comes from doing the exercise perfectly just once than doing it incorrectly a hundred times.

In my brief experience with Pilates exercise, I found that it worked muscles I didn’t know I had without totally wiping me out. Because of a pesky lower-back problem that troubles me occasionally, I probably should not have attempted the mat class without more private sessions first. I spent a few days hobbling around with a sore back after my mat class. On the other hand, I personally found the private session both extremely gentle and highly challenging. My instructor told me that Pilates would work my “powerhouse,” the word they use to describe the core muscles around the middle of the torso. I’ll say it worked my powerhouse and most of my other houses. On top of that, I felt like I was standing inches taller when the session was over. Whatever shape you are in, it is easy to see how Pilates exercise can help you obtain dramatic fitness results.

Tera Schreiber is a fitness-hungry mother and freelance writer, who chases her children and chronicles her adventures in mothering at belliesbreastsandbabies.blogspot.com.

©2006 Caliope Publishing Company