Editorial
Front Page - Friday, October 1, 2010
Pilates is not a fad, but a supplement to traditional exercise
David Laprad
Pilates is an innovative system of mind-body exercise that emphasizes proper breathing, correct spinal and pelvic alignment, and smooth movement to build strength without excess bulk. Pilates in Motion in Chattanooga has sessions for beginners, intermediate and advanced clients.
- David Laprad
When Ann Law injured her knee while dancing professionally in the ’70s,’ she didn’t have health insurance or the money to pay for physical therapy, so she turned to Pilates, an innovative system of mind-body exercise, for her rehabilitation. When she tore her calf muscle in 1983, she went with Pilates again. A firm believer in the therapeutic powers of the system, she became a certified instructor, and is now leading classes at Pilates in Motion in Chattanooga.
“Pain is your body’s way of telling you something is out of alignment. Pilates is a way of restoring balance. I’ve been a dancer all my life, and I’m pain free,” she says.
Michelle Warren, also an instructor at Pilates in Motion, is a native New Yorker and a 20-year veteran of the traditional fitness industry. She uses Pilates to develop strength as well as prevent injury. A friend introduced the system to her in the ‘80s, when Warren was reeling from the debilitative effects of teaching too many fitness classes.
“I was walking around sore and injured from jamming my joints all the time. To achieve muscle gain while exercising, you have to rep it, rep it, rep it, and as a consequence, I was in pain the next day. I knew if I wanted to stay in this profession, I wouldn’t be able to continue in that state. When I started doing Pilates, I immediately felt better,” she says.
While Law and Warren came to Pilates through different avenues, and derived different benefits from the exercise system, the bottom line is it changed their lives. They hope people in Chattanooga will open up to a similar experience.
Law, Warren and the other instructors at Pilates in Motion, located on Dodds Avenue, are not trying to talk people into replacing their traditional exercise programs with Pilates, but rather use Pilates to supplement what they’re already doing.
“We’re like a supplemental vitamin you take three or four times a week,” Law says.
Based on the rehabilitative techniques of Joseph Pilates, Pilates emphasizes proper breathing, correct spinal and pelvic alignment, and “smooth movement to build strength without excess bulk, creating a sleek, toned body,” says the Web site of Balanced Body, a provider of Pilates equipment and information. As a result, Pilates improves agility and can even help alleviate back pain, says Law.
In Pilates, quality of movement is valued over repetitions. Conventional workouts tend to build short, bulky muscles. Using exercise mats and equipment, Pilates elongates and strengthens, improving muscle elasticity and joint mobility, Balance Body says, making the body less susceptible to injury.
Pilates exercises develop a strong “core,” or center of the body, yet it conditions the whole body, leaving no muscle group overtrained or undertrained.
“No other exercise system is so gentle to your body while giving it a challenging workout. Most of the exercises are performed in reclining or sitting positions, and are low impact,” says Balance Body.
German-born Joseph Pilates developed the system in the early 20th century. A former circus performer and boxer, he had traveled to England to work as a self-defense instructor to Scotland Yard and was interned as an “enemy alien” during World War I. During his internment, he refined his ideas, rigging springs to hospital beds to enable patients to exercise against resistance. After his release, Pilates returned to Germany, where his techniques found favor in the dance community. Later, he emigrated to New York City, where he opened a fitness studio.
Law studied under Romana Kryzanowska, one of the last people to learn Pilates directly from its creator.
Being able to learn from someone only once removed the source is just one of the unique things about Pilates in Motion; the environment is another. Rather than the huge rooms that characterize modern fitness centers, Pilates in Motion features smaller, quainter surroundings, as it’s based in a converted house. And instead of row after row of cold metallic machines, rooms contain mats and other equipment placed on a wooden surface. Bamboo shoots are visible through the windows.
“There’s a certain feeling when you come in here. It’s relaxing. No one is barking at you to do more, more, more,” Warren says.
Pilates in Motion has sessions for beginners, intermediate and advanced clients. In addition, Law and Warren say Pilates is for everyone, regardless of their age, gender or condition. The only thing clients need to bring is an open mind.
“Expect a totally new way of working with your body,” Law says.
For a list of sessions, visit www.PilatesInMotionChattanooga.com. Private the duet sessions are available as well. Pilates in Motion will also be holding a special event to benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundation from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 3. Call 423-624-7462 for details.
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