Pilates exercises – a growing health & fitness trend |05 January 2018

Many have said that Pilates has contributed to their personal health and fitness, hence the growing popularity of this unique trend, both in Seychelles and worldwide. For those who ‘Pilates’ remains a buzzword, the Seychelles NATION spoke to Lucie Harter, a fully qualified Seychellois Pilates instructor, to learn more about this particular form of exercise.

Pilates is a physical fitness system comprising a series of about 500 exercises inspired by calisthenics, yoga and ballet that improves flexibility, strength, balance and body awareness. It was devised in the 1920s by physical trainer Joseph Pilates as a way to help injured athletes and dancers safely return to exercise and to maintain their fitness. Today, his method of exercise is used all over the world and by different kinds of professionals.

Speaking about the health benefits of practising Pilates, Lucie begins with a quote: “Pilates develops the body uniformly, corrects wrong postures, restores physical vitality, invigorates the mind and elevates the spirit” - Joseph H. Pilates.

She goes on to explain that Pilates is a method of total body conditioning which develops every aspect of physical fitness including coordination, endurance building, strength, flexibility and lean muscle tone with an emphasis on lengthening the body and aligning the spine, rather than on bulking and shortening the muscles.

“When you practice the Pilates method, you not only see the results, but you feel them immediately,” says Lucie.

Pilates has also been used for decades to improve the performances of athletes such as football, baseball and basketball players, boxers and dancers.

Pilates can be safely practised everyday with just a mat but some people also use balls, resistance bands and other apparatus which help target specific muscles in the body. Pilates is suited for everyone – whatever shape and size, whether you are healthy and fit, if you have disabilities or limited range of movement and no matter how old you are. There are variations to suit everyone, including special classes for people with disabilities and limited range of movement.

In terms of frequency, Lucie advises that you can reduce back pain with one session and you can relieve stress at the end of a long week with one session. But if you want to get a six pack, run a marathon without injury, get back into pre-baby shape or simply tone up some flab, you have to make the commitment to practise Pilates 2-3 times a week.

When asked how it compares to other forms of exercise, Lucie reveals that Pilates offers an all-round exercise method. Not only is it low impact, but it also promotes better and stronger posture, improves muscle tone, improves cardiac health and can help with weight loss. Because Pilates has such low impact, you can decrease stiffness and joint pain and at the same time boost muscle strength, stamina and flexibility. You also study how to align your spine, creating the illusion of thigh lengthening.

Pilates can be relied upon as a sole means of exercise because it also focuses on breathing techniques and gets your heart rate up. However, in order to utilise Pilates to lose weight, you will have to combine it with another form of cardio.

In considering the risks involved, Lucie explains that similar to any exercise system, you have to listen to your own body as your instructor cannot fully know your limitations, especially in a group setting. If you push yourself beyond your capacity and try to do things beyond your ability, you run the risk of injury. Although Pilates is used to help people with chronic back pain and other physical disabilities, you have to be careful, especially with people who do not have a good sense of body awareness. For people in this situation, private classes are the best option.

At her own studio, Lucie says that there is a good turnout for Pilates classes and that they are now moving to a more advanced level.

“In December 2017, I brought in another professional Pilates instructor to teach at the studio and there was also a great turnout. I think it is important to experience various instructors and methods of teaching because everyone has a different style and there is always something new to learn.”