Pilates exercise for the mind and body

Six months ago, Kathryn Clay, a successful bank vice president and avid volunteer in Laurel, Md., was constantly on the go. Most of her meals were catch-as-can fare. She also was an emotional eater, dining on fattening foods during times of stress, she says.

That was before the 5-foot-7 Clay learned during a doctor's visit that she weighed 318 pounds and was on the verge of becoming a diabetic, she recalls. "I was so involved with everything else that I let that overtake caring for myself." she says. "I had gotten ridiculously heavy, and I didn't have any energy.

Determined to turn things-around and shed some weight, Clay dramatically changed her eating habits and turned to Pilates (pronounced puh-LAH-teez), a method of body-conditioning developed by Joseph Pilates more than 70 years ago in Germany. The workouts help create long, lean muscles.

Today, Clay is 45 pounds slimmer at 273 pounds--and counting down. She has acquired the assistance of a nutritionist and does Pilates five days a week--two of those days working with exercise therapist and professional trainer Carl Powell at his Magnificent Body Studio in Laurel.

The workouts are performed either on a Pilates apparatus or a mat, and Powell, who has been instructing Pilates for 10 years, says he is ecstatic about Clay's transformation. "When she first started, she lacked body confidence dragged her feet and struggled to get up and down from a seated position," he says. "Now, she walks upright, lifts her feet when she walks and gets up without a struggle. You have to change your diet, but Pilates works."

The exercise "develops much of what exercisers need--strength, flexibility, muscular endurance, coordination, balance and good posture--with a much lower chance of injury than with other forms of exercise," according to Fitness for Dummies by Suzanne Schlosberg and Liz Neporent. It can take up to six weeks to feel a difference in your body after starting twice-weekly classes and workouts at home, Powell says.

For years, Powell says Pilates training remained a well-kept secret in the world of dance and performing arts. In recent years, however, the growing interest in "mind/body" exercise pushed Pilates concepts to the forefront of fitness training.

"Many celebrities are doing Pilates and enjoying the benefits of Pilates' training techniques," he says. "[The method] is also used frequently in rehabilitative settings by chiropractors, physical therapists, and orthopedists because of its effectiveness in correcting faulty movement patterns and biomechanical compensations that occur from injury. More recently Pilates is being added to the training programs of many top performing athletes to enhance their athletic performance and also increase the longevity of their careers by avoiding injuries."

Experts agree that Pilates helps coordinate movements, using the correct muscle groups with focus and form. "It's almost like a symphony of motion, where all the musical instruments are playing in harmony under the careful instructions of the conductor," Powell says.

Powell suggests these practice moves you can do at home. You'll need a mat:

BREATHING:

Start with your shoulders relaxed and dropped away from your ears. Your spine is straight, in what is called the neutral spine. If you are sitting, feel your weight fall through your sit bones. Allow your head to float upward. Your throat is open and relaxed.

THE INHALE:

Breathe in through the nose slowly. Let the air flow into your upper chest, expand the sides and lower ribs, fill the diaphragm, the back and lower back, and drop down into the pelvis.

THE EXHALE:

Open your mouth to let go of your breath in the reverse order. Drop the lower abs, then the belly, and pull in the ribs. Last, press your belly button back toward your spine as you fully expel all the air.

PILATES POSTURES: Do 6 to 10 repetitions for 30 minutes five days a week to achieve optimum results.

THE HUNDRED is a classic Pilates mat exercise because it helps develop strength. The Hundred requires people to coordinate breath with movement. It also requires exercisers to be strong and graceful at the same time.

1. Lie on your back with your knees bent and the shins parallel to the floor. For now, put your hands behind your knees. Inhale to begin.

2. Inhale: Bring your chin down and curl the upper spine off the floor. Keep the shoulders engaged in the back. The gaze is down into the scoop of the abs. Stay there and inhale.

3. Exhale: At the same time, activate the abs and extend your legs and arms toward the wall in front of you. The legs should only be as low as you can go without shaking and without the lower spine raising off the mat. The arms should be extended straight out but low, a few inches off the floor.

4. Take five short breaths in and five short breaths out (like sniffing in and out), pump the arms up and down (the action should be small). Be sure to keep your shoulders relaxed. The legs are still extended and the abs should be scooped.