Long and strong: Pilates, which builds long, lean muscles, is suitable for everyone — men, women, of all ages and fitness levels. Courtesy of Annabe Pilates Studio

“In 10 sessions you’ll feel the difference; in 20 sessions you’ll see the difference and in 30 sessions you’ll have a whole new body.”

If you have no idea what the above quote is about, then it’s possible you really never have heard about Pilates, an exercise style that has been taking the fitness world by storm for a few years now.

The famous quote, made by the man who developed the system, Joseph “Joe” Pilates, has inspired people all over the world to devote themselves to this yoga-like exercise.

So what’s all the fuss about? Why should you also give it a go?

You might have often heard the mantra “no pain, no gain” when it comes to workout regimes at the gym, but you would never hear such a thing in a Pilates studio. With low-impact movements that focus on the quality — not the quantity — of repetitions with Pilates, you will enjoy doing this fitness routine.

There’s no huffing and puffing in Pilates, but you can gain a lot as it improves your posture and overall health.

“Pilates is actually great for people with bad posture and injuries because it helps to stretch, strengthen and rebalance our body’s core muscles in a relaxed and low impact way,” says Anna Bunjamin, a certified Stott Pilates instructor and owner of Annabe Pilates Studio in Kemang, South Jakarta.

As Anna points out, Pilates has attracted adherents for its biggest benefit — lengthening the muscles, creating a long, lean and toned look. It dramatically transforms the way your body looks, feels and performs. No wonder many professional dancers have been religiously practicing Pilates for years as they seek to improve their flexibility, strength and agility. Hollywood celebrities such as Madonna, Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Richie also swear by it to maintain their beautiful physiques.

“Pilates is an intense stretching exercise that incorporates workouts for your abdominal, leg, arm and back muscles,” Anna continues. “In particular, Pilates helps to train our muscles, realign the spine — and with that comes better posture.

“It’s good for those who want to shape up and slim down,” she adds.

According to Anna, Pilates focuses on our core strength — the muscles of the pelvic, abdominal and back regions. The theory is that your spine supports the weight of your body and allows your body to move with ease and comfort. In practice, however, we spend hours sitting in front of a computer screen or sinking in our sofas inTO front of the television, which means that the spine’s “natural S shape” is misplaced, resulting in back pain and rounded shoulders. Enter Pilates, which can realign the spine and thus improve posture.

“Pilates trains your little muscles in the body so you’re better able to support the larger tendons and joints,” says Anna, who has been practicing Pilates since 2004.

The body-sculpting benefits of Pilates, however, are not like those gained from conventional body workouts such as weight lifting, explains Jessica Lauw, certified Stott Pilates instructor and owner of Balance Pilates Studio in West Jakarta.

“Those workouts at the gym tend to build short, bulky muscles — the kind of muscles that are prone to injury,” Jessica says. “Pilates, on the other hand, elongates our muscles. This improve our muscles’ elasticity, which prevents them from injuries.”

Body sculpting and low impact aside, Pilates is also known as a mind and body exercise, as it engages with proper breathing and a series of controlled movements. When Joe Pilates first developed his system in the 1910s to rehabilitate World War I soldiers (and later used it to help injured dancers), he did it in the belief that mental and physical health are essential for each other.

He combined several movements from yoga and ancient Greek aerobics, emphasizing with each movement deep abdominal breathing, done with control, concentration and precision. He believed that if we’re more “grounded” and centered in our mind, our body will respond accordingly. Proper breathing for example, improves circulation, which “awakens” all the cells in the body and carries away the waste that causes fatigue.  

“In Pilates, we use abdominal breathing that incorporates the diaphragm, which is under the lungs and just above the abdomen,” says Jessica. “This kind of breathing doesn’t only provide a greater supply of oxygen to our body, but also promotes concentration and relieves body tension. In the end, our body feels relaxed.”

As Jessica’s statement suggests, Pilates tends to be ideal for people who like a meditative element in their exercise regimes.

“Some of movements in Pilates are similar to those in yoga, but we could say that yoga incorporates passive stretching, as it holds some movements for quite a long time,” Jessica says. Pilates, on the other hand, “is more dynamic in terms of its stretching techniques”.

The meditative element in Pilates makes it a gentle form of exercise that reintroduces you to your own body. And of course, the better you understand your body and how it works, the easier it will be for you to release tension, relax and beat the stresses and strains of modern life.

“Pilates encourages you to think about how you perform everyday movements,” Jessica says, adding that this form of exercise began to gain momentum in Indonesia in 2006. “It heightens your body awareness which in turn improves your overall flexibility and strength.”

According to Anna, Pilates benefits not only the elderly and people with injuries or seeking to shape up; it’s also one of the best ways for a pregnant woman to prepare herself for giving birth.

The dynamic moves of Pilates, she says, actually challenge the woman by building her muscle endurance, and at the same time helping her to gain better balance.

“Pilates strengthens the most important muscles — the ones that the woman will be using during delivery: the abdominals, pelvic muscles, legs and the back,” Anna says.

There are several different types of Pilates followed all over the world, but Anna points out that two main types are the best known: traditional Pilates and Stott Pilates. As the name suggests, traditional Pilates includes the original exercises designed by Joe Pilates, which focus on muscles of the abdominal and back. Stott Pilates, which was introduced in the late 1980s by Moira Stott and Lindsay G. Merrithew, uses many original Pilates exercises with some modifications, introduced to make it safer and more widely accessible. This Pilates style, known better
as contemporary Pilates, incorporates anatomically correct movements supporting the neck, shoulder and head.

According to Jessica and Anna, Stott Pilates has two main types of exercises: Mat work and Equipment (or Reformer) exercise. Mat work exercises are carried out on a mat placed on the floor, as in yoga.

There are some 40 different mat exercises — some are performed on the back, side or stomach, and others are performed in a sitting and kneeling position. These kinds of exercises emphasize using our own body weight to create natural resistance.

Equipment exercise, however, uses special Pilates equipment such as toning rings, weighted balls, beanbags and others developed from the founder’s original machines that allow adherents to do the Pilates movements using a pulley system for resistance.

“Mat work is usually used in a group class, while the equipment is used more in a private class,” Jessica says, adding that both group and private classes run for about one hour.

Although there are now many DVDs on Pilates out there giving instructions on how to practice Pilates in the comfort of our own homes, practitioners suggest we learn the basic movements and principles from the experts first.

“It’s necessary for us to know whether how we breathe or move are correct according to Pilates principles,” Jessica says.

“When we watch videos, for example, no one can tell us whether we have performed the correct movements or not.”

Anna agrees, saying, “After you master the basic principles and movements in Pilates, then just watching videos to practice would be no problem at all.”

Balance Pilates Studio
Jl. Pesanggrahan Raya No. 6, 3rd Floor
Kebon Jeruk – Meruya Utara
West Jakarta 11620
Tel: 021-5872739
Offers private, semi-private and group classes

Annabe Pilates Studio
Kafe Tamani, 2nd Floor,
Jl. Kemang Raya No. 5, South Jakarta 12730
Phone: 021-7199942
Offers private, semi-private and pre/post-natal classes

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