Your body needs Pilates
It’s the exercise you think you know – the one that’s a bit like yoga, without the namaste. But it’s so much more than that. Pilates is a posturecorrecting, strength-building workout that counters modern malaises, and builds an agile, injury-proof body
WORDS BY L AURA POTTER
Pilates is the workout modern bodies are screaming out for, and more and more of us are getting on board. ‘I started teaching Pilates eight years ago and it’s grown massively since then,’ says award-winning Pilates expert Hollie Grant. New studios are popping up at a rate of knots and established ones are expanding fast. ‘People used to think it was just for injuries, or they confused it with yoga, but it’s completely different. Both yoga and Pilates can be done on a mat, but the similarities end there.’
One of its greatest assets is its ability to undo the damage of our modern lifestyles. Many of us sit at desks all day, then sit with our necks craned over our phones on the train home, or in the car, only to sit on the sofa all evening. ‘Our glutes switch off, our hip flexors get really tight and we hope we can fix it by going to the gym,’ says Grant. But while working out regularly is great for cardiovascular health and losing fat, it won’t fix postural problems. This is where Pilates can help.