Tutor – Jane Forsey
We meet in the Baptist Church in Saffron Walden on Thursday from 1.00 to 2.00pm.

“Pilates aims to strengthen the body in an even way, with particular emphasis on core strength to improve general fitness and wellbeing. It was developed by German-born Joseph Pilates, who believed mental and physical health were closely connected. His method was influenced by western forms of exercise, including gymnastics, as well as by yoga. Pilates taught what he first called ‘contrology’ at his studio in New York for several decades from the 1920s on.” The Pilates method was adopted by professional dancers in the US as an effective form of recovery after injury, and has steadily grown in popularity around the world.

“Pilates is mainly a resistance-based rather than an aerobic exercise, which tones the body by helping muscles and nerves to calibrate how much they need to work to achieve controlled, flowing movement through awareness and using core stability. Pilates can greatly help with ergonomic posture (so conserving energy), whether at rest or in movement. The deliberate way we move in Pilates, always in conjunction with breath rhythm, is also good for relaxing the mind.

Pilates is a hands-on exercise: groups must be small enough to allow for individual attention to each exerciser – including to check by touch, with consent, whether the correct muscles are being activated, for safe and effective results. Instructors have to prove they can scale exercises up and down very flexibly to suit different people.

Although you can use books or online videos to help you, a class is much the best way to learn Pilates. Your teacher will reinforce the basics of activating deep core muscles in each move, and describe how it should feel to perform an action, which is important. Not only that, it’s fun and social to learn in a group, in a guided environment. Let’s learn, laugh and live!”