These days Pilates is becoming almost as popular as Yoga due to it’s powerful health benefits. Pilates is a combination of movements, executed with or without the help of machines, which strengnthens your ‘core muscles’. Your ‘core muscles’ are in several places: deep inside your stomach (transverse abdominis), in between your shoulder blades (lower fibers of the trapezius) and around your butt and hips (gluteus maximus). These important muscles keep you upright, give you good posture and help you maintain your balance. In addition, these muscles are used for everything from running, skiing, and golfing to waiting on line at the supermarket or climbing a flight of stairs. Proper use of core muscles improves your physical strength and stamina and may help you rehabilitate old injuries. Repeated practice of pilates makes your muscles long and lean (That’s why it’s a form of exercise which is so popular with ballet dancers) Pilates also lifts your buttocks, flattens your abs and can make you appear taller.
Pilates was invented by a man named Joseph Pilates . Joseph Pilates was a performer and a boxer living in England in the early 1900’s. During WWI, he was jailed along with German nationals in Lancaster , England . There, he taught the other detainees the concepts and exercises he developed over 20 years of self-study and apprenticeship in yoga, Zen, and ancient Greco-roman physical regimens. It was at this time that he invented his own series of exercises done on the floor which is known today as "matwork”. He called this series of exercises"Contrology." A few years later, he became a caretaker to the many internees who had various wartime injuries. Most of these patients were bedridden, so Joseph began taking springs from their beds to create resitistance and enable them to do his exercise regimen while in bed. This original equipment is the basis of today’s modern Pilates machines. While Pilates has been popular for a long time in places like New York and LA, it’s only just becoming available in Seoul . Classic Pilates in Apkujong opened just last May to help introduce these beneficial exercises to Seoulites. Already, this bright, modern and well-equipped studio has been featured in two Korean women’s magazines as well as in Noblesse and Avenue L magazine. “Pilates is for everyone” says Joanne Kim, one of the owners of Classic Pilates. “It can be for women who just had babies to men who practice golf or taekwondo. Pilates is a basis for everything else you do. I’ve personally lost a few waist sizes and I’ve seen an increase in stamina after practicing 3 times a week.” Joanne also says that they chose the name ‘Classic Pilates’ for their studio because their system is based very closely on what Joseph Pilates originally taught. The moves are very exacting. All nine instructors are throroughly trained with an international certification. There are two instructors, Si Hung and Zeina, who can teach in English. Zenia can also teach in French. A private lesson using the reformers and equipment costs 50,000 won. Private lessons are great for beginners because your instructor can show you how to do the movements correctly. Pilates does take some effort and coordination. Having a private trainer ensures that you work at a pace which is suitable for you. If you and a friend are roughly on the same level, you may want to take semi-private lessons for 2 people. Semi-privates are 35,000 won each. For both of these, if you subscribe for 10 lessons you get one free. Mat pilates classes are also available as well as packages which combine mat sessions and personal instruction . Call for the current schedule. Mat classes are conducted mostly in Korean, but if you get a group of at least 3 together, you can request for the English speaking instructor and the timing is flexible. Mat classes are 15,000 won per class. As an introductory offer until April, Classic Pilates is offering a free Monday night mat class at 8PM. When practiced regularly, pilates is a form of exercise that can really change the shape of your body. If done in conjunction with cardio, pilates can be a very effective way of whittling down the unwanted “spare tire”. aClick here for a map to Classic Pilates gFind out where to do Bikram Yoga gFind out where to go running in Seoul