Pilates perfection

HOW is your posture — apparently the majority of people are not standing correctly, and this only worsens with age, as we begin to slouch and our back begins to curve. If you want to correct your posture, and learn to stand tall, then pilates may be the answer for you.

Ten years ago, Diane Davison joined her local pilates group in Kilmacanogue, Co Wicklow, with her daughter Rosanna, the former Miss World, and has seen her posture improve so much that she has grown half an inch.

“It took me a while to actually feel the benefits, but pilates really does straighten you up. I was always quite straight, but it has given me great strength around my middle and I have actually grown half an inch. That is simply from posture and stretching my muscles. Usually at my age people shrink.’’

Diane goes to classes, led by her teacher Mags Clarke-Smith, several times a week but also practices the exercises daily at home and feels not only has her posture improved, but also her core strength. “I feel better in myself when I have done pilates. It has great health benefits. I am now a healthier person, more in tune with my body and long may it continue. It just gives you a great sense of well-being.

“I never get back pain, I can lift things and in particular it helps with your hips and joints. It is also very good for your shoulders too. I broke my neck and Mags was great at helping me strengthen it without having to get a rugby player’s neck.’’

Rita Brown, 62, a nursing midwife from Bray, Co Wicklow, is also an active member of the class and says she will often practice the posture exercises while standing in a queue or cooking.

“That is the beauty of these exercises, you can do them throughout the day, standing in the supermarket, talking to someone in the street or chopping vegetables in the kitchen. It is all about building strength and flexibility. Once you are flexible it helps to prevent any accidents.”

Both Diane and Rita enjoy the discipline too. In order to learn the exercises properly, they must concentrate on their core-muscles and forget about the “outside world’’.

“There is a huge mental aspect to it, you really have to think about what you are doing,’’ explains Rita.

“You very quickly learn that mentally you have to take your head there and it does take your mind off everything. If you go in worried about something, you will come out of the class and realise you were concentrating so hard, you actually hadn’t thought about your problem.’’

Although the exercises are not hard to learn, Diane stresses it is vital to have a good teacher, who is properly trained and assesses your health and fitness levels on a on-to-one basis.

“Do your research, there are people around who have only done a weekend course and then set themselves up as teachers, and that can cause big problems,’’ she says.

“You need a well-qualified teacher, who will address any medical issues you may have, in an individual class. Also a teacher who keeps up to date — it’s important to continue to challenge the muscles otherwise the exercises get too easy.”