US-based pilates expert in Bengaluru

For Amy Taylor Alpers, a classical pilates expert, Bengaluru’s fascination with the mind-body exercise, has been encouraging. She is in the city to conduct a workshop this Saturday.

Amy, who has been practising classical pilates for almost 36 years, was trained under Romana Kryzanowska, a disciple of Joseph Pilates, the founder of the discipline. “I was associated with Romana for around five or six years,” she says.

Classical pilates is different from the many versions of the form taught across the world now, she points out. “There are a million things called pilates now, but what Joseph Pilates created is very specific. It is not a bunch of exercises that you can do on interesting equipment; it’s a systematic method of returning your body back to the way it’s supposed to be and making it strong and flexible. This applies to your mind as well. It follows contrology, which is about control and precision,” explains the co-founder of The Pilates Centre, Boulder, Colorado.

She notes that Bengaluru has seen a spike in interest towards pilates. “We hope to establish a foundation for the original form, and get a bunch of teachers trained here,” Amy adds.

In the forthcoming workshop, Amy will be stressing on “how the movement form will help detox the body”. “A movie about its history, featuring interviews with important players in pilates, will also be screened,” she adds.

Helps mental health

“Pilates has worked as a single exercise with tremendous precision and control. The mental part of it is empowering,” says Amy. One becomes “centered and clear, and in control of how they feel”.

Pilates is for everybody — from an unfit or a deconditioned person to a super athlete, Amy notes. “It is ideal for working professionals. (Joseph) Pilates knew that the chair was killing us all,” she says.

Talking of its impact, Amy shares that according to Joseph Pilates, “in 10 sessions you will feel the difference, in 20 you will see the difference, and in 30 you will have a whole new body”.

Introductory workshop to the world of classical pilates at The Courtyard, Shanthinagar, on March 25, at 10.30 am. To book a slot, call 95389 99967.