Pilates Promoter Praises Exercise

By DAISY NGUYEN
.c The Associated Press

SANTA MONICA, Calif. (AP) - She's often seen in a ubiquitous
infomercial peddling Pilates videos, but Mari Winsor's lean and
sinewy body may be the best walking advertisement of the exercise
phenomenon.

The 54-year-old former dancer credits Pilates with restoring her body
after a bone-breaking motorcycle accident and giving her the energy
to keep up with a busy schedule training famous clients. They've
included Dustin Hoffman, Debbie Allen and Melanie Griffith, who
credited Pilates with giving her the stamina for her demanding
Broadway role in the musical ``Chicago.''

``It's magic,'' Winsor gushes during a recent interview at one of her
three Los Angeles studios. ``It's kept this body together for so
long.''

In 2 1/2 years, Winsor has sold more than 16 million Pilates videos
and DVDs, according to distributor Guthy-Renker, making her the most
visible promoter of the discipline introduced in the 1920s by German
boxer Joseph Pilates. He developed the system while at a British
internment camp during World War I and it was designed to help
infirmary patients recover.

The Pilates method concentrates on developing muscles in the middle
of the body, often called ``the powerhouse,'' through controlled
stretching and strengthening movements coupled with focused breathing
patterns. The exercises, which can be done on a mat or on specially
designed equipment, were adopted by dancers, athletes and celebrities
before hitting the mainstream about a decade ago.

Today, an estimated 9 million people practice Pilates compared with
about 2.5 million in 2001, according to a survey by the Sporting
Goods Manufacturers Association. Its rapid rise in popularity has
spawned Pilates Style magazine, which debuted this fall, a slew of
books and videos and many courses taught in gyms, doctors' offices
and health food stores.

``It's not a workout, but a way of life,'' Winsor said. ``It improves
posture, releases stress because it forces you to focus on the
movements and gives you strength and flexibility as you get older.
The deep breathing, the mind-body connection - it's all a positive
ball.''

A professional dancer, Winsor apprenticed with the Alvin Ailey Dance
Company in New York and later learned Pilates from Romana
Kryzanowska, one of a few living students of Joseph Pilates.

Winsor experienced Pilates' healing value after getting thrown off a
motorcycle about 10 years ago.

``A deer jumped out and I don't remember what happened next, but 15
minutes later I woke up lying on the side of the road, staring into
the eyes of a dead deer,'' she recalled. The accident broke six ribs
and her collar bone, crushed a finger and punctured a lung.

``It took me four months to recover, and the doctor told me 'You
can't ever dance again.' I said 'Oh really?''' Winsor said, raising
an eyebrow.

``I snuck Pilates in during the time I underwent physical therapy,
and my doctor was impressed by how fast I was healing.''

Winsor no longer dances professionally but takes ballet lessons,
practices yoga and spends at least 20 minutes a day doing a series of
Pilates movements she calls ``dynamic sequencing.''

She believes aging baby boomers are drawn to Pilates, yoga and other
low-impact exercises because they need ``something gentle on the
joints'' after years of following fitness fads.

She warned that beginners should learn about the technique and
philosophy before they convert. The once-strict Pilates method has
been diluted by a growing number of unqualified instructors trying to
blend it with yoga or martial arts, she said, leaving people
vulnerable to injuries and an ineffective workout.

An estimated 13,000 instructors are teaching Pilates, but only a
quarter of them are adequately trained, estimated Kevin Bowen,
president of the nonprofit Pilates Method Alliance. The Miami-based
association is working to create a national certification test for
trainers.

``There's no regulation for certifying instructors, and as a result
you have a lot of people who try it and get injured,'' said Bowen,
who is also an instructor. ``Now we see Pilates Tai-Chi, Bowflex
Pilates, Aqualates. People are claiming to offer the best of both
worlds. ... The gimmicks become almost ridiculous.''

Winsor said a fusion course is fine, but an instructor should be
adequately trained in Pilates and the other exercise techniques they
claim to teach.

``Everybody has the right to fuse it so it can be fun and engaging,''
she said. ``To get people moving is the most important goal, but
people should do it safely. It can be safe, and it can give you great
results if you stick to it.''

On the Net:

http://www.pilatesmethodalliance.org/