Pilates an ever-growing trend

Marisa O’Neil

If you’re tired of sweating to the oldies and feel like you’ve Tae’d

your last Bo, you’re not alone.

More people are turning to kinder, gentler ways to get fit, as

evidenced by the number of yoga and Pilates studios opening and

expanding in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. The methods, which used to

be associated by many with new-age philosophies or super-wealthy

Hollywood types, have gone so mainstream that you’re likely to find

yoga clothes at Old Navy and Pilates videos at the Discovery Channel

Store.

“People, physically and mentally, have been ready for a more

gentle way of working out, a more mind-body way of working out,” said

Rael Isacowitz, owner of On Center Conditioning in Costa Mesa. “They

want a more sophisticated way than the ‘no pain, no gain’ mentality.

They want a more introspective way of working out.”

Isacowitz opened his studio, originally in Newport Beach, 13 years

ago -- before anyone had heard of Winsor Pilates videos and maybe

even Daisy Fuentes, their famous pitch-woman. He came from a

background of dance, yoga and physiology and combined them all into

his own Pilates method, which he calls “body art and science.”

Now, more and more people -- from septuagenarians recovering from

surgery to elite athletes -- are doing Pilates, named for Joseph

Pilates, who developed the method in the early 20th century. Use of

the name “Pilates” was restricted by a trademark until courts decided

in 2000 that the name can be used to describe the exercise method.

Since then, more Pilates studios have opened, and large chain gyms

such as Bally’s and 24-Hour Fitness now offer Pilates, yoga and even

hybrid “yogalates” classes.

“If a teacher is a good teacher, it doesn’t matter if called it’s

Pilates or not,” said Lisa Schlaeger, who has taught Pilates for five

years. “If it’s not a good teacher, people are going to figure it out

doesn’t feel right.”

Schlaeger is an instructor at the Yoga Place in Costa Mesa, which

expanded and christened its new Pilates room on Saturday. The studio

will have traditional Pilates equipment such as “reformers” and

“Cadillacs,” and offers private and semi-private lessons.

Offering Pilates in addition to their traditional yoga classes

will make the workouts more accessible to more people, she said.

“People who have injuries can do Pilates because they don’t have

to stand on their feet,” Schlaeger said. “The machines help people,

give them the resistance to work without having to use their own

weight [like in yoga].”

Talk to yogis and Pilates enthusiasts, and you’ll hear about

“spirituality” and a “mind-body” connection; but that doesn’t mean

that everybody comes out of a yoga class chanting or meditates to the

wafting aroma of Nag Champa incense at home, she said.

“At a gym, there’s loud music, television screens, so many

distractions,” Isacowitz said. “Your concentration is elsewhere.

You’re on a treadmill looking at the news or reading a book. You

can’t do that with yoga or Pilates. You have to concentrate on what

your body is doing. It’s like a meditation in motion.”

Three thousand have signed up at Bikram’s Yoga College of India

since it opened at the Camp in Costa Mesa last year, owner Patrice

Simon said. The Bikram method involves postures done in a room heated

to more than 105 degrees to help loosen muscles and flush out

impurities.

The college’s location next to a vegan restaurant in the eclectic

shopping mall has helped foster a community environment and reinforce

the healthy methods it teaches, she said.

“It’s your body, and it is a birthright to be healthy,” Simon

said. “Its things we do to it that shift that.”

But in a fitness-conscious county, people also want something that

will make them look good and get the bodies that celebrities have. It

just so happens that lots of celebrities do yoga and Pilates.

“In Orange County, the initial reason people work out is to look

better,” Schlaeger said. “You’re in a bikini all year round. But

people realize that it does make you feel better.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education and may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at marisa.oneil@latimes.com.