Yoga and Pilates: Slow Down for a Healthy Mind and Body

Story by Michelle Brosco Christian
Photography by Danny Douglas

When it comes to physical fitness, many Americans are competitive and hard-driving, while others seek a respite from that mentality. Southern Marylanders can find fitness without competition through Pilates and yoga.

"We're in a society where people want to feel the burn, but in Pilates it's very subtle," said Ida Adams, who teaches Pilates in Charles County and who has more than 500 hours of education from the STOTT Pilates Institute. The institute has refined the original exercise method pioneered by Joseph Pilates based on modern principles of exercise science and spinal rehabilitation.

"Yoga is completely the opposite of the gym mentality," said Roberta Reeves, a former yoga studio owner and teacher in Solomons. "You have to work that edge between the devine stretch and pain and don't go into the pain. It's like the shoreline, it changes every day. You have to get to know yourself (and your own body)."

Adams and Reeves, along with many other Pilates and yoga professionals, spend much of their time educating people about what the two practices are and their benefits.

Pilates

"First and foremost, Pilates is a workout that strengthens the core - and everything we do originates in the core," said Adams. "If your core isn't stable, you're in trouble. Often, people turn to Pilates after injury; however, if they did it as a preventative modality, the injury probably wouldn't occur in the first place."

Many of the Pilates exercises look easy - until you try them. A movement called "The Hundred" involves lying on your back and lifting and holding your shoulders, head and feet slightly off the ground - all of which requires tremendous core strength and control.

Sometimes Pilates involves miniscule movements, but tiny adjustments often make all the difference in the exercise.

When Adams first tried Pilates, she said, "The teacher told me I couldn't do it." A fall from horseback riding and subsequent car accident had left her with a weakened neck and spine. Ignoring that teacher's statement, she found a well-trained instructor and credits her present health and mobility to Pilates.

In an ideal situation, such as a Pilates studio, Adams said the teacher conducts a postural analysis to establish an individual's imbalances and then sets up an appropriate program. "It's best taught one-on-one," she said. "Will you ever do it perfectly? Probably not. But will you do it well enough to benefit - definitely!"

Yoga

According to Reeves and other local yoga instructors, yoga is a path to self realization and it's a complete lifestyle change.

Yogis would want to meditate forever, but found they couldn't hold their bodies still forever, so they created poses, said Reeves.

Both Reeves and St. Mary's County yoga teacher Lauri Bruce came to yoga as a way to improve their own health. Bruce now specializes in "using yoga therapeutically." Bruce met a chiropractor who was also a yoga teacher who designed a special program to help Bruce's scoliosis. After rigorous training, Bruce is now a certified scoliosis yoga teacher.

Bruce also teaches a chair yoga program for Calvert Memorial Hospital in addition to a back care class. Whether you have knee problems, a hip replacement or inserted rods, Bruce said, "adapted yoga is fantastic for this whole generation of abused people. I've had some amazing results with these people." One student had been in a car accident and couldn't lift up her coffee cup; after two years of yoga practice, Bruce said she can now "lift her hands over her head."

"When I was 41, I fell off a bike and broke my collar bone, then I developed sciatica and I couldn't depress the clutch on my car," said Reeves. She started her recovery with chiropractic, acupuncture and yoga. "Eventually I just ended up with yoga and my body actually got better."

"My whole purpose is trying to get yoga into the hospitals and into the community," said Bruce. "I can develop a program for you whatever your problems, even if you're in a wheelchair. It's a spiritual practice - if you choose for it to be - but it's not religious and it's not about how I look in my swimsuit."

When looking for a yoga instructor, Reeves said, "You want someone well trained and well versed in the practice. Ask the teacher questions about their training." Also, she said, take classes in the style you think you'd like. "I think it alters your life - it becomes a way of life and a way of thinking…Yoga is not something you can master."

Pilates & Yoga in Southern Maryland

When selecting a site and a teacher for either yoga or Pilates, ask about the teacher's professional certifications and years of teaching experience.

Calvert County:

Calvert Memorial Hospital
100 Hospital Road, Prince Frederick
410-535-4000, 410-394-2816 or 301-855-1012, ext. 2816
www.calverthospital.com
Pilates and yoga

Renaissance Yoga
Calvert County - Various locations
410-867-0112
www.renyoga.com
Yoga

Total Fitness for Women
521 Solomons Island Road North, Prince Frederick
410-535-4110
www.totalfitnessforwomen.com
Pilates and yoga

World Gym Fitness Center
230 W. Dares Beach Road, Prince Frederick
410-414-9001
www.worldgym.com
also, 1990 Chaneyville Road, Owings
410-286-7575
Pilates and yoga

Yoga for All
Beth Cory, P.O. Box 1194, Prince Frederick-Various locations
301-642-2093
www.yogaall.com
Yoga

Charles County:

Ballet Arts Academy
3074 Crain Highway, Waldorf
240-377-6390
balletartswaldorf@gmail.com
Yoga

Civista Medical Center
701 Charles Street, La Plata
301-609-4270
www.civista.org
Yoga

College of Southern Maryland
La Plata Campus
301-934-2251 www.csmd.edu
Pilates and yoga

Fit Life Training Center
201 Charles Street, La Plata
301-560-4833
www.fit-life.net/programs.htm
Yoga

Gold's Gym
3317 Plaza Way, Waldorf
301-932-GOLD
www.goldsgym.com
Yoga

Happy Heart Wellness Center
10665 Stanhaven Place, Suite 313 White Plains
301-843-5105
www.happyheartwellness.com
Yoga

La Plata Fitness Club for Women
132 Drury Lane, La Plata
301-392-0707
www.laplatafitnessclub.com
Pilates and yoga

The Studio Cooperative
10400 O'Donnell Lake Drive, Waldorf
301-861-4345
www.thestudiocooperative.org
Pilates and Yoga

Waldorf Sport & Health Club
90 Post Office Road, Waldorf
301-645-8717
sportandhealth.com
Pilates and yoga

Whispering Winds Wellness Center
118 Lagrange Ave., La Plata
301-934-8900
www.whisperingwindswellness.com
Yoga

St. Mary's County:

Bodywise Massage Clinic
27290 Woodburn Hill Road Mechanicsville
301-472-4123
Yoga

Centered Pilates
St. Mary's County - Various locations
301-481-7069 carey.gadwill@centeredpilates.com or 443-975-9206 dbquad1993@verizon.net
Pilates

College of Southern Maryland
Leonardtown Campus
240-725-5300
www.csmd.edu
Pilates and yoga

Energy Zone
Naval Air Station, Patuxent River
301-757-1293
Pilates and yoga - for military personnel and base employees

Inner Therapies Yoga
Lauri Bruce, Leonardtown
301-481-6158
www.innertherapiesyoga.com
Yoga

Pro Fitness Health & Exercise
23415 Three Notch Road, California
301-737-2525
www.profitnessgym.org
Pilates and yoga

St. Mary's Hospital
Health Connections, 25500 Point Lookout Road, Leonardtown
301-475-6019
www.smhwecare.com
Yoga

World Gym Fitness Center
40845 Merchants Lane, Leonardtown, 301-475-0052
21600 Great Mills Road, Lexington Park, 301-862-3488
www.worldgym.com
Pilates and yoga

World Gym of Mechanicsville
29020 Three Notch Road, Mechanicsville
301-884-8096
smac.somd.com
Pilates and yoga