A favourite amongst celebrities such as Jennifer Aniston and Sarah-Jessica Parker, Pilates is again having a moment amongst us mere mortals.
It’s often lumbered into the same category as yoga, however the two definitely do not become one.
This article was featured in our Get Active 2025 supplement – you can read the full supplement here!
BY PAULA BURNS
Not as old as yoga, Pilates was developed during World War I by the German physical trainer, Joseph Pilates, while he was held at the Knockaloe Internment camp on the Isle of Man.
His method, which he called Contrology, was intended to strengthen the human mind and body.
Over a century later his methods have proven successful and are now a favourite with people all over the world.
It was over 22 years ago when Pilates practitioner, Lorraine Dufficey was first introduced to the discipline.
After studying the True Pilates method, Dufficey began teaching Mat Pilates in Spiller’s Lane in Clonakilty.
It was the ‘pureness’ of the original Pilates method that drew her to it.
Lorraine Dufficey of West Cork Pilates, based in Clonakilty.
‘It’s the original method that I teach. It’s classical, it’s pure and it’s really tough.’ she explains.
‘It has the five principles of Pilates – precision, flow, control, breath and concentration. Those are the principles on which all Pilates is based. It’s very controlled. The way I teach it, it’s so precise, there is a placement for everything in the body.’
Through practising Pilates, Dufficey soon discovered that was more than just an exercise for the body.
It is in fact a synergy between the breath and movement.
As Joseph Pilates intended, the method aligns the mind and body as one.
As Dufficey says, it comes from the inside out.
‘What it does for the mind is quite incredible. When you combine the movement with the breath you are so concentrated and centred and connected that it becomes a real flow. That’s my experience of both doing it and teaching it. You are so focused on every movement, the mind has to be involved.’
The beauty of Pilates is that it isn’t just for the elite.
It was developed with the mindset that It can be taught to all ages and all fitness levels.
Joseph Pilates had in fact hoped that it would be taught to all teenagers in school.
The exercises are easily adaptable and can be modified to suit all fitness levels.
With this in mind, Dufficey lives by the mantra that movement is life and through the practice of Pilates we can strengthen our body and mind.
‘When we stop moving, everything becomes stagnant, including the mind. Pilates is a wonderful way to move, we are able to strengthen our core and move our body while doing it.’ enthuses Dufficey.
‘If we can move with awareness and breathe with awareness, then we are in command of our bodies. We need to develop a relationship with our body, it’s not a machine, it’s a living organism.’
While the exercises are adaptable for beginners, Dufficey says it’s learning to breathe properly again that is the biggest challenge.
‘When people start to exercise they hold their breath. That has to be handled carefully. We need lateral breath. We need to be able to breathe into our ribs.’ she explains.
‘Most of us breathe in our upper chest, it’s a shallow breath that contributes to stress and tension. That’s the unwinding of the lifestyle factors that we have today that is working against us.’
Reformer Pilates
A quick scroll through Instagram will leaving you feeling that everyone is doing Reformer Pilates.
While it is having a moment, Dufficey advises to begin with Mat classes to learn the foundations first.
Reformer Pilates is a slightly different take on the discipline. It is performed on a reformer machine (shown above) rather than a mat, and it can be particularly helpful for people who’ve recently had an injury or want to get more precise with their movements in order to isolate and strengthen certain muscles.
‘If you put someone on a mat it’s easier to get them learning the breath and the movement. If you put them on the reformer which has springs and resistance, the tendency is for people to go into effort and start pushing.’ says Dufficey.
‘That goes against the flow. The breath really needs to be learned and integrated into the body. Otherwise you end up using the reformer like a piece of gym equipment and then you’re just pushing with your arms and your legs.’
The power of Pilates makes it suitable to work with people who have back problems and this is where the reformer comes into play.
‘I get a lot of back referrals and I would work with them on the reformer. Footwork is a really essential basis on the reformer, it’s so important to the whole alignment of the body.’ explains Dufficey.
‘I treat it as a whole body. They may have a herniated disc, so I look at how their body is patterned and I will work on that from there.’
In keeping with the Pilates method, Dufficey sees the road to healing as a merging of the body and mind.
‘A lot of it is learning how to move with confidence. Mindset is incredibly important when it comes to healing. The body needs to move. That’s where the mind comes into the mind body aspect.’ she says.
‘Pilates creates a tremendous resilience in the body with the mind and the body flowing together.’
Dufficey’s love of Pilates comes from the sense of empowerment and transformation she gets from the body and mind working in harmony.
If her enthusiasm is anything to go by, then this maybe the exercise method you never knew you needed.
Lorraine teaches at West Cork Pilates, Spiller’s Lane, Clonakilty and individual equipment work at the Pilates Room, Rossmore.
This article was featured in our Get Active 2025 supplement – you can read the full supplement here!
