When your flabby bits are starting to annoy you but you hate the concept of sweaty, crowded gyms; it's time to give your body an alternative experience and try pilates. Although it's quite new to Cairo, pilates has been steadily gaining followers in recent years for its simple yet extremely effective toning exercises. Pilates focuses on strengthening your core muscles through a series of exercises that coordinate breathing with muscle control. This is every cardio-phobe's ideal workout; as most of the exercises take place lying on a mat or standing up, with absolutely no cardio involved. Don't be fooled, though; you will sweat and tone enough to feel that tell-tale muscle burn. Stott Pilates is a method of the exercise first developed by the Stott Pilates company in Canada. The method focuses on restoring the natural curves of the spine and regaining muscle balance around the joints through breathing, pelvic placement, ribcage placement, scapular movement, and head and cervical spine placement. The company also produced the Reformer, a piece of pilates equipment used to tone and push the body to extreme fitness levels. Located in Zamalek, Reform Pilates is a new pilates studio run by the very warm and professional Milla, a certified and experienced instructor from Italy who practices the Stott method and uses all quality Stott equipment. Milla offers beginner, intermediate and advanced classes depending on your fitness level, in addition to private classes using the Reformer. The cool thing about Reform Pilates is that the classes are small: Milla keeps her sessions limited to a maximum of eight people; so that she can focus her attention on each student. The result is a class that feels like a one-on-one session, where she introduces each exercise, then gives you pointers and helps you correct the moves while you train. The intimate classes are also relaxed and enjoyable; she never follows the same routine twice, and mixes up the different tools and equipment each session. This means some sessions may revolve around the Bosu, a half-ball that tones your calf muscles and challenges your balance, or the fitness circle, the flex bands, or the toning balls. At the time of this review, Milla offered three levels of pilates: pilates essential, pilates essential power and pilates intermediate. Classes last for one hour and are either in the mornings or in the evenings starting at 6PM. For more information, check out the Facebook group:http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#%21/profile.php?id=100001275791603&v=info. Single mat classes cost LE 100, with 10 classes reaching LE 850. Individual sessions on the reformer cost LE 180 per class or LE 1,500 for 10 classes. If you're serious about toning and improving your pilates, Stott Pilates is highly recommended; results can be visible in a matter of weeks. However, the method requires dedication; it's not worth trying if you only have time once every few weeks. Best bit Milla's classes involve quality equipment and one-on-one guidance for a gentle but efficient workout. Worst bit Some exercises may not work for you if you're not sufficiently warmed up or physically fit enough. 360 Tip If you're a group of three or more people, you can arrange for a special class to be set up to fit your personal schedules. Address: 15, Taha Hussein Street, Next to Pumpkin, Zamalek, Cairo , Egypt Telephone: 0122207669 This article was contributed to Daily News Egypt by Cairo 360 http://www.cairo360.com/
