By Chen Shahar

I arrived at the Pilates Studio "Body in Mind" with a lot of confidence. After all, I have been practicing Yogilates and Pilates at the gym for a number of years.


Within the first five minutes of the session (a "Semi-Private", as is customary in this studio at the early stages of practicing), I felt like a student arriving for an exam, without studying a chapter or two of Introduction.

What do you mean when you say squeeze?

In our era it seems that every person that exercises can recite that Pilates is a method which works on the core muscles - strengthening,  elongating and balancing the body, but not everybody knows the degree of concentration required in order to feel and activate those muscles.

One starts with simple exercises which demonstrate technique. The aim is working on internal muscles, which are responsible, among other things, on the body's correct posture.  It takes me a long time to understand where the movement comes from - the natural tendency is to work from our more developed muscles, and a significant effort is needed in order to neutralize this instinct and work on muscles that receive much less attention within our busy everyday routine.

The manner in which it is possible to neutralize the undesired mentioned instinct with relative easiness, is by using the Pilates apparatus. Body in Mind Pilates Studio is equipped with a variety of machines including a few Pilates beds, designed for practicing a large number of positions, which enables one to work on many different muscle groups.

For instance, one of the central forces that influence us and the way we move is naturally the power of gravity. We often lean forward in order to balance certain motions that divert our center of gravity from the center. With the Pilates beds we can accomplish results from the same movements without the natural inclination of the body to lean forward and by so doing to strengthen the engaged muscles and increase their range of motion.

To Release and Simply Breath

People who are used to intense aerobic activity as part of their fitness routine may find themselves somewhat concerned during the session - everything goes very (very) slowly. A strong emphasis is put on correct breathing during each exercise, on accuracy of the body position and the aspiration for fluid and controlled movement. This slowness and the awareness of breathing' accuracy and sequence leaves a lot of room for thinking and reconsidering the body's condition in motion. I find it to be very liberating and pleasant.

As I mentioned, there is a huge difference between Pilates classes at the Gym and a Pilates class at a specialized Pilates studio. Because of the close direction and supervision needed for learning the technique, Body in Mind requires that new clients take three-four sessions of two persons only (Semi Private). This enables the novice client to receive plenty of attention from the instructor. It is during these first sessions that a personalized plan is built for the clients, based on their abilities and , their condition (age, pregnancy, injuries) and of course, their wishes and expectations from exercising.  

After the initial introductory sessions the client can choose convenient time slots and purchase a suitable classes card. Regular session will be conducted in small groups of up to five persons and there is close follow up of each client. The program is frequently updated to meet the individual progress of every client in order to improve their abilities and further their achievements. Body in Mind studio is well equipped, spacious and run by a team of professional teachers - it is worth a try!

Body in Mind Pilates Studio
129 Rothschild Avenue
Tel Aviv
Tel. 03-6850588

All teachers speak fluent English
Visitors may book their sessions via e-mail in advance
For short time overseas visitors they recommend either private or semi private sessions