The Dangerous Side of Pilates

Pilates, a fitness regime once reserved for the delicate musculature of prima ballerinas, has gone graphic. Certified Pilates instructor and kung fu expert Eric Schimel lays out his hard-core approach to deep muscle fitness inside the edgy graphics of a Pilates comic book. And he’s willing to risk serious injury to hook you into the story line.

Tired of the dull and dry in typical manuals, Schimel originally created the comic for his Austin, Texas studio to ease newcomers into Pilates’ complicated routines.

“Logically, we wrote a manual full of technical terms and descriptions,” says Schimel. “It was so boring, it actually depressed us. So the manual was reborn as a comic with all the silly fun and colorful demonstration we could commit to page.”

This month, he brings the book and a special Pilates seminar to Plaza Wellspring, a wellness studio in Kansas City, Mo., which offers an extensive menu of alternative fitness regimes and healing expertise. The studio is a great local launch point for this fresh, funkadelic angle on fitness, which includes an extensive DVD exploring the positions, goals and breathing techniques integral to Pilates. It also gives examples of the 18 basic mat exercises Schimel teaches. Graphic illustrations show what muscles are strengthened by each position and give readers the deeper meaning behind each move.

So what is the danger? Pilates has a darker side, according to Schimel, especially when you take it off the mat and move it to a more “extreme” platform. On advanced reformer equipment that to the layman looks a little like a medieval torture rack, Pilates is all about precision and mental focus. Under expert supervision, users get a deep, powerful workout. Handle the pulleys and ropes incorrectly and you risk serious injury. To promote his comic book and kick off his new Pilates seminar at Plaza Wellspring, Schimel will do a Level 5 super-advanced reformer routine on Friday, March 27, 7 to 8 p.m. at the studio.

And he will do it blindfolded.

"We Pilates teachers, (usually without the blindfold) perform it once, in fear, in order to graduate and then we never look back,” says Schimel. “Containing 35 separate sequences comprised of over 375 total repetitions, it is too long for a class and too dangerous as well. Yeah, that's right, dangerous.”

So Schimel will not only complete this funky, injury-defying workout in 55 minutes but manipulate the complicated equipment in virtual darkness. Spectators will not only get a feel for the incredible muscle development Pilates can give you, a la Schimel’s advanced physique, but they will be inspired by his warrior-type mastery of the equipment.

On Saturday, March 28, 2 to 5 p.m. at Plaza Wellspring, Schimel holds the mat workshop that inspired the comic book and was inspired by his martial arts background. The seminar will give insights into how to take your fitness to the next level or how to advance your technique as a martial artist.

“We'll study how the manual and DVD relate to each classical exercise and then students can take the learning materials, as well as the personal experience, with them into their future practice," says Schimel.

Plaza Wellspring is located 4901 Main Street, Suite 400, Kansas City, Missouri. Click here for a map.