New Delhi: Social media is in awe of Helen after the yesteryear actor revealed the secret behind her fitness. In an Instagram reel posted by celebrity trainer Yasmin Karachiwala, Helen listed the many benefits of pilates.
“I am a girl of 85 because of pilates and thanks to Yasmin, I can bend like Beckham,” she said in the reel, before proceeding to share her workout routine.
Karachiwala is the founder of pilates studio chain Yasmin Karachiwala Body Image (YKBI), whose clientele includes Bollywood stars such as Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, and Hrithik Roshan. She has also co-authored the book Sculpt and Shape: The Pilates Way, with fellow instructor Zeena Dhalla.
The video gained 2.1 million views on Instagram, with many lauding Helen’s fitness journey at her age. “I don’t think a large majority of people in India in this age group really know how powerful this post is! It’s so important to have life in the years you live, and mobility does just that,” wrote one Instagram user. Another wrote, “Fitter than all of you.”
Helen is the latest celebrity to endorse pilates in Bollywood. The trend has been popularised in recent times by Gen Z actors such as Ananya Pandey, Janhvi Kapoor, and Sara Ali Khan.
Initially, celebrities didn’t get behind this seemingly easy fitness regime, which majorly focuses on core strength, flexibility, and posture. Katrina Kaif once considered pilates to be an exercise for ‘lazy people’— ideal only for getting ‘a good stretch’. “Now Katrina loves pilates and looks forward to it. She has completely transformed and swears by pilates,” Karachiwala told ThePrint.
Moving beyond Bollywood
Pilates is increasingly gaining popularity, moving beyond Bollywood celebrities and Mumbai high rises. With studios opening up in major cities – such as Chennai , Bengaluru and Delhi – the regime has caught up with regular people too.
“It started with the actors and celebrities who were first doing it and now almost everyone you meet is doing pilates because there are so many studios available,” said Karachiwala. She also trains instructors in her pilates academy, so that they can get certified and open their own studios.
According to protocol, pilates training begins with core courses such as anatomy and pilates foundation. Then, it progresses to ‘Mat 1’, ‘Mat 2’, and ‘Mat 3’, involving exercises that can be done on a mat. Finally, it reaches the Reformer 1 and Reformer 2 stages, which involves the use of the reformer machine, a key piece of equipment in pilates studios.
“A lot of people only teach Mat and Reformer. But if you want to be trained in more
equipment, apparatus, and pilates, then you have to do Chair. The next training you do is Cadillac, and then Barrels. It’s only after you do all of this that you become a comprehensive pilates instructor,” said Karachiwala. The 54-year-old pilates veteran has 11 franchises all over India, and some in Dubai and Dhaka. She has just launched a new pilates studio in Mumbai’s Juhu, with son Zahaan Karachiwala and his business partner Zainab Bashey.
“Apart from Bollywood celebrities, we have a lot of normal people like housewives, executives, corporates, children and senior citizens. The older generation should do pilates because when you grow older you lose the basic balance and the basic strength in your muscles, and pilates is a great way to work on all of this,” said Karachiwala.
(Edited by Zoya Bhatti)