much more than that. There ’ s this joke I always crack that women can do Pilates better than men because it ’ s too tough for them (laughs) . I ’ ve come to realise this is true actually because men are so used to working bigger muscles of their body that when they come to stabilisers or other tinier muscles of their body, they ’ re often struggling. What are the health problems that can be taken care of with Pilates? A lot of things! For example, my dad has rheumatoid arthritis and he ’ s been feeling a lot of better after trying out Pilates. You can take care of knee injuries or hip injuries with it. You can do it to deal better with tennis elbows, shoulder dislocations and hip replacements and in prenatal and postnatal care. We have also been training people diagnosed with Parkinson ’ s disease. In fact, everything, even arthritis and osteoporosis, can be dealt better with Pilates. Like I have said before, there ’ s a lot of exercises that can be customised in accordance with the injuries and health conditions one has. You ’ ve been training for almost a decade and have also written a book. How else are you passing on your love for Pilates to others? I released a song called Flow earlier this year, with Manasi Scott. The song is all about Pilates, dance and music... putting all limbs, by sliding against the mat. It engages more muscle fibres in the body and makes you work harder. Again, it ’ s a tough workout but no impact on the joints. It ’ s excellent for the core, stability and developing deeper muscles. Core Stix involves sticks that you put on different holes on the mat. There ’ s a mat which has holes where you put the sticks and generate different workouts working every single muscle in the body but it ’ s extremely important to stabilise the core, which is why it ’ s called ‘ Core ’ Stix. The reason you have to stabilise the core is because the workout is so challenging that if you ’ re weak at the core, you ’ ll be rocking. Whatever forms of exercise we do, we make sure that there is no possibility of injuries involved. What are some of the biggest mistakes that you see people doing when they ’ re just starting off with Pilates? People need to understand that the first five principles that you learn are the most important — correct breathing, concentration, postural alignment, control and centering. One has to understand that Pilates is not a form of exercise that you can do and leave. There ’ s a lot of mind- body connection. You have to focus on your breathing and understanding the movements. The most important thing I tell people is that it ’ s not about quantity but quality. It ’ s not about how many reps you do, it ’ s about how well you do the reps. There ’ s no point doing an exercise if your form is incorrect because that is what leads to injuries. People who sign up for Pilates should also have patience. They need to understand that it takes two or three classes to understand how the equipment works and how your body works on the equipment. Tell us the story behind your book, The Lazy Girl ’ s Guide to Being Fit I wrote the book when I was 17, so I was really young. What inspired me was when I used to go to college, I used to find a lot of people who are lost when it came to fitness. At that time, nobody knows what to do in fitness, where to go, or they start finding it boring, or start treating it as a job that they have to do. I wrote that book to get people thinking about what they can do and show people that going to the gym is not the only way to work out because about 10 years to go, India was still at a nascent stage when it came to fitness, and gym or aerobics were the only two options people had. And that is exactly what I ’ m telling people with my book that if gym is not for you, there ’ s Pilates, Zumba, dance, swimming or even playing a sport. It essentially tells people that you can have fun while working out. What does fitness mean to you? In one word, fitness is life. When I work out, I ’ m always in a good mood. It helps me feel positive, grounded and empowered. Fitness is holistic; it ’ s not a destination but a journey. We keep evolving with fitness. There ’ s no limit to fitness, there ’ s no limit to what you can achieve. Fitness is in everything that you do — whether it ’ s how you sleep, how you breathe, what you eat and how you exercise. How does Namrata Purohit stay fit? I do Pilates four times a week and EMS, Core Stix and Flowin once a week. Sometimes, I just go for fun dance classes or go for a game of squash or horse riding. I used to play squash nationally, have played football for Mumbai and have done equestrian sports. I ’ ve been playing sports almost all my life (laughs) The most amazing aspect of Pilates is that it’s very customised. There’s no age limit as such for doing Pilates.... Like yoga, a lot of men thought that Pilates is also just about stretching. Now more and more men are realising that it is much more than that. One has to understand that Pilates is not a form of exercise that you can do and leave. There’s a lot of mind-body connection. People who sign up for Pilates should also have patience — NAMRATA P ilates has gradually shifted from being a fitness fad to one of the most favoured ways to stay fit. What started off as a way to keep soldiers in good shape in the 20th century now has fans ranging from Bollywood stars like Kareena Kapoor Khan and Malaika Arora to sport stars. And championing its magic qualities is 26-year-old celebrity trainer Namrata Purohit. t2 caught up with Namrata at the opening of her Calcutta studio recently, where she shared her love for fitness, her journey as a trainer and her tips for Pilates beginners. Welcome to Calcutta! Is this your first time in the city? No, I ’ ve been here before. I was here for a squash tournament almost 12 years ago. I used to play squash nationally when I was in school. The Calcutta one is the 17th centre of The Pilates Studio. What took you so long to come to the city? First of all, we try hard to maintain the quality of the studio no matter which city we go to. It is the most important part to find the right partners so that we can make sure they can take care of the brand, take care of the studio and take care of the people working out at the studio. What also took time was finding the right trainers. What makes Pilates so popular? For me, the most amazing aspect of Pilates is that it ’ s very customised. So, no matter your body type, your injuries, your goals or your past history in fitness, it can be very customised. On one piece of equipment alone, say the reformer, you can do a thousand different exercises. So, it never gets monotonous and you ’ re always learning something new. It doesn ’ t work only on one aspect of fitness but it ’ s a very holistic way of looking at fitness. You ’ re working on your strength, flexibility, endurance, balance, stability, mind and body connection, concentration and coordination. You said even 75-year-old people can try out Pilates ... Absolutely. There ’ s no age limit as such for doing Pilates, because there ’ s no impact on the joints. There ’ s even a saying, ‘ If you do Pilates and you do it correct, there ’ s almost zero chance of injury ’ . In fact, it even helps prevent injury and is great for rehabilitation. I discovered Pilates after I fell off a horse and had a really bad knee injury. After trying a bunch of different types of exercises, it was the only form of exercise that got me to be pain-free. It was the first time in a year that I was pain-free. Rather than strengthening your muscles and making them shorter, you ’ re strengthening your muscles to make them longer, which makes them more flexible and leaner. You strengthen the deeper muscles of the body. So, when that happens, it protects your muscles and your joints much more than any other form of exercise. You ’ ve been training in Pilates for the last 10 years. What are some of the changes you have seen in people ’ s perception of this form of exercise? Initially Pilates was seen as a form of exercise primarily of women. Like yoga, a lot of men thought that Pilates is also just about stretching. Now more and more men are realising that it is 9 THE TELEGRAPH TUESDAY 29 OCTOBER 2019 XXCE G O O D L I F E 8 ‘ FITNESS IS HOLISTIC; IT ’ S NOT A DESTINATION BUT A JOURNEY ’ — NAMRATA PUROHIT A Q U I C K R O U N D - U P Benefits of Pilates, in a nutshell... z Strength. Pilates can make you really strong as it works on your muscles directly. z Flexibility. z Improved posture. z Better balance control and stability. z Weight management. DO... z Make sure you do Pilates under a trained professional. z Focus on the five principles — correct breathing, concentration, postural alignment, control and centering. z Understand your body before you do an exercise because there’s a lot of movements in Pilates. z Follow the principle of KISSS — keep it safe, simple and smart. z What you do when you’re not at the studio is equally important.You have to make sure that you’re eating well and resting well.The one hour at the studio doesn’t compensate for the other 23 hours in a day. DON’T... z Attempt difficult exercises on your own, especially on the Cadillac because it has a lot of up-and-down movement, so make sure your trainer is with you. z Train with a trainer who doesn’t understand the anatomy of the human body. z Train on the equipment alone at home. If you are doing home-based workouts, make sure you still understand the form. z Rush into anything, take your time. Some misconceptions about Pilates, exercise and fitness... z More is not better. Working out more doesn’t mean you’re going to get better results. z Eating less does not ensure better results. Fitness is not about eating less but about eating right.You shouldn’t be starving your body of nutrition and nourishment because that is extremely important. z Pilates is not just for women. z Pilates is not just about stretching and flexibility. z Never try out a new exercise on your own until you’re absolutely sure about the form. Pilates A-Z with Namrata... A: Alignment B: Breath C: Control D: Discipline E: Energy F: Form G: Grind H: Harmony I: Intelligence J: Joy K: Calories with a K! L: Life M: Movement N: Namrata! O: Optimism P: Power Q: Quest R: Relaxation S: Soul T: Training U: Unique V: Variations W: Wonder X: Excitement without E! Y: Yield Z: Zest & & FITNESS 4 A celebrity you have fun working out with... Malaika Arora 3 A celebrity client with whom you really have to work hard... Again, no one! Everyone’s pretty disciplined when it comes to fitness. 1 Your first celebrity client... Manasi Scott and Malaika Arora.They joined around the same time. 2 The most disciplined celebrity client... I don’t think there’s one that isn’t. Everybody is very disciplined, as they don’t have a choice (laughs). 5 Celebrities you have fun training... Alia Bhatt, Janhvi Kapoor , and Varun Dhawan. 6 The fittest celebrity you’ve met... Malaika Arora and Akshay Kumar even though I’ve never met him. Namrata Purohit at the Calcutta outlet of The Pilates Studio on October 19. three together. So, my aim is to show people of our country what Pilates is all about. Showing them through movement, through education, which I think is the most important thing, and expansion to different parts of the country. The song is close to me because I ’ ve always said that ‘ life should flow ’ . The song was about training being flowy, something that you enjoy. It is something that not only makes you strong but also calms your mind. The song is shot on various Pilates equipment along with Pilates moves so that those who haven ’ t understood what Pilates is all about, can watch it and understand it. Being able to reach so many different people has always been my goal and at the same time, to take it slow so that we can maintain our quality, which is more far important to us than quantity. Apart from Pilates, your studios also have Electro Muscle Stimulation (EMS), Flowin and Core Stix. Can you decode them for us? The Calcutta studio doesn ’ t have them yet. We ’ re going to go one step at a time. That being said, Electro Muscle Stimulation is basically where you wear a full-body jacket that transmits electric impluses in your body. It mimics the electric impulses that your brain sends your muscles, when you move. So, when that happens, your body can ’ t differentiate between the impulses sent by your brain and ones sent by the machine. That in turn makes you work your muscles a lot harder by stimulation... almost 95 per cent of the muscles of your body at once. So your whole body is working for 20 minutes non-stop at one go. It is said that one session of EMS is equal to almost four strength-training sessions. It ’ s extremely time- efficient, helps lose inches and even helps in building muscle; excellent for people with injuries and is quite safe, since there ’ s no impact on the joints. Flowin is friction training. It ’ s on a mat where one generates friction with pads designated for different Q U I C K 7 ! 7 A celebrity you want to work out with... Tiger Shroff A FIRST LOOK AT THE PILATES STUDIO IN CALCUTTA The Pilates Studio spread over 1,000sq ft, is stocked with Pilates equipment, including six reformers, stability chairs, a Cadillac and a mini stability ball.The state-of-the-art facilities aim to provide a holistic fitness experience. “Recently when I asked people online to guess which city they think we would open next, Calcutta was named most often! The studio has a very ‘homely’ vibe, something that we make sure all our studios have,” said Namrata. Namrata Purohit at The Pilates Studio, Calcutta For buddies Malika Sachdev (left) and Sanjana Singh, bringing the franchise to Calcutta was a way of giving back to Pilates.“I discovered Pilates about two years ago in New Delhi and recommended it to Malika,” said Sanjana.“I tried Pilates for a while before my marriage. After I got married in Calcutta, we decided to bring Namrata’s studio here as Sanjana is a big fan of her,” added Malika. Namrata’s father, Samir Purohit, also dropped by at the launch.“I’m glad we’ve finally arrived in the City of Joy. Being the first exclusive Pilates studio in Calcutta, I hope people sign up in large numbers to try out this amazing form of exercise,” he said. Ravjit Singh The Pilates Studio pictures: Pabitra Das What: The Pilates Studio by Namrata Purohit Where: 44/6, Hazra Road, 2nd floor Timings: Monday to Saturday, 7am to 10pm Pocket-pinch: Rs 9,000 and Rs 7,000 for group sessions (12 classes and eight classes a month, respectively). Rs 15,000 for private session for both 12 and eight classes a month.