World Famous Pilates Instructor Holds Annual Convention

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World Famous Pilates Instructor Holds Annual Convention
08/04/2006 03:30 PM
By: NY1 News

A world famous Pilates master is in New York City this weekend to demonstrate her techniques for strength and flexibility.

Romana Kryzanowska, a protŽgŽ of Pilates creator Joseph Pilates, is holding her annual convention in Manhattan this weekend.

More than 200 trained Pilates instructors are attending the convention to learn more from the woman who has taught the original techniques for decades.

She will also hold a demonstration of her methods for the stretching exercises at the Ritz Carlton in Battery Park Saturday afternoon. It’s open to the public.

Kryzanowska admits Pilates can be intimidating, but says there is something for everyone to get in shape.

"You have sick people, that one. And then, if you have strong people, and you're just new at it, you go a little stronger, and you go building on this, building on it,” said Kryzanowska. “And some people have incredible good luck and others it takes them longer, it's like anything."

For more information, visit www.truepilatesny.com.

NY1’s Roger Clark filed this report.

It may look like I am being placed into a medieval torture device, but I am actually attempting to acquire complete control of my body through Pilates.

And if you are going to get a Pilates lesson, it might as well be from the protŽgŽ of Joseph Pilates, the founder of the method of strengthening muscles and increasing flexibility and mobility.

Romana Kryzanowska is 84-years-old, strong as an ox, and still traveling the world teaching Pilates.

“I believe in it with all my heart and soul, because I have seen people come back to life," she says.

Romana met Pilates in the 1940's. At the time she was a ballet dancer with a bum ankle, and she says his technique helped her.

She developed a lifelong friendship with Pilates and his wife, and after their deaths, continued their legacy through teaching, including at a convention being held at the Ritz Carlton in Battery Park City.

Her daughter and grand daughter are now Pilates instructors themselves.

"To get this energy from all over the world, you know, people coming in from the Philippines, Australia, everywhere, Japan, it's really just wonderful,” says granddaughter Daria Pace. “So many people are dedicated to True Pilates."

There are so many Pilates instructors here to see Romana up close that they've actually spilled out of the ballroom into the lobby. And you don't have to tell any of these people about Pilates - they are already sold.

“You feel it in your body. It helps you move, it helps you whether you are playing golf or commuting for an hour a day. You take it with you," says Tom Gesimondo, owner of True Pilates NY.

"If you need muscle building or strengthening, you will get that,” says Sari Mejia Santos, Romana's daughter. “Most of all you get control. You get in touch with your body."

If you are curious about Pilates, Romana is hosting a demonstration Saturday from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Ritz Carlton at 2 West Street. Tickets are $25.

Don't worry, it's not as painful as it looks.

- Roger Clark