While we love to inform you of all the amazing benefits of Pilates, its history, and its deep inner workings, we also like to occasionally share human-interest anecdotes about Pilates and its applications in real-world settings.
One of the more heart-warming stories we’ve encountered is about how doing the practice of Pilates in mosques in England has ballooned into a worldwide phenomenon and transformed the lives of the people and communities who’d never dreamed of doing it.
And it demonstrates, once again, how wide-reaching the benefits of this practice are.
Striking Physical and Mental Well-Being in the Basement
For many years, a group of mostly elderly men would come to the Jamia Usmania mosque in Bradford, England, to perform their midday prayers. Once they were complete, they’d return to their daily lives.
Not anymore. Now, rather than plunging back into their busy days, they go downstairs to perform mat Pilates poses for 45 minutes with their instructor, Zafar Kayani.
“It’s a very unique thing for older Asian men,” says the 69-year-old Kayani. And he’s right. According to British government health data on physical activity published in 2024, men from the Asian (59.6%) and “other” (60%) ethnic groups were less likely to be active than the overall average (65.6%).
“They’re coming here for their spiritual health, then getting that physical exercise and mental well-being,” Kayani continues. And they’re also forging new friendships that have helped tackle loneliness. The men are motivated to keep coming each week because they have a social platform where they can meet other people.
Who’d have guessed!?
How Did Pilates in Mosques Begin?
The organizers of these Pilates sessions weren’t sure how open the men would be to the practice. So they began with just three mosques in Bradford that initially attracted a few attendees. Then they went to TikTok to promote the classes.
“We never expected it to go viral,” said the mosque’s general secretary, Mohammed Ilyas. “It was just a general upload to promote and get more members in.” But went viral, it did. The video amassed two million views that not only grew the attendance at the mosques in Bradford, but sparked interest from mosques further across the UK, as well as Malaysia and Canada, who wanted to implement similar initiatives in their mosques.
The classes in the Bradford mosques are now attended by several dozen men aged 50 – 80 and of varying abilities. Because they’re in a place of worship, they feel completely comfortable. And they can go right from prayer to the poses in the clothes they’re wearing.
How Pilates Has Changed These Men
Kayani begins the session with stretches before moving on to more strenuous exercises. “When they start, there will be aches and pains, there will be groans,” he says. “A few weeks along the line, you can see they’re doing [it] with ease.”
And, according to the men attending these classes, that’s the case.
One 74-year-old man who is a retired bus driver said the classes have been beneficial. He had a double-knee replacement and didn’t know that there were movements he could do that would strengthen that area. He’s amazed he can move again.
Another 66-year-old retired shopkeeper said he used to feel aches all over his body. “But when I started walking and doing exercise, it’s much better. Recently, I had the pacemaker fitted, but I don’t feel anything because I do the activity.”
One man began to attend after he had a heart transplant in June 2024. “It’s helped me a lot both physically and emotionally,” the 62-year-old says.
And another 60-year-old man who suffered sciatica and lower back pain said Pilates was helping, while he also gets to meet new people and socialize.
Kayani takes a lighthearted and bright approach to his teaching. And at the end of the practice, he invites the men to close their eyes, breathe deeply, and imagine being in a hot dry climate. They take a short period of calm and quiet and then he ends with, “Open your eyes, and you’re back in wet Bradford.” Everyone laughs.
What’s more, Kayani contends that Pilates “is beneficial for the NHS. If there’s less people going to see the doctors, going to the hospital appointments, it’s less cost to them.”
Whatever the case, the success of the Pilates classes with the men has spurred Ilyas to offer female classes and youth clubs at the mosque as well. He sees this as a chance to make the mosque not solely a place for prayer, but also a community hub for activities where people of all ages can come together.
And it all started with Pilates.
Could Pilates Transform Your Life?
Well, maybe not in the same way it did for the men doing Pilates in mosques. But you never know!
If you’d like to at least see what Pilates has to offer you, contact us today.
We offer a variety of classes with skilled instructors who will meet you right where you are. So why not give it a try?