Pilates buff helps fashion healthy lives

Kara Thomas is a unique woman.
Her intensity for whatever project is at hand gives her the look of an eccentric. But it is not eccentricity that drives her. Kara is one of the most passionate people I have ever met.
The former special events and promotions coordinator for the former Stein Mart store in Boardman, Kara has become a local icon for women's fashion. She meticulously plans and executes fashion shows for various organizations across the Mahoning Valley.
"I do about one fashion show a month," she says.
Kara, who lives in Boardman, is a stickler for details in the shows. Everything from lights, music, dance choreography -- even grand finale pyrotechnics, are orchestrated with precision. Her passion for creating a memorable event is evident in every show.
True passion shinesoutside the shows
But behind the stage, when the lights have dimmed and the smoke from the fireworks has cleared, Kara's true passion shines.
"Women want to look good," she says, sharing her love for fashion and her desire to help women. "So many women are unhappy with the way they look."
Kara feels strongly that the "size 2" image portrayed by society is not healthy.
"It's not about size," she insists. "It's about being healthy. It's all about being healthy."
Having seen Kara's zest for fashion perfection on the runway, I decided to investigate her love for keeping "fit for fashion" off the runway -- Pilates.
A certified Pilates instructor, Kara provides one of the most extensive Pilates training programs in the area.
"Once you do a few sessions," she assures me with her usual enthusiasm. "You will feel so much stronger in the center, the core, of your body."
Getting to the coreof the philosophy
The Pilates method focuses on strengthening the core of the body as the center of control for the whole body.
The "powerhouse" area of focus includes the abdominal muscles, the buttocks muscles and the lower back muscles.
"If you exercise without first recruiting the powerhouse," Joseph Pilates believed, "you risk executing the movement improperly and could suffer strains, pulls and injuries."
Joseph Pilates, who died in 1967, would have liked Kara. They share the same passion.
I'm certain Joseph seemed eccentric when he was teaching Pilates to his fellow World War I captives while in prison. Not bad for a sickly child who suffered from asthma, rickets and rheumatic fever. Joseph was determined to overcome his frailties and created an exercise method of controlled movements and concentrated breathing. Born in Germany, Joseph came in 1926 to America, where Pilates took the dance community by storm.
The method gainswidespread popularity
Today, the Pilates method is used in many fitness circles.
"The Cleveland Browns use Pilates," Kara says. "When I say that, people ask, 'Is that their problem?' But they're getting better and they breathe really well." Lying on the mat in one of Kara's "Pilates For Life" classes, I am amazed at how effective the breathing technique truly is.
"Pull your navel to your spine," she instructs the class. Then in her usual detailed fashion, she wanders the room making sure her prodigies are performing the exercise right.
Using the traditional Pilates mat, along with balls, stretch bands, the Pilates Magic Circle and weights, we stretched and moved for a full hour.
Session is over,and I feel great
When we were done, instead of feeling exhausted and beat up, I felt refreshed with a slight, comfortable twinge in my muscles, letting me know that I had indeed worked out.
"I feel great!" I beamed.
Kara smiled. It was the kind of glowing smile she radiates after a perfectly executed fashion show. For Kara, sharing today's fashions with a banquet hall full of women is no more rewarding than helping one woman become fit for those fashions.
gwhite@vindy.com
XFor more information call Pilates for Life, (330) 503-4716.