Dani Otil for the first time in a Pilates class at Movement Studio
Diana Munteanu and Florin Ristei at Movement Studio
Andreea Esca and George Vintila doing Pilates
Andreea Esca – Subject of the day : losing weight
Everyone has noticed her figure and now they ask her for advice. Many expect wonder solutions. Especially to correctly and fairly relate the subject in the competition with her famous salary subject, I stepped behind the spotlights, in her everyday life. I found out that it is spiced with regular sports, light meals, but also an effective tactics to combat the routine.
“The fact that you have a personal coach is important, because in this type of movement, targeted on a certain muscle group, you have to execute the exercise very correctly.”
CSID: Andreea, tell us what motivated you to lose weight?
Andreea Esca: I cannot say. But there was a moment when I decided, and even if there were some days when I would say I will give up eating sweets, I will give up eating in the evening, and I was succeeding for a few days or a week or two and then abandoning the idea. This time, I was determined not to abandon anymore, and I think that it helped greatly that besides this little diet, I started to make some kind of Pilates I fell in love with. And the fact that I did not miss any training session (I’ve been doing constantly 3 times a week, for almost a year) helped me greatly to see the results quite quickly. From that moment, you feel more motivated and gives you the courage to go further. And somehow, it makes you feel guilty when you want to quit. And not to feel guilty and to feel good, I carried on.
CSID: How many kilograms have you lost? Did you count them?
A.E .: I think I was about 60 kilos, I was up to 60 kilos, and now I’m between 55 and 56. But it matters a lot because I’m short and every extra kilogram is visible. In addition, the way those kilograms are distributed matters. From a certain age you need to be careful because when you get fat, you do not necessarily gain weight in less visible places, and then it’s important how the kilograms are distributed.
CSID: Do you want to continue, have you set a target?
A.E .: I keep doing sports often. As for the diet, I’m careful. If today I allow myself to eat two small cakes because I have had a craving, I am very careful tomorrow to eat less food like bread, pasta and so on, so I can remain at this weight. I weigh myself almost every day to keep between 55 and 56 kg.
CSID: But it also matters the visibly improved appearance, not just the number of kilos, right?
A.E .: I think the most important aspect is the improved appearance. You know that before, during periods of constant sports, everybody was telling me I lost weight, even though I wasn’t losing a kilo on the scale. The muscles tone and highlight in a way, you lose fat when you do sports and everything looks completely different. I was not a flaccid person, I always had a very good tone and I had muscles, because I always did sports. But surely, there have been times when I have not done as much as I should have done, and now I cannot afford to miss it, I think this is first and foremost.
CSID: How did you make the transition from a sport so demanding as swimming to a seemingly gentle sport like Pilates?
A.E.: Well, I made the passage just like I did between 30 and 40. I think each age needs to adjust the type of movement, so that you enjoy practicing. The Pilates I do, doesn’t really have a lot to do with the classical mat Pilates, because we use springs as a type of resistance that is not the Pilates you are initially thinking of, a kind of yoga in which we stay in some isometric positions etc. Of course it greatly relies on isometrics, but it uses the resistance springs and it is more difficult than the classical Pilates. I think it’s somewhere in the middle, it’s not easy for sedentary people. As proof, I have friends who have never done sports and they do Pilates now and find it very difficult. I found it very easy, because coming from doing hundreds and hundreds of lengths in a pool; I find it a piece of cake. But at the same time, it does not mean that I’m relaxed during my training, because it’s easy from a cardio point of view but the effort with which you work your muscle groups is very serious and very difficult.
CSID: Does it help that you work with a personal coach?
A.E .: I think that when is about sports, a lot of the love for that sport is the coach. When I left swimming, I did it because I did not like my coach and I was no longer motivated, he could not motivate me and could not make me excited to go and have a desire to win. The relationship you have with your coach is very important. Here I found two trainers in Ana and Raluca… I train with Ana predominantly and sometimes with Raluca when Ana is unavailable. Both ladies did ballet, they were even dancers on “I dance for you” for a while, after which they started to learn this type of sport and they are very, very good at it. They are extremely warm girls, but at the same time very firm and I really enjoy working with them.
CSID: You are an energetic person. How do you overcome the daily routine, because we all have one?
A.E.: Well, here’s the way I’m doing this: for example, I do all sorts of sports. I have had periods and when I say periods, I mean years, when I did aerobics and I really enjoyed it and I was crazy about it. And one day, I got bored, I had enough of it. I did spinning, but I got bored. I swim, but I cannot do it all the time. So I’m always trying to find something else. An example is that for 6 years I’ve been working on “The One” magazine, after so many years of just doing the news. So I’m trying to find new things so I do not get bored and stagnate.
CSID: Describe a little your diet, because the world wants to find out quick solutions anyway.
A.E .: I did not lose weight very fast, I did it in about half a year. I did not go on a diet from a nutritionist, I did not ask anybody’s opinion and I did not make excesses like: from tomorrow I do not eat anything anymore; I go to sleep for three days to wake up thinner, etc. The goal I have set and I succeeded achieving, was that for a long time I ate bread only the morning. I was eating one, maximum 2 slices of toast and I still do the same. I always ate in the morning and I will continue to do so. So I was eating a slice of toast before my coffee, and after that I wasn’t eating any more bread, pasta, potatoes, absolutely nothing fattening. I was eating fish with salad, plain lettuce.
For example, if I had some meat on the grill, I was adding eggplant salad as side dish. I was finding all sorts of formulas: to simple canned green beans, I was adding a little bit of butter. Or broccoli, I was boiling it then rolling it in a bit of butter to make it tastier. I ate fish, I ate meat. I eat plenty of meat, so it was not a problem to increase the amount. I quit eating in the evening. Because the only time I was on a type of diet and I succeeded, was when I skipped the evening meal. I was eating before the news, that was at 17.00 at the latest and until the next morning I wasn’t eat anything. I was drinking water, tea, but I wasn’t eating anymore.
CSID: And how did you cope?
A.E.: I did it because I ate well at 17:00, a lunch, but at 5pm. You get used to it, I think it’s all about habit, because I also noticed: the less you eat, the less you want food and the more you eat, the more you crave for food.
CSID: How do you see life at almost 40 years?
A.E .: I cannot believe it’s been so many years and I always remember my mother who was telling me all the time: Oh, my God, when did all these years pass, when did a certain thing happen? Here I go. This morning my mom asked me: did you think about what party you want for your birthday? And I say: God, stop reminding me that it is happening. 🙂 I never had a problem with my age and I remember that when I was 30, everybody asked me what I feel now that I changed the prefix and it seemed like a stupid question…I mean, what was I suppose to feel ? Then, I was thinking, “God, I am not normal, I should feel something. I was already asking myself why everybody asks me that. Indeed, I really did not have a problem. Now, it’s true that 40 seems to be an age I have never thought of. I mean, if you asked me, I was sayin:, I’m going to do it later, when I am about 40. Now I cannot believe I have arrived there. On the other hand, I’m content, I’m happy.
CSID: What about looking in the mirror? Are you noticing things you haven’t seen before?
A.E .: I rarely look in the mirror. I did not even look when I was a teenager. I was not interested in the mirror, it was just the thing I was looking at when I was brushing my teeth and doing my ponytail so it was in the right position. So, I’ve never been worried about the way I look. Of course, we are not talking about being clean or having a neat appearance, but I have never been asking myself: am I okay, am I not? I was never preoccupied about that. As a result, I am not spending much time in front the mirror now either. I spend time at work, because it’s normal to put make up on and then to take it off. Of course I notice. I notice that I have some wrinkles around my eyes, I notice that I have some wrinkles on my forehead that I did not have, I notice that the three dimples I had turned into wrinkles, I notice that. But what can I say? I think every age has its charm and I think you have to be comfortable with yourself. That’s the way it is, what can we do? You cannot make a tragedy from the passing of time and I told you, I think there are more important things. I think you have to think about how to feel better now. What to do now if we have wrinkles? Anyway, the wrinkles are on the outside, your soul is frozen at a certain time at a certain age. In fact, I think and I know that I’m capable of doing things that maybe for a 25-year-old girl would seem crazy. So, in the end, it matters what you feel, obviously within limits so you don’t fall into ridicule.
CSID: You travel a lot and you noticed that the pressure about image is very high, at any level. Still, image acceptance must be doubled by some adjustments? I refer here to aesthetic surgery, but also to motivational courses to go further.
A.E .: Yes, I think so. Probably the time will come when I will think about these things. I am not excluding that one day I will think that I have too many wrinkles and maybe I should use some hyaluronic acid or botox. I will think about it. If someday is going to bother me very much, I’ll think about it. I mean, it does not seem to me that I’ll never do that and that I am able to cope like Brigitte Bardot. I do not know if I can be like Brigitte Bardot who decided not to do bring any improvements to her face and body. On the other hand, I think you have to think very careful about this decision and to choose some procedures and doctors who know the good measure, so you do not suddenly wake up with someone else’s face. Because you can be very cute, but be someone else. I mean, when you do not recognize yourself in the mirror, I think that then it becomes a problem, because you psychic is getting crazy because it does not know who it is anymore. So yes, you can think of improvements, but as long as you know some methods that do not dramatically change your appearance, to unbalance yourself.
CSID: Talking about weight loss, those around you have noticed the change. Do they ask for your advice, are they questioning you, do they want miracle solutions?
A.E .: Yes, everybody asks me: what did you do, how did you lose weight? Lately, this is the only thing people are asking me about. Until now, they asked me what the children are doing, now they went to: wow, you have lost so much weight, how did you do it? Maybe they expect a solution, because every time I tell them I’m going to Pilates 3 times a week and I’m sure that there is the answer, they are somewhat: yeah, it’s … but just that, are you sure? Now, honestly, I do not want to convince anybody of anything. If you asked me, I’m telling you the truth. Furthermore, you believe it or not, or do whatever you want. But yes, probably they want a miracle solution, but I’m convinced there’s no such solution. If it exists, the one who would invent it would be a billionaire.
CSID: Did you change your wardrobe; are you looking at clothes that you wouldn’t have worn before?
A.E .: Yeah, I changed it. Alexia asked me to get some new jeans, even before I got thinner, when I just started to lose weight. She asked me to get some jeans that I would never have thought of, a lot tighter than the ones I have had. I said to her, Alexia, I cannot get them, I don’t think they will fit me, but I noticed that they suited me and they were all right. She is my stylist now, I go with her shopping, I do not even choose the clothes anymore. I get into the cabin and she brings them to me. I got some leather pants. I had some that I liked for a long time, and now they were very long. Otherwise, I wear dresses quite a lot and I will stick with that because I really like them. They are easy to wear, you do not have to think of matching up the top with the bottom and they look feminine.
SOURCE: What Happens, Doctor? / MARCH 2012
Interview: Beatrice Osanu
MOVEMENT STUDIO – A retreat for mind and body
RETREAT YOURSELF!
SPORT TRENDS HUNTER
From yoga at 37*C to fitness at the bar, Pilates and dancing, we have tried the most exciting workouts in town. Bonus: We’re keeping an eye on a new boot camp.
MOVEMENT STUDIO – A retreat for mind and body
At first glance, Pilates does not seem to be a demanding workout. I confess that during the exercises, the mix between every movement and breath is exhausting. In order to be able to complete a workout and to achieve maximum results, there must always be a connection between mind and body. Pilates is not just a kind of movement. It is an experience in which you discover yourself and it can be adaptable to each person.
Breathing is the bond between the mind and the body and it has to be done as accurately as possible. Each session is individual and tailored to your needs. Pilates is recommended for anyone who wants to get toned without gaining excess muscle mass. It is a method of exercise designed to strengthen, stretch, and balance the human body. Movement Studio
(12, Constantin Aricescu Street)
SOURCE : ALIST MAGAZINE 2017
Pas de deux
The grace and the training techniques of the dancers are the inspiration for the training sessions proposed by Ana Dumitrescu and Raluca Vornicel at Movement Studio. The first time I heard about Movement Studio was from Andreea Esca, a few months ago, when I made my New Year resolution: to do sport, organized and methodically, even though I wasn’t keen on the idea of spending a few hours weekly in a room full of sweaty people.
Andreea was very excited when she told me about her latest discovery (Pilates) and not only that she had visibly improved her body tonus in a few months, but it is even a delight to do it.
That’s how I ended up among the ones who are happy (a word that is not used very often when is about going for a workout in a gym) to go to Movement Studio, an emerging business led by Ana and Raluca. Former dancers – both graduated the Choreography School and ATF High School (Choreography Department) and then worked at the Opera, Theater and Television. “The tours abroad and the dancers I met there have brought us into contact with Pilates techniques. They were using by then the kind of machines we now have in this space, “Ana tells me.”Then I had a problem with my knees and I had to give up dancing, so I got to achieve mastery in Pilates.”
They had the chance to participate in the only course held in Romania by Balance Body, the largest manufacturer of Pilates devices and programs in the US. “We thought of Pilates because it is very close to ballet – for someone who did this is much easier to practice than for an athlete, it is completely different from aerobic or tae-bo,” explains Raluca. There is a great emphasis on posture, breathing, back exercises, those that strengthen and stretch muscles, do not make them massive.
But the mystery of the remarkable results obtained at Movement Studio is likely to remain the one of the personalized approach: meetings are held individually, only the client and the coach, and the program is specific to each person, each session being unique, so it’s impossible not to focus properly or to get bored. “The special devices we have here can work absolutely any muscle group, work mostly with body weight, exercises can be light or very difficult, everything is customized, and that makes Pilates accessible to everyone, including the elderly and pregnant women. ”
Anna and Raluca’s Passion for ballet resides in their approach, so Movement Studio also offers dance classes for children. Besides, passion is the key word in this space: “All those who teach here are our former colleagues, dancers at the Romanian National Opera, whom we have known for many years.”
“After 10 sessions you will feel the difference, after 20 sessions you will see the difference, after 30 sessions you will have a whole new body.” Joseph H. Pilates
SOURCE: The ONE / May 2012
The Decalogue of the Movement
“Pilates has always attracted me because it is intimately connected with the world of dance, most of Joseph Pilates’s disciples being ballet dancers or former ballet dancer. Do not forget: the effort made today is the gift you will receive tomorrow. ”
With a heavy artistic career in the background: for 6 years she danced with great dedication on the stage of the National Opera; she went to numerous tours abroad, she danced in performances at the National Theater, including “Chicago”; she spent 4 years in The “Dancing for You” dance troup, where she had some of the most beautiful memories of her life and where she learned different dance styles, Ana Dumitrescu came among the sedentary people and today she is helping us to regain our body shape and muscle tone regardless of our age, weight or lifestyle. We found her in the gym, prepared at any moment to show us that sport is in human nature.
CSID: What are the 10 golden rules of practicing sport by virtue of health and a maximum physical form?
Ana Dumitrescu:
- At the entrance to the gym you have to leave behind the thoughts and worries, to be focused on the exercises you do as the mind is the one that guides the movements of the body.
- Training should not be regarded as a painful effort, but as a benefit to both your body and your soul, as a detachment from the daily problems, as a breath of fresh air.
- Quality is the one that overcomes, not quantity.
- Keep a consistency in training.
- In the morning you must eat as a king, at lunch as a prince, and in the evening as a beggar.
- Once a week you can fulfill your culinary appetites, but not in excess!
- You need to drink lots of liquids!
- You have to be patient and allow your body time to adapt to the effort.
- You don’t have to give in to physical limitations, because most can be overcome.
- You have to smile, be cheerful and optimistic, because the body shaping starts from the inside. SOURCE: What happens, doctor? / September 2012
Editor: Madalina Dragoi
A Balance between Mind and Body
Even though I tried all sorts of training, Pilates was not one of those that caught my interest. Until I met Ana Dumitrescu, who in one hour demolished all my preconceived ideas about this type of movement.
Ana is a ballerina, but she also graduated a Fitness-Aerobic and Pilates course, held by Balanced Body, the most important Pilates school in America. As I’ve always wanted to learn from the best, I made an appointment for a Pilates session at Movement Studio.
At the beginning of the training, she asked me if I have any back problems and explained to me that she is creating the sessions according to the health problems, abilities and goals of each client.
As I am accustomed to the dynamic cardio exercises that I have identified myself with, it seemed to me that there is a whole story behind the Pilates exercise techniques – from the position of your body, your hands, the way you need to breathe, how you need to contract your muscles and concentrate on each movement.
There must be a permanent connection between body and mind, to achieve maximum results. I worked all the muscles under Anna’s careful supervision, which always said to me: “Do not forget to inhale and then lightly exhale!”, because breathing is the defining element in this body modeling process. We combined the mat exercises with those on the Reformer, a specific Pilates device and it worked both the lower and the upper body.
Control is the most important part of this type of training, also named “the art of contrology”. I have always thought that Pilates is not very demanding, but I confess that during the training, the mix of concentration on each movement and breathing has exhausted me. At the end of the day though, you feel a revival of the whole body, and over time, an increase in flexibility and muscle tone, as well as a much better concentration power.
What persuaded me to believe in this mind-body relationship, specific in Pilates, was the moment when I totally disconnected from my daily routine and realized that I could not think of what I was going to do after the class or about the movie I have watched last night, because Ana immediately was warning me: “You do not coordinate anymore! Focus on the movement!”.
Ana recommends Pilates classes for anyone who wants to strengthen and tone their body without gaining excess muscle, this workout developing long, lean muscles.
SOURCE: The ONE / August 2013
Andreea & Alexia
Like mother, like daughter
I have known Andreea for 15 years, and Alexia since she was in her mother’s tummy. I still remember that day when the little girl, dressed in red like her mother, was introduced to the audience of millions of people, on December 1, 2000. A few weeks ago, Alexia received her identity card. Their first ever sport photo shoot showed me that energy, good mood and naturalness are a family inheritance. One that is contagious.
CSID: How did you feel together at the first photo shoot? Who was the star?
Andreea: Alexia. She is the new star in our family, which brings me a lot of joy. And because we’re talking about sports, we can say that I’ve handed the baton.
CSID: Andreea, you are an energetic person, doing sports since you were little. Do you encourage your children, to follow your example regarding sports?
Alexia: We have done all kind of sports since we were little. Some, we have done to a competitive level.
Andreea: I think that if you teach them different sports when they are very young, they do not know what to choose. I do not think a 3-year-old says that he wants to go to a particular sport, or maybe very rarely. If you take them from being very young, not necessarily against their will, but without them realizing that they have to do that, then they get used to it and they will want to carry on doing something. For example, Alexia was the one who decided to go to ballroom dancing. I took her to swimming lessons, before that she did ballet, rhythmic gymnastics. Both, her teacher and I, considered that she did not have the right physical constitution for rhythmic gymnastics. The teacher told me that if she wanted to do sports at a competitive level, she should head for tennis or swimming. I took her to swimming. She did it for years. She participated in competitions, she was very good. After that, she came and told me, probably influenced by the TV show “Dancing for you”, that she really wanted to dance. It came from her, and she didn’t give up until I spoke with somebody and she went to dance. That worked out very well, because she did it for 5 years and she had very good results. I think that dance it’s a really nice form of sport for girls, because it develops their bodies completely different from swimming. I think she stopped swimming exactly in the right moment.
CSID: Alexia, how did you cope with dancing? I guess it was not easy!
Alexia: No, it wasn’t. We had to go every day, sometimes for 4 hours, but I got used to it.
CSID: Talking about kid’s daily activities program.. Isn’t it a little overloaded?
Andreea: Yes, she’s very busy. Alexia starts at 8.30 and ends sometimes at 4.30, other times at 5.30, so sometimes it’s longer than a man’s work schedule. This is just school. And after 5.30 o’clock, she has to do her homework, rest for a little bit and then have other activities. I mean, it’s a lot.
Due to the busy schedule, she could not go to the dance classes anymore. She started taking some hip hop classes so she can stay close to dance and music. With the hip hop it is a little bit easier if you miss the class because the team can carry on without you. Whereas, if you were unable to attend the dance lesson, it was also detrimental to the dance partner. This year she would like to take tennis lessons too. We have to think of something better suited to her school program.
CSID: Did your dance classes energize you after a tiring school day?
Alexia: At first, yes. At the end, I was very tired. Also I had friends there.
Andreea: There is social atmosphere, besides doing sports.
Alexia: Now I like more hip hop, it is newer music and I go with my friends.
CSID: You’re still doing Pilates. Have you been tempted to do anything else?
Andreea: No, because I like it very much. It seemed to me that it fits my body with what I want from myself. I think it’s good for my age because I cannot figure out if I could do a lot of cardio. I prefer to do cardio from time to time and to do Pilates as a base sport. Honestly, if I do not go for a day or two, I feel guilty and cannot figure out whether it’s a physical or mental thing after all. Being how I am, it’s like a project for me: it bothers me that I did not do my job. In addition, I’m a normal woman, I’m a little careful, but I do not have a non-stop diet, therefore I cannot let go of the sport because you’ll see right away. I like very much the girls there. There are a lot of nice people and Alexia says, it matters a lot who you go with when you do sports. Even if you do it yourself, it’s important to have someone who you like, a coach who is good and with whom you have compatibility. If I found these elements, I do not see why I would give up.
CSID: Talking about diets, is your grandmother still cooking for you?
Andreea: Unfortunately, she doesn’t cook for us anymore, because she has some health problems and she has “abandoned” us from this point of view. As a result, we no longer eat home cooking.
Alexia: We eat at school.
Andreea: They eat at school and we eat in the city.
CSID: Alexia, have you started watching what you eat, do you weigh yourself, what about your friends? Or not yet?
Alexia: Sometimes we say: that’s it, we no longer eat. But the next day, if there is something tasty, we eat it.
Andreea: In their group, none of them are fat. They are within normal limits. Maybe because they have a lot of activities. If you eat normally, but move and do not just sit in front of your computer, I think it’s not hard to lose weight.
CSID: Alexia, do you like sweets?
Alexia: I am a very greedy. So I have to do sports, otherwise I would get fat 🙂
CSID: But, haven’t you started to weigh yourself yet?
Alexia: Sometimes.
CSID: You have a very fit body for your age!
Andreea: Well, she’s been doing sports since she was 4 years old. Since then, she has not stopped. She is been doing various sports for 10 years. Now she has a bit of a break and she is reflecting on her options, to make sure she progresses.
CSID: Doesn’t Pilates tempt you?
Alexia: I took one class and I was thinking of joining sessions with mum.
Andreea: She said that from outside, it looked very easy. And the next day she wasn’t able to move. Do you remember? 🙂
Alexia: Yes.
Andreea: When she came for the Pilates class, she was going to dance every day; she had a lot of workouts.
CSID: Would you like a modeling career?
Alexia: I do not know, I did it once, and I found it very hard. It seems to me that you have to have the chance to become famous.
Andreea: There are many photo models and a very few that everyone knows. If you do not get to be one of the few…
CSID: So everything or nothing.
Andreea: Exactly. We laugh all the time because I have many friends who tell me that she looks like Andreea Diaconu. And I was telling her that I met Andreea Diaconu exactly when she was Alexia’s age. She was 14 and I never imagined that she will be so well known and so good at what she is doing. I’m so happy for her!
CSID: Talking about consistency and discipline, let’s talk a little about the breast cancer prevention campaign you’ve been involved in for years. Alexia is already growing up. Does she help you in the campaign?
Alexia: Yes, I’m helping her, but I’m afraid of blood tests. 🙂
Andreea: She helps me in any campaign, but she is afraid of blood tests and of doctors. Now it’s better, but when she was little she was really scared. At age 6, when we were in a vacation in Turkey, she had an accident. She fell at a pool and hurt her chin. It had to be sewn and I think she has suffered a shock. Everything was fine then, she did well, but after that she developed a phobia over doctors and hospitals, and we are slowly trying to treat it.
CSID: What have you noticed since you are the image of the breast cancer campaign?
Andreea: I think it’s a long-term battle, but, looking at numbers, we can see that there are more women going for regular checkups, which means that all the campaigns have had an effect. Even the fact that once a year, on October 1, we have an event and the world sees it and hears it once again, it is very useful because we draw the attention to women that they should go each year for a checkup. Besides, the fact that the “mamovans” , the mobile analysis and control units that go through the villages and the disadvantaged areas, where people cannot reach the doctor, have no money, or have no knowledge, cannot be but helpful. Not to mention that the tests are free and this is quite important to the locals. If we can save somebody and bring himher to a doctor, I feel happy!
CSID: Alexia, how did you get involved in these campaigns?
Alexia: I went once to one of the campaigns where I shared raffle tickets and I danced with some of my friends in a flashmob, at ASE. I like to help people and I am for human rights.
CSID: So, which profession would tempt you?
Alexia: Either an attorney, or a doctor or maybe in television. I like to talk to people and to debate.
SOURCE: What Happens, Doctor? / OCTOBER 2014
Interview: Beatrice Osana