Jen White worked as a waitress in high school and college. When she was 20, she visited her physician, complaining of shoulder pain from lugging around heavy trays at work and a book-filled backpack at school. He didn't recommend surgery or a physical therapist. He told her to try Pilates.

She wasn't sure what Pilates was. An alternate form of yoga? A recently rediscovered martial art? An ancient torture method?

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Because of some of the external similarities of yoga and Pilates -- most obviously that they are performed on a mat -- Pilates is often confused with its centuries-older counterpart. However, Pilates is less than 100 years old and has its roots in Western civilization.

And for White -- and likely the many others who have joined the craze and stuck with it -- it is anything but torture.

Origins Of Pilates

A nurse named Joseph Pilates created a program, originally named "contrology" -- which is now considered mat Pilates -- to train U.K. police officers in Scotland Yard. During World War I, he used his contrology techniques to teach patients who couldn't walk to work up enough arm and abdominal strength to stand. For each of the exercises, the method requires controlled breathing while either stretching or performing an active movement, which contributes to overall fitness.

Much like Pilates' patients in the 1910s, some of today's students -- at first glance -- appear to be crippled and nontreatable, said Pilates instructor Anna VanDeLoo.

"I had a student who came to a demo unable to sit up straight. I was worried that she would leave complaining that Pilates was not for her," said VanDeLoo, the head of personal training at Life Time Fitness in Roseville, Minn. "She struggled through the ab series unable to lift her head and neck but continued to come back week after week."

Start With The Core

What VanDeLoo didn't see initially was that her student was gaining strength in her core, the abdominal area that acts as the "powerhouse" of the body. If there's strength in the core, Pilates followers attest, strength in the rest of the body will follow.

"My shoulders were always a chronic pain, but Pilates made my whole body stronger, and my shoulders are part of that, too," White said.

Along with strength, Pilates is designed to also improve flexibility and posture, VanDeLoo said. While the exercises help injured students heal their bodies, they have been shown to help those who are just looking for an effective, balanced and gentle workout.

After she had been practicing for a few years, White recommended Pilates to her friend Jeanene Chase. She had suffered from some minor back pain but was mostly looking for a way to improve her overall fitness.

"It looked easy enough -- reminded me of yoga, but with more movement. But it didn't seem too strenuous," Chase said. "When I start (an exercise program), I get all excited and do if for two weeks and then fade off. Pilates is an easy 20 minutes, and it feels good."

What's In A Workout

Joseph Pilates created more than 500 exercises, VanDeLoo said, but most Pilates classes and DVDs feature a few familiar moves.

The Hundred: Sit on the ground and lift the legs at a 45-degree angle while leaning back at a 45-degree angle. Extend the arms out to the sides. Pump arms up and down quickly. Exhale while pumping down, inhale on the upward motion. Do 100 arm pumps in quick succession.

The Roll-Up: Lay down on your back with arms above the head and legs straight. Inhale and bring your arms down from over the head. Allow the head, neck, shoulders and back to follow the arms, causing you to curve as you sit up. As you exhale, continue the forward motion, bending over and reaching toward the toes. Next, inhale and reverse the motion, rolling down one vertebra at a time, and begin to lift the arms overhead. When you are halfway down, exhale and continue curving back down toward a lying-down position, lifting the arms all the way up and into the starting position.

Rolling Like A Ball: Start by sitting with the knees bent and the arms hugging the legs to the chest. Rest the hands on the shins. On the inhale, lift the feet off the floor and curve the upper body, tucking the chin in and allowing yourself to roll onto your back. On the exhale, roll back up and contract the abdominals. Balance in the upright position before repeating the move.

While the exercises are active movements, the six principles of Pilates -- control, concentration, centering, focus, precision and breathing -- allow practitioners to not simply enjoy the physical exercise -- they also receive a mind-body workout.

With so many details to note -- Am I inhaling or exhaling? Keep contracting those abs! Is my back curved? Flat? Straight? -- VanDeLoo said that the mind must be engaged in order to do the exercises correctly.

Mind-Body Connection

But the beauty of Pilates is that, while the mind and body are both engaged, the exercises aren't extraordinarily difficult -- they weren't designed for professional athletes. One student who VanDeLoo thought was not suited for Pilates mastered the moves and improved her condition in no time.

"Six weeks later she was performing the core series and advanced moves -- even rolling like a ball," VanDeLoo said. "Her chiropractor was amazed by her progress and told her she should keep up whatever she was doing."

The results and the ease are what keep Chase performing her routine by DVD.

"I can definitely reach past my toes now. I couldn't do that before," she said. "She (the DVD instructor) says one thing that's my favorite and I always remember to do that: 'You've got to make both cheeks even.' I can remember to do that. It works."

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