'Sugar is poison': Fitness expert Yasmin Karachiwala on how she makes celebrities reach their health goals

Known for pioneering the Pilates movement in India, Yasmin Karachiwala's journey began as a group fitness instructor and evolved into much more when she decided to embark on the transformative path of pursuing Pilates 15 years ago. Today, she holds the position of master Pilates teacher, not only training celebrities such as Deepika Padukone and Alia Bhatt, but also teaching aspiring instructors and fostering a network of Pilates trainers in India and beyond. In a conversation with City Times, Karachiwala, who was recently in Dubai to commemorate the fifth anniversary of her Pilates and Dance studio (The PAD), talks about her Pilates journey, the healing power of exercise and her experience, training some of the most celebrated names in Bollywood.

Edited excerpts from an interview:

What is the biggest takeaway you have experienced from Pilates?

Pilates works from inside out, it focuses on your core. So whether you're working on your arms or your legs, whether you're working your upper body or your spine, you're working right from your core. Pilates makes you do anything else you do, better. If you're a housewife, you will be more conscious about the way you move around and your posture will be better. If you work in a corporate space, you will sit up up better. We're so abused by our phones and the computer that we're all in a forward neck, rounded shoulders posture all the time, Pilates corrects that. If you are recovering from an injury, Pilates helps you recover faster. It's so versatile that almost everyone and anyone can do it.

Have you helped treat any critical cases with the help of Pilates?

Most recently, we trained Hardik Pandya before he went for a spinal surgery. He needed to strengthen his core before he went for the surgery because of cricket. So, we made sure he was strong enough to go for surgery.

You’d imagine someone like Hardik Pandya to be fit as he’s a sportsperson. Did he struggle with Pilates?

Yeah, in fact, I have a video of him on my Instagram where he's doing the simplest exercise and collapsing because Pilates makes you use muscles you’ve never used before.

You’re also known for making celebrities such as Deepika Padukone, Alia Bhatt and others look the way they do. How did your celebrity training journey begin and how has the experience been?

I don’t make them look the way they do, they look good anyway. I just make them better. I never advertised what I did, it spread through word of mouth. My first celebrity client was Kareena Kapoor, probably 15 years ago. She heard of me through a friend, she was really young. She saw the results and started speaking about it to other friends. Then, slowly people started coming in and being curious about what Pilates was. Before that I had group classes for step aerobics, where I had Twinkle Khanna, Chunky Panday, Gauri Khan and several others coming in. I remember, Shah Rukh literally used to come pick Gauri up after the class.

So, Shah Rukh Khan never tried Pilates?

I did tell him to try it out. When I started with Pilates in Mumbai, all his leading ladies were working out with me. So, he did stop by the studio and he was interested to know more about it. He made me get him a Pilates machine, which he's kept in his house. But he never tried it. Not yet.

You also flew with Deepika Padukone for her appearance at the Oscars, where she did a Pilates session with you before attending the awards ceremony...

I flew with Deepika for the Oscars to Los Angeles for two days, literally. And it wasn’t as though I made her do Pilates, she herself chose to do it before the Oscars appearance. We literally started at 6:30am. The hotel she was staying in had a reformer and we did a full one hour session. She usually starts her day with exercising because it makes her feel good. She's one of the fittest people I know and she looks amazing so people wonder why she needs to workout. But it’s very important. The exercise brings in that posture and poise to her already beautiful personality and physique.

With the video shared of her training before the Oscars, you wrote, “The secret to her gorgeousness besides her genes is also her discipline, dedication and commitment to maintain a balanced lifestyle”. People often see how glamorous a celebrity looks but don’t acknowledge the work that goes behind the scenes. You see that process very closely. How is it like?

Absolutely, they work for 12 hours, sometimes 14 hours in a day but they make time for fitness. It's such a big part of their life. Sometimes, Deepika would ask me to train her at 5:30am if she’s got a 7am call time. That’s the discipline and consistency with which she shows up. And that’s true for all of them. That’s why they are where they are.

You never see the actors slacking?