by Nick McLain

For 74-year-old Carol Ann Wyndelts, the twice-weekly Pilates classes she attends at highly rated Athletic Club Northeast in Atlanta means she leads an active lifestyle with increased mobility - despite arthritis in her hips, knees and toes, as well as periodic back pain and two surgeries for diverticulosis and a hernia.

"I started Pilates about two years ago," the Atlanta resident says. "I feel so much better. I crawl in and I dance out.

"I'm not doing this for beauty, I'm doing this for practicality," she adds. "I'm so much more mobile and enjoying life more because I can move around."

Before starting Pilates, Wyndelts says she visited the gym in spurts depending on her motivation level - and she's not alone. Only about 31.5 percent of people ages 65 and older engage in regular physical activity, according to a national health survey conducted in 2009 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Folks in the 45- to 64-year age bracket fared only slightly better - 32.8 percent.

Angie's List member Arlene Ward, who's in her 50s, praises the Pilates classes she takes at highly rated Strong Tower Pilates in Acworth, Ga.. "I cannot speak highly enough of the fitness benefits I have received," the Woodstock resident says in her Page of Happiness nomination. "I am more toned and have greater strength and flexibility. These latter two were of particular importance to me, as I began experiencing joint problems."

Strong Tower owner Kelly Letalien estimates that people ages 60 and over make up one-third of her clientele, many of them referred by doctors or physical therapists. She says Pilates, which helps to strengthen the pelvic muscles, really helps women who experience vaginal prolapse - a condition in which the rectum, bladder or other pelvic organs fall out of their normal positions.

Some of her clients also use Pilates to recover after hip and knee replacements or mastectomies, or to help improve ostepenia (low bone density). "They can do so much more stuff in their daily life that they couldn't before," Letalien says.

Strong Tower offers both small-group and private classes at three levels: essential, intermediate and accelerated. Sessions can involve Pilates equipment that uses ropes and springs to provide resistance or a Pilates mat regimen that uses your own body for resistance. Clients can also take a yoga class for additional stretching and strengthening. Prices for an individual session range from $65 to $75 per hour, she says, and senior discounts are available.

Letalien says she changes the intensity and pace of the workouts, depending on the client. "Sometimes we'll change the weights, making it lighter or heavier depending on their strength, or lower the amount of repetitions," she says. "We also can slow the pace of the session so it's not overly active and they aren't getting short of breath."

Before doing Pilates, Wyndelts frequently hurt herself doing high-impact cardiovascular exercises, such as running on a treadmill, says Miguel Casas, the Pilates coordinator at Athletic Club Northeast. He advises that seniors and clients who have specific medical problems begin by taking one-on-one sessions rather than group classes. A private session for a member costs $70; $80 for a non-member.

"What works for one person may not work for another," he says. "With one-on-one, I can work with the needs of the client more than a class, where I have to do more general exercises."

Dr. Lee Jacobs, an Atlanta internist at highly rated Kaiser Permanente Cumberland medical group, says he refers many patients suffering from joint or neurological issues to take Pilates classes. "Pilates is a well-kept secret," he says. "There are people I've referred driving 45 minutes to go to class because they get so much relief from it."

Jacobs also takes classes himself with his wife, Deb, 60, at Strong Tower Pilates. Back pain and degenerative arthritic knees severely impacted the 63-year-old Acworth resident's posture before he started the classes.

"He was walking like his 80-year-old father," his wife says. "Now he can do anything around the house, and his body looks a good 20 years younger. He has more energy, too. It's amazing."

Lee agrees. "It's given me so much flexibility," he says. "It's just a night-and-day difference."

Wyndelts says Pilates training allowed her to continue many of her favorite activities, including acting in community theater. "My endurance is definitely better, and I'm more flexible," she says. "It allows me to do a whole lot of little things, like tie my shoelaces or pick things up off the floor, with no pain."

When it comes to choosing your Pilates instructor, Letalien cautions consumers to beware of uncertified or partially certified instructors. "Unfortunately, there are a lot of training programs that teach students in one weekend or a very few hours," she says. "I think teachers who are trained in such a short time are simply learning the exercises, but not the concepts of Pilates."

Although the industry is not regulated, it typically takes months of study to become a fully certified instructor, which means they've received training in both mat and equipment Pilates, she says.