Lauren Kearns, co-founder of Elon University’s Dance Science Program, studies physical movements that improve body awareness and alignment.
As Professor Lauren Kearns extolls the benefits of Pilates, it makes you wonder: is there anything this mind-body exercise can’t do?
Pilates strengthens and tones muscles. Low-impact, full-body exercise increases flexibility and helps prevent injury, especially for athletes and dancers. Its emphasis on muscle activation, concentration and breath control promotes mindfulness and mental wellbeing.
“Pilates is truly for everyone,” says Kearns. “No matter your age, athletic ability or body size, Pilates can be extremely helpful in increasing your strength and athletic ability.”
A seasoned practitioner with more than 20 years of experience, she has studied Pilates, among other physical exercises that improve body awareness and alignment. As co-founder of Elon’s Dance Science program, she sees the movement that informed her own undergraduate studies as fertile ground for academic research and practical application.
Kearns’ current scholarship explores Pilates with dancers and athletes, and her upcoming Faculty Research and Development Summer Fellowship will contribute to the field of Pilates pedagogy through a deeper exploration of teaching methods that enhance students’ learning experiences.
Through her dance courses, emphasizing fundamental principles such as breathing, focus and total body movement, she developed a training system that blends Pilates, yoga and dance movement and published it in her book, Somatics in Action: A Mindful and Conditioning Tool for Movers.
In addition to her own research, Kearns is supervising an undergraduate research project looking at hip stability, heart rate variability, and lower body injury prevention among dancers who incorporate Pilates into their training. Beyond the health benefits, Kearns points out that Pilates also offers lucrative career opportunities.
“This is a multi-billion dollar industry that’s growing every year, but there aren’t enough qualified instructors to meet the demand,” says Kearns, a certified master educator with Balanced Body, a global leader in Pilates training and research. “Becoming a certified Pilates instructor means our dancers can get jobs right after graduation.”
It’s also an ideal activity because all you need to get started is a mat, a surface and an instructor, and specialised equipment can be used to increase intensity and effectiveness.
“I believe this exercise can benefit anyone,” Kearns says. “It develops a sense of body awareness: how your body feels, how each muscle is activated, how you regulate your breath. I love how Pilates changes my day and the way I think.”
