The Pilates Master: Daphne Pena

Grove: Once and for all - Pilates or yoga?

Daphne Pena: Breath and flexibility are emphasised in yoga, but they must be combined abdominal strength to take pressure off the joints. Pilates combines all these elements: concentration, centring, control, precision, breath and flow. People trying yoga usually experience an increase in flexibility, while Pilates clients will feel results abdominally and in their posture.

Grove: When did you know Pilates was for you?

Daphne Pena: I was working with Patti LuPone in Sunset Boulevard in the West End, and was experiencing a great deal of pain in my neck and back. My osteopath recommended I either start Pilates or look into getting a wheelchair in 10 years' time. I got a job in New York, and tried a session with Romana, Joseph Pilates' direct protégé. It was a life-changing experience, and my injuries nearly disappeared.

Grove: How did you spread the gospel?

Daphne Pena: I went on to work in Austin Powers - The Spy Who Shagged Me and Inspector Gadget, and soon had the entire sets doing Pilates each morning. During runs of my one-woman comedy show, The Bellydance Diaries, I have to do my Pilates for at least 10 to 20 minutes every day. It's the only thing keeps my 42-year-old body safe and flexible enough to bend back and touch my head to the floor as well as the stamina to last through a 28-day run.

Grove: Who is the most inspirational person you've met?

Daphne Pena: One of my favourites is an 80-year-old lady who had three hip replacements. The first couple of sessions, her hips were so tight she couldn't pull her legs together at all: I had to keep telling her, "Pull your legs tight together, squeeze them in, pull, pull!" She sat up, and in a big Texas drawl said: "Well, honey - you must think I'm a hooker!" Six months later, she came into the studio with no cane, and after another few months with no limpat all. It never ceases to amaze me how much Pilates can improve someone's quality of life.

Grove: What Hollywood hot bods are thanks to Pilates?

Daphne Pena: Some of the most famous names are Madonna, Sharon Stone, Courteney Cox, Samuel L. Jackson, Sting, Uma Thurman and Cameron Diaz.

Grove: What sort of clients do you have?

Daphne Pena: Ones who have done yoga for years, but have niggling injuries they just can't ignore anymore. We've also started to specialise in young people with scoliosis - a curvature of the spine. Our youngest clients have started at 12 years old, and our most venerable go up to nearly 90! We have a lot of clients from New York and elsewhere in the US stop in for sessions when in London, because we're one of the only studios that teach the original classical Pilates method. We also cater for many actors either on set or while they're working in the West End: Ben Miles, Mark Strong, Hari Dillon and Gaby Roslin are all regulars.

Grove: How long have you been in west London?

Daphne Pena: I started my business in a small room in my flat in Queen's Park, six months pregnant with my daughter. I used to answer my door with my big tummy and say, "Do Pilates and you can look like me!" I moved the studio to Lonsdale Road in 2002 and have continued to grow ever since. Many of those first clients still come to the studio; they say it's like the community hub of Queen's Park.

Grove: What do you love about it?

Daphne Pena: It's a magic pocket of London. Where else can you walk to big green spaces, great eating places (pizza from the Salusbury Deli is my downfall) and still be only 20 minutes from central London? In LA, I had to drive 30 minutes just to get a decent cup of coffee!

Grove: How would you spend a lost day in west London?

Daphne Pena: First, an hour-long workout to really set me up for the day. Then breakfast at Lucky 7, and a steam, sweat, scrub and a plunge at Porchester Baths. I'm addicted to Falafel King on Portobello Road, so that would probably be lunch. Then over to the Lexi Cinema, for a glass of wine and a film before dinner at Hugo's where I'd make them whack the music up and get everyone up dancing until the wee hours of the morning.

Grove: What's coming up for you?

Daphne Pena: The Bellydance Diaries sold out for two years at the Edinburgh Festival and last year at The Brighton Festival. This year my new show Celebrity Big Bellydance Idol is premiering in Edinburgh (eif.co.uk).

NY Pilates, 43-47 Lonsdale Road, NW6 6RA
020 7372 3490; nypilates.co.uk

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