Cello performance calls for intensity and adrenalin-charged energy. It calls for stamina and the self-knowledge demanded in creating and releasing muscular tension. It calls, in short, for whole-body awareness, which Pilates can provide. What is Pilates? It’s a system of physical fitness that employs the mind to consciously control muscles, a technique many string players find helpful in balancing the physical demands of playing a stringed instrument.

Pilates teachers know about bodies. Often ex-dancers, they know how to use their own, and have had to learn anatomy and kinesiology as well as the Pilates method. The training is serious! When, at the beginning of your first session, you stand with your back to your teacher and roll down to the floor, he or she will recognize your tight and weak places and, if you’re in pain, quite possibly see where it stems from.

With the breath I really feel I am “singing” the cello.

There are two essentials to Pilates: pelvic stability and thoracic breathing. In the studio you will first learn basic movements designed to mobilize your lower spine and pelvic area. Tight hamstrings in the legs often contribute to lower-back discomfort, so you will gently stretch them. Then you will set about creating your Pilates core, or powerhouse, by working your abdominal muscles, which will help support your lumbar spine and maintain your pelvic placement.

It’s important to properly use your stabilizing muscles and to keep your spine mobile. In Pilates you learn to control your vertebrae, supporting the movement with your abdominal muscles. In the studio you also work with resistance (springs and light weights) or simply against gravity to become aware of, lengthen, and strengthen the muscles down your sides and in your back.

Pelvic stability is hard to achieve. Is there a cellist alive who doesn’t turn predominantly to the left? You support the cello with your left leg while the right is free to relax—outwards or inwards, whichever is more comfortable. Both ways, the hip flexor comes under strain and there’s a temptation to sink into the right side. In order to engage full power from a sitting position, it is necessary to have both sitting bones evenly and firmly placed on your chair. Having both feet weighted equally firmly on the floor provides the pelvis with yet more stability.

Intense abdominal support and work on the full range of your back muscles will also take you into thumb position without raising your shoulders. With firm support from the abs, you learn how to extend the spine backwards, opening the chest. And there are stretches for arms and wrists, which should never be neglected. Aerobic work—walking, swimming—is also important.

Thoracic breathing is super crucial. You learn to soften the ribcage down and breathe in deeply across the back, and strong muscular movements are performed on the out breath. This is the area that has charged my confidence: my ribcage has expanded and, with it, the strength between my shoulder blades. I’ve done neck stretches, and I’ve discovered the amazing mobility possible in the shoulders when they’re not slumping forward. It’s as if the playing power transfers directly from a strong Pilates center to the arms, sparing my shoulders and neck, and with the breath I really feel I am “singing” the cello.

Want to learn more? Many fitness centers and gymnasiums offer Pilates classes, but remember that this technique should be taught only by a trained expert.

—FELICITY VINCENT