When organisers posted a TikTok promoting 45-minute pilates sessions, the video amassed 2m views. Now plans are afoot for female classes and youth clubs
It’s early afternoon on a gloomy day at the Jamia Usmania mosque in Bradford and a group of mostly elderly men have finished their midday prayers.
The assembly of mainly retired men would usually return to the familiar drumbeat of day-to-day life, but instead they make their way downstairs to tackle squats, glute bridges and the butterfly position in the mosque’s weekly 45-minute pilates class.
“It’s a very unique thing for older Asian men,” said Zafar Kayani, 69, the pilates instructor. “They’re coming here for their spiritual health. Then getting that physical exercise and mental wellbeing, and they’re connecting with each other.”
It has been a whirlwind few weeks for the organisers of the pilates sessions, which began at three mosques in Bradford with a small number of attenders. A TikTok video promoting the class went viral, since amassing almost 2m views, and interest has grown, with up to 30 people attending each session.
