While Dokka was living in Southern California, a car accident in February 1986 left her with a damaged sciatic nerve. The bottom two discs in her spinal column degenerated. The doctors gave her a 50 percent chance of ever walking again.
“I just wasn’t going to take it,” Dokka says. “I didn’t want to believe that this was the way my life was going to be.”
Dokka didn’t have many options. Surgery, which was the doctor’s suggested option, gave her no guarantees. After a friend saw how Pilates benefited her and her fellow classmates, she suggested that Dokka attend a Pilates class.
Dokka wanted to find a method of strengthening the muscles that surrounded her impacted discs. She began taking Pilates in June 1986 and admits that she immediately fell in love and believed it would help.
“I was like, ‘Wow! I get this. I understand how this works,’” Dokka says.
After continuous sessions, the muscles surrounding Dokka’s disks had strengthened enough to maintain an ordinary life — without any back pain.
Three months after she began the program, Dokka was able to begin her certification for instructing Pilates through the University of California at Los Angeles. She wanted to be able to help others become healthy and physically fit.
“I’m living proof that (Pilates) works,” Dokka says. “If I hadn’t done it, I wouldn’t be walking upright today,”
Dokka says that to this day she isn’t having any back pain. She credits Pilates as the only thing she ever did to help her back. She says that she owes her recovery and ability to walk to Joseph Pilates.
Pilates suffered from many physical disorders as a child, but he was determined to become physically fit. He believed that by using the body’s gravity against itself, it is possible to tone and shape the entire body. He developed 500 floor exercises so everyone, from the ballet dancer to the military man, would be able to perform Pilates.
“You can train your body on your own, and (Pilates) proved that,” Dokka says.
According to the “Body in Balance” Web site, Pilates focuses on targeting the deep abdominal muscles, the buttocks muscles and the muscles that surround the spine. As this “core” strengthens, it will support and stabilize the body. Or so the theory goes.
“The core allows you to control the body,” Dokka says. “It affects every muscle in your body.”
Dokka teaches 11 Pilates classes per day to fit her clientele’s availability and physical abilities.
The classes are diverse in age and abilities — from 5-year-olds to senior citizens.
“A lot of people are intimidated by the weights,” Dokka says.
She offers a fun and friendly environment, where beginners can feel comfortable. She says her clients give each other encouragement.
“I like the encouragement because they were once in the same situation and they help ease the transition into working out,” she says.
‘A Great Start’
Pilates is “a great source of exercise, especially for those who are beginners,” says Marc Silver, owner of Pure Energy Fitness Center in Southern Pines. “It’s a great start to get the muscles going and is a great additive to other exercise routines.”
Silver and Dokka consider their Pilates class successful, and they keep fees low, believing they would rather help a lot of people than make a lot of money.
Dokka points out that many people believe Pilates is a “wussy girl workout,” but the long line of professional athletes who train with Pilates will definitely agree that it’s “not a walk in the park.”
“I do Pilates occasionally, and she wears me out,” Silver says.
With the increase in child obesity, Dokka hopes to turn her attention to getting kids off the couch and into a routine of exercise.
“We all need to be aware of our bodies and health,” Dokka says. “We need to get them started young.”
Dokka says she always talks to people about their health, especially their problems and difficulties. She likes to help people who are in situations similar to the one she was in.
Now, according to the Pilates Foundation Web site, Pilates can help with not only general fitness, but also injury prevention and remedial and rehabilitation work.
Medical doctors ranging from osteopaths and physiotherapists to general practitioners recommend Pilates to their clients, saying that it is one of the safest forms of exercise.
‘Really Helps’
Dr. John Tierney of Carolina Chiropractic is a regular client of Dokka’s.
“I needed more mobility, and I was losing my flexibility,” Tierney says. “I needed to lose some weight, and Pilates is a great way to get into shape.”
Depending on his patients’ age and problems, he will often suggest that they take up Pilates.
“For patients with back problems, Pilates will strengthen the muscles in the back and give them some extra mobility,” Tierney says. “I send some of my older patients because of their osteoporosis, and Pilates really helps.”
Moore County’s golf courses brought Dokka and her husband Arne, a former PGA golfer, to the area from Southern California. Dokka helps professional golfers stay in good physical condition using Pilates.
Arne Dokka died six years ago, but Dokka decided to remain in Moore County.
“It’s a big change, not as active and is low-key,” Dokka says, “but I’ve made some friends and gotten comfortable.”
Dokka enjoys teaching Pilates at Pure Energy, which opened June 19 of this year.
“I love the people and I love to watch them,” Dokka says. “If we can’t have fun, I don’t want to do it. I believe what Pilates can do, that people really can live healthy, productive lives. I’ve seen it work for everyone.”
