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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
National
Neha Gohil

Pilates after prayers: men’s classes in Bradford mosques offer fitness and friendship

Men have fun taking part in a weekly pilates class held inside the mosque on a green and gold carpet
Men take part in a weekly pilates class held after midday prayers at the Jamia Usmania mosque in Heaton Village, Bradford. Photograph: Christopher Thomond/The Guardian

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.

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