What is Pilates, actually?

Pilates has had several lives: a niche method for dancers, a studio staple, a boom in reformer classes with a waiting list. Under all of it is a simple idea: careful, controlled movement, done well, is a pleasure in itself.

Where it comes from

According to the Pilates Method Alliance's history of the method, Joseph Pilates was born in 1883 in Mönchengladbach, Germany. He first called his programme Corrective Exercise and later named it Contrology. He developed a spring-based machine he called the Universal Reformer and listed his gymnasium in the New York telephone directory in 1929.

The same history describes how dancers in New York studied with him in the following decades, how many became the first generation of teachers, and how the method spread from there to studios around the world. He also designed other equipment, including the Trapeze Table, the Wunda Chair and the small ring known as the Magic Circle.

Mat or reformer?

Mat Pilates

Done on a thick mat, using your own body and sometimes small props: a ring, a band, a soft ball. Mat classes are widely available, easy to try and work well at home once you know the movements. Some find them harder than they look, because there is no equipment to support or guide you.

Reformer Pilates

The reformer is a sliding carriage on a frame, with springs that add resistance or support, and straps for hands or feet. It can make some movements easier, by supporting you, and others more challenging. Reformer classes are usually smaller and more expensive, because of the equipment.

Both are Pilates. Many people start on the mat, try a reformer class out of curiosity and end up enjoying both.

What a class feels like

• Slow and precise. Fewer repetitions, done carefully, with attention to alignment and control.
• Breathing as part of the movement. Teachers cue when to breathe in and out.
• A lot of work around the middle of the body, combined with legs, arms and the back.
• Detailed cueing. Teachers talk about the position of the pelvis, the ribs and the shoulders. It can feel like learning a new language for the first few sessions.
• Calm, but not sleepy. Expect to concentrate and to feel it in muscles you had not thought about.

How it differs from yoga

From the outside, a Pilates mat class and a yoga class can look similar: mats, quiet music, bare feet. The difference is more in origin and emphasis.

• Origins. Yoga originated in ancient India and carries a broad philosophical tradition. Pilates is a twentieth-century exercise method created by one man.
• Movement style. Many yoga classes hold poses and move through sequences; Pilates tends to use controlled, repeated movements.
• Equipment. Pilates has its own machines; yoga typically uses a mat, blocks and straps.
• Focus. Both care about breathing and attention. Pilates puts particular emphasis on control and precision of movement.

Neither is better. Some people love the meditative flow of yoga; others love the detail of Pilates. Plenty do both. If flexibility worries you, our page on starting yoga when you are stiff applies just as much here.

How to start

• Try a beginner mat class at a local studio, gym or community centre.
• Tell the teacher it is your first time and mention any injuries.
• Expect to feel lost at first. The vocabulary takes a few sessions to learn.
• Try reformer later, if you like the method, ideally in a beginners' class.
• Look for qualified teachers; ask about their training if it matters to you.