When I first trained as a Pilates instructor, I was introduced to the method in its most traditional form. The original exercises, the original sequences, the discipline and precision that Joseph Pilates built his entire system around. And I loved it. There was something deeply satisfying about learning a method that had stood the test of time.
But as my training developed and I began teaching real people with real lives, real jobs, real injuries and real limitations, I started to understand why the method had evolved. The truth is that bodies are different now compared to when Joseph was alive. He worked predominantly with dancers – people who were already strong, mobile and highly body aware. Today the picture looks very different. More and more people are living increasingly inactive lives, spending long hours sitting, and arriving to exercise with a very different set of needs and starting points. The method has needed to evolve to meet that reality. And that evolution is what we now call Contemporary Pilates.
Classical Pilates is Joseph Pilates’ original method, taught as closely as possible to the way he intended. Joseph actually called his method Contrology, a name that reflected his belief in the complete coordination of body and mind. In 1945 he published his book, Return to Life Through Contrology, which laid out not just the exercises but his entire philosophical approach to movement and health. The exercises, the order they are performed in, and the principles behind them are all preserved in Classical Pilates today. It is structured, precise and for the right person, incredibly powerful.
Contemporary Pilates takes everything Joseph gave us and builds on it using decades of research in movement science, anatomy and rehabilitation. The core principles remain – breath, control, centring, concentration, flow and precision – but the approach is more flexible. Exercises can be modified, sequenced differently and combined with other movement disciplines to suit the person in front of you.
When I undertook my training in 2013 it was very classical in its ethos, but it taught me how to modify and adapt every exercise in the repertoire in multiple ways to suit the individual. It was a brilliant foundation. It is also worth noting that Pilates was originally practised on a one to one basis. As it grew in popularity and moved into group settings, the structure naturally had to be adapted. Teaching one person and teaching a room full of people with different bodies, different histories and different goals requires a very different approach.
My own teaching style has continued to evolve ever since. I have made it a priority to upskill both monthly and annually, working with some of the top Pilates training schools in the UK including MK Pilates, APPI Health Group, Body Control Pilates and Drummond Education. But my learning has not stopped at Pilates. I became a Level 3 Breathwork Coach, attended a foundation workshop in Strength and Conditioning with the UKSCA, and have completed CPD in areas such as Skiing Injury Prevention. All of it feeds into how I teach and how I support my members.
Becoming a fully certified Mat Pilates Instructor is just the starting point. Joseph Pilates himself never stopped learning and refining his method. I think that is something every good instructor should carry with them.
This is the approach I bring to every one of my members, both in person and online.
It is worth saying that I can teach both Classical and Contemporary Pilates. The Classical method has its place and I have a deep respect for it. But Contemporary is what serves my members best, and here is why.
The people I teach are not training for performance. They are looking after grandchildren, managing desk jobs, recovering from operations, keeping up with their favourite pastimes and simply wanting to feel well in their bodies every single day. Contemporary Pilates gives me the tools to meet every single one of them where they are.
It means I can adapt a class for someone with a hip replacement sitting next to someone training for a 10k. Both will be challenged. Both will be safe. Both will leave feeling better than when they arrived.
It is also important to be honest about something. Pilates is the foundation to all movement and I truly believe that. But Pilates alone will not give your body everything it needs. Cardiovascular exercise, weight bearing and resistance work, those small continuous daily movements we so often overlook, and optimal nutrition – they all matter too. A good movement practice is a varied one, supported by fuelling your body well.
Whichever approach you follow, the heart of Pilates is the same. It is about connection. Breath to movement. Mind to body. It has never been about impressive shapes or pushing through pain. It is about building a body that works well for your life.
That is what we do together, every single class.
I will leave the final word to Joseph himself. This passage is taken from Chapter 7 of Your Health, written by Joseph Pilates and originally published in 1934. Nearly a century later, I think it says everything.
“Neither the mind nor the body is supreme – that one cannot be subordinated to the other. Both must be coordinated, in order not only to accomplish the maximum results with the minimum expenditure of mental and physical energy, but also to live as long as possible in normal health and enjoy the benefits of a useful and happy life.”
Joseph Pilates, Your Health, 1934.
Laura x
