Why Pilates outlasted aerobics, step and every other fad
How Pilates survived aerobics, step and spinning: dancers, physiotherapists, a 2000 court ruling that made the name generic, and the long reformer boom.
Lifestyle
Travel, books, kit, habits and the rest of life around the mat.
How to find a good Pilates studio, and what to ask before you book
A practical checklist for choosing a Pilates studio: teacher training, class size, equipment, the first conversation, trial classes, pricing and red flags.
The Pilates habits that matter most happen outside the studio
Joseph Pilates cared about baths, beds, breathing and fresh air as much as exercise. How to carry his method into your week, one small habit at a time.
Being in shape is about what you can do, not how you look
A practical definition of fitness built on strength, stamina, mobility and balance, with simple tests to try at home and a plan to train for capability.
Bess Mensendieck's Body Culture for Women, read more than a century on
A reader's guide to Bess Mensendieck's 1906 book Body Culture for Women: what it argued, how its exercises and photographs work, and where its ideas went.
A Pilates travel kit and a 15-minute hotel-room session
A light Pilates kit for summer travel, a 15-minute session that fits between a hotel bed and the wall, and ways to cope with long journeys and jet lag.