A twenty-minute classical mat sequence for your living room
Joseph Pilates set out 34 mat exercises in Return to Life Through Contrology, and he meant them to be done in order. Each one warms up something the next will need: the spine curls before it twists, the body works on its back before it turns onto its front, and the rolling exercises massage the back between harder efforts. Beginners do not start with all 34. Classical teachers give them a shorter list drawn from the same order, adding exercises as strength and control arrive.
What follows is that kind of beginner list, about twenty minutes long, for a living room floor and nothing else. It keeps the classical sequence, skips the exercises that come later in a student's training, and gives an easier option for each. Imogen Hale has written about what changes when teachers learn the classical order properly; this is the home version for the rest of us.
Before you start
You need a mat with some cushioning (a thin yoga mat on floorboards will be hard on the spine in the rolling exercises, so fold a blanket underneath), enough room to lie with your arms overhead, and comfortable clothes without a bulky waistband. Leave an hour or so after a big meal.
Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth, sending the breath into the sides and back of the ribs. Our guide to lateral breathing covers this, but do not let the breath pattern stop you moving. If you lose track, just keep breathing.
A word on safety. If you have a back problem, osteoporosis or a recent injury, or you are pregnant, talk to your doctor or physiotherapist and learn with a qualified teacher in person before following a routine like this. Several exercises here (the rolling ones, the Roll Up and the forward bends) are commonly modified or left out in those situations, and lying on your back for long periods is usually avoided later in pregnancy.
The sequence
Count roughly a minute and a half per exercise, a little more for the first few while you set up. The reps are deliberately low: five careful repetitions do more than ten hurried ones, a point Mateo Ferrer makes at length in precision over repetitions.
The Hundred (2 minutes). Lie on your back and bring your knees into a tabletop position, shins parallel to the floor. Lift your head and shoulders, reach your arms long by your sides a few centimetres off the mat, and pump them in small, firm beats: breathe in for five pumps, out for five, ten times. You should feel the abdominals working and the arms reaching long from the shoulders. The common mistake is jamming the chin into the chest; keep a space the size of a small fist. Easier: keep your head down or your feet on the floor. Harder, once that is comfortable: straighten the legs on a high diagonal.
Roll Up (2 minutes). Lie with your legs long together and your arms reaching to the ceiling. Breathe in, then breathe out as you nod the chin and peel the spine off the mat one section at a time, reaching forward over your legs. Breathe in at the top, then breathe out and roll back down the same way. Do 3 to 5. Feel each part of the spine arrive and leave the mat in turn. Throwing the arms or letting the feet fly up means momentum is doing the work. Easier: bend the knees, hold the backs of your thighs and roll only halfway back before returning.
Single Leg Circles (2 minutes). Lie on your back with one leg reaching to the ceiling and the other long on the mat, arms by your sides. Circle the raised leg across your body, down, round and up, 5 times each way, then change legs. The pelvis should stay still while the leg moves in the hip socket. Circles that are too big make the hips rock. Easier: bend the bottom knee with the foot flat, and soften the raised knee.
Rolling Like a Ball (1 minute). Sit near the front of the mat, hug your shins, lift your feet and balance just behind your sit bones with your head tucked. Roll back to the shoulder blades, never onto the neck, and roll up to balance again without the feet touching down. Do 6. Keep the shape tight; flinging the head back to come up is the usual fault. Easier: hold behind the thighs, or simply practise the balance without rolling.
Single Leg Stretch (1 minute 30 seconds). Lie back with head and shoulders lifted, one knee into your chest and the other leg reaching out on a diagonal. The outside hand goes to the bent leg's ankle, the inside hand to its knee. Switch legs with control, 5 to 8 times each side. The lower back should stay quiet on the mat; if it arches, the straight leg is too low. Easier: raise that leg higher, or rest your head down.
Double Leg Stretch (1 minute 30 seconds). Hug both knees in with your head and shoulders lifted. Breathe in as you reach your arms overhead and your legs out on a diagonal, then breathe out as you circle the arms round and draw the knees back in. Do 5 to 8. Watch that your head stays up as the arms go back. Easier: reach the arms only to the ceiling, and keep the legs higher.
Spine Stretch Forward (1 minute 30 seconds). Sit tall with your legs straight and a little wider than your hips, feet flexed, arms reaching forward at shoulder height. Breathe out and round forward from the top of the head, as if curling over a large ball, then breathe in and stack the spine back up. Do 3 to 5. You should feel the back of the body lengthen and the abdominals lift away from the thighs. Easier: sit on a folded towel or cushion and bend the knees slightly.
Saw (1 minute 30 seconds). Stay seated with legs wide and arms out to the sides. Twist towards one leg, then round forward and reach the opposite little finger past the little toe as you breathe out, back arm reaching behind you. Breathe in to come up and untwist. Do 3 to each side. Keep both sit bones heavy; if a hip lifts, the twist has gone too far. Easier: the same cushion and bent knees.
Swan preparation (1 minute 30 seconds). Turn onto your front with your hands under your shoulders and your elbows close to your sides. Lengthen through the top of the head, then press lightly into your hands to lift your head and chest, and lower. Do 3 to 5. Pushing too high and pinching the lower back is the common mistake; the lift is small and comes from the upper back. Easier: stay on your forearms.
Single Leg Kick (1 minute 30 seconds). Prop yourself on your forearms with elbows under shoulders, legs long behind you. Kick one heel towards your seat twice, then lower it as the other leg kicks. Do 5 each side. Do not sink into the lower back or the shoulders. Easier: rest your forehead on stacked hands. Then sit back towards your heels for a few breaths, knees apart, before turning onto your side.
Side Kick series (3 minutes). Lie on your side along the back edge of the mat, legs angled slightly forward, head propped on your hand or resting on your outstretched arm. Lift the top leg to hip height, kick it forward twice and sweep it back once, 8 times. Then lift and lower it with control, 5 to 8 times. Change sides. The pelvis should not roll forward or back with the leg. Easier: bend the bottom knee for a wider base and make the kicks smaller.
Seal (1 minute). Sit near the front of the mat with the knees open, thread your hands inside your legs and hold the outsides of your ankles, soles of the feet together. Roll back to the shoulder blades, clap the feet three times, roll up to balance and clap three times again. Do 6. As with Rolling Like a Ball, stay off the neck. Easier: keep the balance and the claps, skip the roll.
Standing Roll Down (1 minute). Stand with your feet hip-width apart. Drop the chin and roll down through the spine towards the floor with soft knees, let the arms hang, then roll back up to standing. Do 3. This is where you notice whether you feel taller than you did twenty minutes ago.
Common mistakes across the whole routine
Most problems in home practice come from three habits. The first is rushing: the classical order flows, but flowing is not the same as hurrying, and each exercise has its own clear start and finish. The second is gripping the neck in the exercises with the head lifted. If your neck aches, rest the head more often; it gets stronger with time. The third is chasing range: rolling further, kicking higher, curling deeper. The beginner versions build the control the bigger versions need, which is also why exercises like the Teaser are not here yet. When the time comes, our piece on building towards the Teaser shows where it fits.
How often, and when to add more
Three times a week is a good rhythm for this sequence, with other activity on the days between. After a month or so of comfortable practice, try the harder option in two or three exercises at a time rather than all at once. If a movement causes pain, as opposed to effort, stop it and get it checked by a qualified teacher.
Keep the mat somewhere you pass every day, unrolled if the room allows. Twenty minutes is easier to find when the first step is already on the floor.
