Inspired By Pilates

A simple Mat Pilates workout you can do at home.

No equipment required, just your workout mat.

✨️Warm-Up✨️

1. Cat & Cow

Start on hands and knees. Inhale to gently extend the spine, lifting the chest and tailbone. Exhale as you round through the spine, drawing the abdominals in.
Focus: Spinal mobility, breath and core connection.

2. Pelvic Tilt

Lie on your back with knees bent and feet on the mat. Gently tilt the pelvis to flatten the lower back into the mat, then release back to neutral.
Focus: Deep abdominal engagement and pelvic control.

3. Shoulder Circles

Sit or kneel tall. Circle the shoulders slowly up, back and down, keeping the neck relaxed. Reverse the direction.
Focus: Shoulder mobility and releasing upper-body tension.

✨️Core Focus✨️

1. Dead Bug

Lie on your back with arms up and knees bent. Slowly lower the opposite arm and leg while keeping your pelvis stable, then return and alternate sides.
Focus: Deep core stability and coordination.

2. Hundred – Modified

Lie on your back with knees bent or legs in tabletop. Lift the head and shoulders if comfortable and pump the arms up and down while breathing rhythmically.
Focus: Abdominal endurance and breath control.

3. Single Leg Stretch

From a tabletop position, draw one knee toward the chest while extending the opposite leg away. Alternate legs with control.
Focus: Core strength, hip stability and coordination.

✨️Lower Body✨️

1. Glute Bridge

Lie on your back with knees bent. Press through the feet and lift the pelvis, squeezing the glutes at the top. Lower slowly.
Focus: Glutes, hamstrings and pelvic stability.

2. Side-Lying Leg Lifts

Lie on your side with legs extended. Lift the top leg without rolling the pelvis backwards, then lower with control.
Focus: Glute medius, hip strength and stability.

3. Lunge Series

Step one foot forward into a lunge position. Lower and rise with control while maintaining good alignment through the knee, hip and ankle.
Focus: Leg strength, balance and functional movement.

✨️Upper Body✨️

1. Pull Downs

In the poster, this is shown as a prone back-strengthening movement. Lie on your stomach and draw the arms back toward your hips while gently lifting through the chest.
Focus: Upper back, posterior shoulders and posture.

2. Push-Ups – Knees Optional

Start in a plank or kneeling plank. Bend the elbows to lower the body as one unit, then press the floor away to return.
Focus: Chest, shoulders, triceps and core stability.

3. Arm Circles

Sit or stand tall with arms extended. Make small controlled circles, gradually changing direction. Keep the shoulders relaxed.
Focus: Shoulder endurance, mobility and postural control.

✨️Full Body Flow✨️

1. Plank

Place hands or forearms under the shoulders and extend the legs behind you. Keep the body in one long line while gently drawing the abdominals in.
Focus: Full-body strength and core stability.

2. Side Plank

Support yourself on one hand or forearm with the body stacked sideways. Lift the hips and maintain a long line from head to feet.
Focus: Obliques, shoulders, hips and lateral stability.

3. Leg Circles

Lie on your back with one leg extended toward the ceiling. Circle the leg while keeping the pelvis as still as possible. Reverse direction.
Focus: Hip mobility, abdominal control and pelvic stability.

4. Teaser

Balance on the sit bones with the torso and legs lifted, creating a V shape. Maintain the position or slowly extend and bend the legs.
Focus: Deep core strength, balance and control.

5. Child's Pose

From hands and knees, sit the hips back toward the heels and reach the arms forward. Breathe deeply and allow the spine and hips to relax.
Focus: Recovery, spinal length and relaxation.

Pilates principle for all of them: Control the movement rather than rushing through the repetitions — quality over quantity.

Enjoy 🥰

Pilates vs Weight Training — do you really need both? 🧘‍♀️🏋️‍♀️

As a Pilates instructor, I absolutely love Pilates — but I also believe there’s a place for lifting weights, especially as we get older.

Pilates is amazing for core strength, stability, mobility, posture, balance, body awareness and muscular endurance. It teaches you to move with control and intention.

But weight training offers something different.

🏋️ Builds more muscle through progressive overload
🦴 Provides greater loading for our bones, which is particularly important as we age
💪 Increases overall strength and the amount of force we can produce
🍑 Allows us to progressively challenge individual muscles with heavier resistance
🔥 Helps us maintain muscle mass as we get older

And the best part?

You don't have to choose one.

Pilates teaches us to move well.
Strength training helps us be strong.

Together, they make a pretty powerful combination. ❤️

And no — lifting weights isn't going to make you "bulky"! Building significant muscle takes a lot of time, consistency and progressive training.

At this stage of life, I want to be strong, capable, mobile and confident in my body — and that's why I love incorporating both. 💪🏼🧘‍♀️

7 things your Pilates Instructor notices when you're in class 💚

Life is a busy juggle of early mornings, late nights and everything in between. ❤️
I currently instruct 15 Pilates classes a week, along with two private clients and massage clients that I treat from time to time.
My days often start early, include split shifts, and have me on my feet for most of the day — all while being a mum to my beautiful special-needs boy.
It’s actually interesting to see just how many steps I clock up on a full day of work! 👣
And then there’s my “day off”… 😂
Shopping, cleaning, laundry, running errands, appointments for my son, making time for family and friends, and trying to squeeze in a little time for myself.
Sometimes, simply stopping and resting feels like the hardest thing to fit into the schedule.
I love what I do, and I’m grateful for my work, my family and the people around me. But finding that balance between giving to everyone else and remembering to look after yourself can be tricky.
So today, I’m reminding myself that rest isn’t being lazy. It’s part of the juggle too. ❤️
One day, one class, one step at a time. 👣✨