Pilates

Pilates: My Favorite Thing!

Kyra

Jan 2, 2025 •12 minutes to read

I posted about Pilates years ago, in both 2018 and 2020, but lately I've been finding that I want a more up to date post to better refer people and share the awesome-ness of Pilates. I figured no time like the present and so without any further ado... Pilates!

Pinterest geared image showing my post title, images from below, and my main URL.

TLDR

I got into Pilates and learned to workout with consistency using Lindywell; an at home on demand membership. If you're interested in Pilates I truly recommend it and all you need to do to get started is to use the videos and have a soft floor or mat to do it on. If interested here is my referral code (full disclosure I get a $20 credit to go towards my own renewal if you use it):

Click here to get $20 off your initial membership with Lindywell

Pilates' History

Joseph Pilates created, what he called Contrology, during World War I in an internment camp on the Isle of Man. He later moved to New York where he taught to many students who, after he died, continued the practice under the name Pilates in his honor. These students included many ballerinas who over time moved away from the more gym-like atmosphere he originally taught Contrology in. Additionally, with both the fact that time has past and that the Pilates trademark was overturned means Pilates has expanded to having multiple legit forms (classical according to Joseph Pilates versus contemporary with updated moves) and many spin-off Pilates-style versions.

There are many accountings of this history both online and in books so I will simply leave you with a link to a book I once read by one of his students. It's a combo memoir of the author John Howard Steel and his view of Joseph Pilates.

Plus as I was typing this I figured I'd look up an opinion on classical (according to what Joseph Pilates taught) and contemporary (the variations added over the years) and found these:

What are the actual differences between classical and contemporary Pilates?
by u/wellnessbynorah in pilates

This reddit thread has several opinions.

You can generate this yourself with: https://kagi.com/search?q=What+are+the+actual+differences+between+classical+and+contemporary+Pilates%3F — Here are the curated search results from a Kagi search showing the difference. This was generated on January 2nd, 2025.

My History

I came across Pilates many years ago with a set of 10 minute Pilates on VCR but I didn't get into it very much then. In university I enjoyed a kickboxing class in my last year and then switched to a FemSport style class in my city's recreation center. Both were only a weekly classes that was easily skippable if you didn't feel like it and I although I adored Zumba on my Kinect and attempted TurboFire for one month my workouts weren't too consistent. Once my kids were born I mostly stopped working out beyond taking them on walks, playgrounds, and the like. As such, I was looking for something back in 2018 when I got an ad for the Mind Body Pilates challenge through Lindywell (then called The Balanced Life).

A quick aside: I am not trained in Pilates. I am not a teacher. I am only a student through Lindywell (classes, online community, podcast) and, within the last year, joining a Pilates studio.

Lindywell

Since joining Lindywell (originally The Balanced Life) in 2018 I've loved their Facebook group, used the recipes, bought her book, switched to a newly upgraded app, cheered when she added new instructors, saw her rebrand to Lindywell, and was thrilled when she started her podcast Well to The Core. For more information about Lindywell you can check out their Instagram page here plus I've included my referral code here in case you want $20 off your initial membership.

Refer a Friend: You get $20 off your initial membership and I get $20 in credit for my renewal!

Getting Started

I'm so glad I clicked on the ad as I loved the challenge, joined what was then called The Balanced Life, adored the sisterhood community on Facebook, and never looked back. In fact I loved it so much that when the next challenge came along I shared it on my website here.

Later on in 2018 when she offered a *Back to the Mat* challenge I blogged about it here.

Mindset

Her grace over guilt mindset along with the positive messages portrayed in the videos meant I found myself wanting to work out in front of my kids hoping they would listen and bring some of that information in. This was the complete opposite of other at home videos I'd tried before with their beach body ready messaging.

Collage of ten phone backgrounds and two desktop backgrounds taken from Lindywell. — In the monthly newsletter there's one background (for phone or desktop) that I've been sometimes saving over the years. Here are some of them showing what type of messaging Lindywell shares.

Community

Back before Lindywell rebranded they had a Facebook sisterhood group that has since been renamed to We are Lindywell with Robin Long. It's a great group to be involved in that's so helpful to crowdsource second opinions in and ask for help. Plus it's amazing to cheer on people when they've returned to the mat, are working on a streak, of mastered a difficult exercise.

Image shows me attempting a side plank at a beach in California. — Another pro with Robin Long was the community with a Facebook *sisterhood* that celebrated when you learned a new move and included a *sisterhood of the traveling side planks*. Image from my original Pilates post from 2018 here.

Assigned Calendar

Lindywell supplies a calendar you can download or view through the app for great default workouts. Each month she releases a longer 25 to 35 minute video that's scheduled every Thursday. This is the only repeated workout each month and gives you time to master it before the next month. On Tuesdays you get one of the previous longer workouts while on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays you're assigned one of the shorter 10 to 20 minute workouts. These shorter ones were normally released as extra workouts or came from previous challenge sets. The weekends are left empty so you can rest or catch up... whatever you prefer.

Image of last month's workout calendar (December 2024). — Here are last month's and this month's calendars to show you the general workouts you could expect.

Image of last month's workout calendar (January 2025). — Here are last month's and this month's calendars to show you the general workouts you could expect.

Props - Required

The great part of the online membership is that you don't need much to get a great workout and progress in Pilates. I started with only my yoga mat on the rug and over time, once I moved to hard flooring, replaced it with a thicker Pilates mat. The main thing is you want to be sure your spine is supported. That said, if you're surface is too hard there are several standing workouts that you could do while waiting for a better solution to be delivered.

Props - Optional

There are the odd videos that included more props so over time I added a few more things to my at home workout area. These included:

a foam roller
pilates ball (or slightly deflated kid's ball)
tennis ball (or similar)
magic circle
towel (small blanket) prop in some workouts and useful under your back when learning the rollup
1-3 lb light weights (or two similarly sized cans or the like) again prop in some workouts and useful to hold when learning the rollup
kitchen chair (stool, counter) for help balancing for some videos and especially for any barre workouts (also in the app)

Image shows a pilates mat on a kids car mat with a foam roller, yoga block, magic circle, and two sizes of hand weights laid out on it. — I started out with a yoga mat and yoga block that I had bought when I was pregnant and later added a pilates mat (thicker), a foam roller, magic circle, and weights. With these I was more than good for these videos and had the supplies for several other YouTube workouts when I wanted a change.

Consistency

Both the mindset and the sisterhood community on Facebook helped me to start working out more consistently and then increased how often I worked out.

Me following along with a chair doing the workout. — I found I started working out consistently made easier by the fact that I wanted the girls to see me workout instead of hiding it for when they were sleeping or out of the house.

With the monthly calendar I had a goal on what I wanted to accomplish each month. This meant that I made a point to, after playdates, give the kids a simple snack to entertain them and got on my mat immediately. Or if we stayed home that day I looked for the first opportunity when both girls were happy and entertained. There was a lot of pausing during the videos but I managed to check off each workout on the printed out calendar. When starting out and on busier months that was all I did and it was enough... as time went on; however, I started mixing up the calendar based on how I felt and went beyond it with additional workouts from the included workout library and eventually adding other workouts I found online.

Image shows a Lindywell calendar page for May 2024. There are six workouts left to do for the month and the rest are marked off showing what day I did them on. — I started out printing out each monthly calendar then later, when I bought my reMarkable, sending them to my device to mark them off electronically. By then I mixed it up based on how I felt so I marked each finished one with the day I did it and adding an A and B if I did more that one on that day (part a/1 and b/2).

As I increased the time I worked out I started looking for more sources online beyond completing the calendar. This allowed me to have a self-care plan in place when the world shut down and allowed me to share these options back in 2020 with all of you.

Since then I've gone on to workout most days listening to my body and simply doing a stretch workout if I'm not feeling the greatest. If my kids or I have issues I offer to look for a workout video that may help solve it. Pilates has become my default and anything else beyond that is extra. I've come to the place where it's weirder to not workout than to workout so I found myself adding in a quick at home workout on Christmas morning and other days.

Will You Learn?

With the consistency I learned and over the years found when I tried paddle boarding, took a windsurfing class, and had the opportunity to snowboard I found it much easier than it would've been because I did Pilates consistently. In fact this past summer when a local studio opened up near me offering group reformer classes I jumped at the chance to try it. I'm so glad I did as with what I learned through Lindywell over the years I was able to join with ease and keep up. In fact I think I'm excelling and I've had a couple people tell me they check on what I'm doing when they get lost. The highest of compliments!

Image shows my 100 in person classes on the left and a morning sunrise through the trees on the right. — Although I adore, and kept active, my at home Lindywell membership I love the opportunity to get outside and do in person classes too.

You Can Do It Whenever and Wherever!

A great thing about online memberships like this are the workout videos are available whenever you want them with nothing penalizing you if you canceled last minute (sick kids always take you off schedule) but also nothing is holding you back if you want to do more. Even though, lately, I've been taking advantage of in person classes at my local studio I still keep this membership active and find I reach for it whenever I'm unable to go to the studio for whatever reason. In the last month alone I used it from my bedroom when the studio was closed on Christmas Day, did a standing workout in a hotel bathroom while my family slept, and did it in my living room both yesterday when my schedule conflicted with the studio's and a couple weeks ago when we both lost power... that time I was especially happy the Lindywell app allowed me to download my workouts for later as the internet was down too.

The App

Lindywell has an app with the workout calendar, option to download the workout (perfect when you're traveling or your power and cell service goes down), workout library, multiple Pilates instructors, a breath work section with Kiesha, and even recipes. One of the instructors, Kaita, even includes fascia-related workout videos and whenever my knees are bugging me I both love and hate this one: Pilates + Fascia Flow: Happy Knees.

Collage of five screenshots taken from the Lindywell app. All taken on December 31st 2024. — All images in this collage showing the app were taken on December 31st 2024.

What If You're Not Sure

In addition to everything above she's also come out with a podcast, book, and has some of her videos on YouTube. The podcast and YouTube videos are free and you could check your local library for the book so these are a perfect way to check out the mindset of Lindywell and if it aligns with what you want.

Going Forward

I'm now feeling stronger than ever! Plus I wanted to share that this month, January 2025, marks ten years since Robin first started her memberships so she's re-recorded her first video (just tried it yesterday) and is offering a 10 in 10 series (haven't had the chance to try it yet) along with a celebrations to mark this milestone! I can't wait to see what comes along next!

I'm so glad I came across Lindywell and wanted to share it with you. Feel free to use my referral code if you want to try Lindywell as you'll get $20 off you initial membership: