Pilates with Sylvia

This week marks 1 year since I left my Events job to set up Pilates with Sylvia full time. 🎉

I loved my old role as Events Manager at The Little Theatre Cinema in Bath. My team felt like family, and my years as a performer and producer taught me so much about holding space for others. For a long time I juggled multiple roles: teaching Pilates, planning weddings, producing theatre and cabaret, performing, stage managing for circus companies.

It was flexible and full of connection, but all that spinning of plates eventually led to burnout. I knew I wanted to focus not just on my own wellbeing, but on building a business where I could offer that to others too.

This first year has been a journey. Building a business from scratch, growing my class schedule, getting to know my clients, and learning constantly as both a teacher and a small business owner. There have been challenges: navigating quiet and busy periods, and a few unexpectedly tricky moments in a Pilates world that can sometimes feel competitive. Thankfully, my years in the arts prepared me well for that, and it’s been a good reminder to stay focused on my own path.

Working solo has its hard days too. I miss having a little team to bounce ideas with but I’m growing in confidence, knowing I’m changing lives through movement and through the community we’re building together. Huge thanks to my trainer and mentor Jo Cobbe , the wonderful wellbeing teachers and business owners who support me, and for the joy of collaborating on retreats.

Thank you to everyone who’s shown up, rain or shine (or heatwave!) to classes and retreat days. And thank you to the venues, facilitators, local press, social media supporters, and everyone who’s left a review or recommended a class.

Here’s to another year of familiar faces and new ones too.

I don’t teach Barre often, so covering a few classes recently was a bit of a reality check. My legs just don’t kick that fast, and those isometric pulses targeting one muscle group at a time? Well they were tough. 😅

Barre and Pilates were formed around the same era but the way they approach movement is quite different. And the DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness) I felt the next day told the story: my body was working in a way it wasn’t used to.

That’s not a bad thing. It’s information.

When we keep doing the same movement patterns, our bodies get efficient and then we plateau. New challenge, new variation, new ways of moving force us to problem-solve again, and that’s where we actually learn something about ourselves.

It’s the same principle whether you’re new to Pilates, working through pregnancy, or navigating the postnatal season, every stage is just a different starting point for the same process: learning your body through movement.

So try the thing that feels a bit awkward.

It all started with a charity shop visit where I saw a Darcey Bussell ‘Pilates for Life’ DVD.

Having grown up loving ballet, I was looking for something to keep me strong and nimble as I began my professional performer journey. I then found a local village hall class.

I left feeling strong, calm, and centred. Something about it just made sense. From the biomechanics to the breath, the connection to alignment and centre. It wasn’t about forcing my body into a shape. It was about the journey of moving mindfully, and learning my own body from the inside out.

That was the beginning of a lifelong learning journey. Since qualifying with The Pilates Institute in 2011, I’ve trained in older adult fitness, pre & postnatal Pilates, equipment work, and Barre. Then in 2025, added Personal Training to bring strength and cardio into the mix too.

I’ve also trained as a Mindfulness Teacher and Clinical Hypnotherapist, because I believe the mind and body are never really separate. After 15 years of teaching, I know Pilates isn’t just about the physical. It’s about holding space for whatever you bring to the mat that day.

Whatever stage of life you’re in, building strength, moving through pregnancy, finding your way back postnatally, or simply wanting to feel more at home in your body - there’s a place for you here.

Pilates for all abilities, pregnancy & postnatal Pilates Bristol

Eating before Pilates: yes or no? 🍽️

The real answer is, do what works for you and your body. ☺️As ever there’s no set rules.

A client asked me recently what/when I eat before sessions, and what I’d recommend for her.

I’m not a dietitian, so I’ll always leave the detailed nutrition advice to the professionals. But here’s my general take as a Pilates teacher and PT:

Eat light, and eat a little earlier if you can — especially if you’re on the go.
Avoid a heavy meal beforehand. You want time to digest, so you’re not feeling a bit 🤢or hit with an energy slump (blood rushing to digest) right as you’re into your curl ups and curl backs. 😮‍💨
But don’t go in hungry either — a banana, or some nuts and dates, make a great pre-class boost.
(Confession: I rarely eat at “normal” times myself — above see last night’s moussaka eaten at 4.30pm, ready for a 7pm class 🙈 Not ideal, but it works for me!)
Bottom line: listen to your body. 💛

My sessions take place different times and days so you can pick what works best for you. My current Mixed ability classes are:

🍽️Tuesdays 6pm

🍽️ Thursdays 9.15am Quaker Meeting House
🍽️ Thursdays 7pm


🔗in bio for more info

Started at 70. Already feeling the difference - physically and mentally.

That’s what one of our newest students told me after just a few months of classes - proof that it’s never too late to start.

“Sylvia is a first rate pilates instructor. Her classes are varied and there is always something different to maintain interest and provide a new challenge.
She has a calm efficiency and she is a good listener, providing good advice about technique and about how far to push yourself. In between demonstrating and leading phases of exercise, she circulates around the class offering tips and encouragement. Don’t worry about being a beginner; pilates is for everyone irrespective of age or gender. I’m a 70 year old man and only started a few months ago. The benefits for both physical and mental health are noticeable already.
Thanks Sylvia; you are a jewel in the life of the community. Paul”

5* Google Review - Paul M

Age and experience really don’t matter here.

Ready to feel the difference for yourself? Come join a