The Pilates Life of Jess

I’m Classical at heart.

But I absolutely believe there is a place for everything.

Teach contemporary Pilates. Make it athletic. Change the orientation. Add creativity if you choose to. Pilates doesn’t have to be frozen in time.

Personally, the longer I teach the Classical system, the less I feel the need to add to it.

The work is already there.

I was teaching Coordination yesterday and was reminded of exactly that. When you really teach the exercise — the control, precision, timing, opposition and intention — five beautifully executed repetitions are MORE than enough.

You don’t necessarily need another variation.

You don’t need another ten repetitions.

You can go deeper into the exercise instead of constantly adding more to it.

Joseph Pilates himself cautioned against exceeding the prescribed repetitions, writing that doing so creates muscular fatigue and that “there is really no need for tired muscles.”

And maybe that’s part of what we sometimes lose when Pilates becomes about constantly creating the next new thing.

But this brings me back to my original point.

If you WANT to change the work, change it.

If you want to teach contemporary Pilates, teach contemporary Pilates.

But shouldn’t we first understand what we’re changing?

Know the original exercise. Know its intention. Know where it sits within the system. Know WHY you are changing it and what that change is intended to achieve.

Because once you know the original work, you start seeing its DNA everywhere.

You recognize Up Stretch in something that doesn’t look exactly like Up Stretch. You feel Rowing in a completely different orientation. You recognize the intention even when the choreography changes.

That’s why I believe every Pilates teacher would benefit from knowing the Classical work — even if they never intend to teach Classical Pilates.

You don’t have to stay at the roots.

But I think you should know where they are before you start growing the branches.

My Pilates icks. 😬

I’ve probably offended at least three corners of the Pilates internet with this one.

And before anyone comes for me — I love Pilates. Classical, contemporary, different schools, different teachers, different approaches. I genuinely think there is room for all of it.

What I struggle with is when we get so caught up in flows, labels, levels, lineage and what looks good on Instagram that we forget the person in front of us.

Because knowing what exercise comes next isn’t the same as knowing why you’re teaching it.

Why this exercise?
Why this body?
Why these springs?
Why today?

Sometimes good teaching means changing the exercise.

Sometimes it means changing the springs.

Sometimes it means abandoning the beautiful sequence you planned because the body standing in front of you needs something completely different.

And sometimes it means actually using the Reformer as a Reformer rather than a $5,000 platform for squats and bicep curls. 😂

I love the history of Pilates. I love the system. I love learning from different teachers and understanding where the work came from.

But ultimately, I care far more about whether you can teach the body in front of you than whether you can recite a repertoire.

Know the exercise.

Know the system.

But most importantly:

KNOW YOUR WHY.

Okay… now tell me yours. 👀

What’s your biggest Pilates ick?

I love Pilates. But I think there are a few conversations we need to be having more often.

Somewhere along the way, Pilates can start to become about doing the hardest variation, feeling the biggest burn, getting more flexible, or collecting more and more exercises.

And for me, that misses so much of what makes this method brilliant.

Pilates isn’t about becoming good at Pilates.

It’s about learning how to move your body better. How to create strength with control. How to find mobility without losing stability. How to use the springs for information — not just resistance.

And as instructors, our job isn’t simply to deliver exercises. It’s to watch the person in front of us. To notice what their body is telling us, choose what they need, and understand why we’re giving it to them.

Joseph Pilates gave us a system. The exercises connect. The apparatus connects. One thing prepares you for another.

That’s the part of Pilates I find endlessly fascinating — and after all these years of teaching, I’m still learning from it.

🙌🏻 What’s a Pilates conversation you think we should be having more of?

Hi, I’m Jess 💖

Born in Lytham St Annes, raised between England and Arizona, and somehow ended up becoming a self-proclaimed Pilates snob living in the desert 🌵

I moved to Phoenix when I was 9 and did most of my education here in the States — from Phoenix to California to Philadelphia — all the way through my Master’s degree.

I’ve always loved movement, creativity, and textiles… but Pilates has always been the thing that truly changed my life.

After breaking my back in a snowboarding accident, Pilates helped put me back together physically and mentally. Since then, life has continued to keep me on my toes 😂

I’ve had surgery on both shoulders thanks to another snowboarding accident and a car accident, battled severe asthma all of my life, and spent years on medications and long-term steroids that came with their own challenges.

But Pilates has always met me exactly where I needed it to.

It taught me strength without punishment.
Control without chaos.
And how to trust my body again.

I was lucky enough to learn from incredible teachers, and completely fell in love with the Classical method from day one.

I still remember being asked during my first day of teacher training:
“What’s your dream?”

My answer was simple:
“To open my own Classical Pilates studio.”

At the time there weren’t any true Classical studios near me in England… so eventually I opened one myself 🤍

Now I’m back in Arizona continuing to teach, learn, obsess over alignment, cue 24/7, and spread the word about what I personally believe is true Pilates.

Yes… I’m absolutely a Pilates snob.
And yes… I believe the Classical method is the only way ✨

If you’re new here, welcome to my little Pilates corner of the internet.

xo Jess

Unpopular opinion:

Pilates became trendy before people understood what it actually was.

The basics became “boring” …
and that’s where the method got lost.

Somewhere along the way, Pilates became more about aesthetic flows, fast transitions, and “feeling the burn”
than mastering the foundations.

Pilates became more performative than intentional.

Joseph Pilates created Pilates around control, breath, alignment, precision, and long-term strength …
not punishment, burnout, or proving how hard you worked.

Modern Pilates isn’t the problem.

But when movement becomes performance instead of practice, the purpose gets lost.

Pilates is supposed to connect you back to your body …
not disconnect you from it.

Harder isn’t always better.
More exhausted doesn’t mean more effective.

📍Phoenix, AZ

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In a world full of fast paced, trend driven workouts, Pilates stands apart.

Created by Joseph Pilates, this method was never about hype. It was about control, strength, and true mind body connection. Originally called Contrology, Pilates was designed to help people move better, feel stronger, and live with intention.

Today, Pilates is everywhere, especially on the reformer. While it is exciting to see the method grow, it is also easy to lose sight of what truly makes Pilates what it is.

It is not about how fast you move.
It is not about how trendy the class looks.
It is about precision, breath, alignment, and building strength that supports your life.

That is why Pilates Day is so relevant right now. It is a reminder to return to the roots and move with purpose.

At .tempe , we honor Joseph’s roots by bringing the focus back to intentional movement, proper form, and the true essence of the method.

Ready to experience Pilates the way it was meant to be?

DM me to find out what exclusive offers we have for Pilates Day.

The Pilates Teacher Association has published a statement calling for clearer distinctions between Comprehensive Pilates and Reformer Fitness….and I couldn’t support it more.

The rapid growth of our industry is exciting, but it comes with a cost. When training programmes produce teachers who can deliver a “flow” but can’t read and respond to an individual body, we are falling short of what Pilates was always meant to be.

Consumers deserve clarity. Clients deserve safety. And the profession deserves protection.

The growth of “Pilates – Pilates Teacher Association The global Pilates & yoga studios market size is projected to grow from USD 161.98 billion in 2024 to USD 430.87 billion by 2034, at a CAGR (compound annual growth rate) of 10.47% (reduced from 11.5% anticipated), according to a new report by Polaris Market Research.