Want to feel the power of Pilates? Only connect. Sophie Farrah goes in search of a whole new body...
For a while, it was aerobics. Then yoga. Even Zumba had its moment. Now, I can’t look at Instagram without someone in a crop top, clutching an iced matcha, smugly declaring that they’re in their ‘Pilates era’.
Despite its recent surge in popularity, however, the origins of Pilates are less widely known. Joseph Hubertus Pilates (1883–1967) was a German gymnast and bodybuilder who moved to England in 1912.
During the First World War, he was interned in Lancaster Castle, where he taught wrestling and self-defence to his fellow internees, determined that they would emerge stronger and more flexible than before their imprisonment.
Transferred to the Isle of Man, Pilates drew on yoga, gymnastics and boxing to refine his method, calling it ‘contrology’. He also reportedly attached springs from the iron frame beds to the headboards, turning them into primitive resistance exercisers for the bedridden, thereby laying the groundwork for his more sophisticated ‘reformer’ machine. Having returned to Germany after the war, he later moved to the US and, in 1926, opened his first studio in New York.
My own experience of Pilates has been less internment camp, thankfully, and more village hall. But oh, how times have changed. In Barnes, LifeBody is a beautifully designed classical Pilates studio with a serene, almost clinical aesthetic, run by Nathalie Clough, a prominent figure in the Pilates world.
LifeBody
“It was only when Joe died that people started calling it Pilates. He called it contrology because it’s about control and connection of the mind, body and spirit,” explains Nathalie, whose numerous high-profile clients include local football legend Gary Lineker.
“We cross our legs, carry our bags on one shoulder and lean onto one side when we’re on our phones. Pilates is about rebalancing the body, aligning the nervous system and moving all the different parts purposefully to work as one strong and efficient unit.”
Nathalie, who is currently working with the Soho House group to redesign its Pilates offering, is a passionate advocate for classical Pilates. She believes that Joseph’s method is best experienced as he intended it, using the various pieces of apparatus that he invented – a total of 26 in his lifetime.
“Contemporary studios will offer just one element – reformer or mat, for example – but all the apparatus works together as a system.
LifeBody
“Joe’s method involves rolling, standing, twisting; so many actions that we don’t do day to day. We’re so tight and contained, but it allows you this almost animalistic movement.”
Intrigued, I signed up for A New Body – a 30-class programme inspired by the Pilates quote: ‘In 10 sessions you will feel a difference, in 20 sessions you will see a difference, in 30 sessions you will have a whole new body.’
LifeBody is a quiet, focused space that attracts a mix of ages, stages, body types and injuries. My programme began with a 1:1 session to familiarise me with the exercises – there are 34 in Joseph’s original sequence – and the apparatus, all built to original specifications. From there, I joined the small group classes.
Each session brought incremental change, along with a satisfying sense of stretch, strengthening and lengthening. I really enjoyed the variety of the apparatus, but learning to connect properly with the right muscles proved the greatest challenge.
LifeBody
“To learn the exercises and the connections takes time. I can’t just teach it to you – it has to be understood in the body,” says Nathalie.
“Pilates is a practice for life, and one that teaches you so much about yourself. It also feels incredibly empowering when you can do something that you couldn’t three weeks ago.”
She’s right. When I mastered my first ‘teaser’ – balancing on my ‘sit bones’ to form a precise V-shape while keeping limbs long and light – I felt unstoppable.
After 30 sessions, I felt stronger, taller and more toned, and my posture had noticeably improved. But the greatest shift was exactly as Nathalie described: a deeper connection between mind and body. I felt ‘tuned in’, lighter, freer and far more aware of how I was standing, sitting, and even brushing my teeth.
So it seems that I, too, am now in my Pilates era – though I’ll try not to be too smug about it.
'A New Body’ is £600 for 30 classes and a 1:1 private session; other packages, passes, and online memberships also available; 78 Church Road, SW13 0DQ. Visit: lifebody.co.uk.
Local classes
- Established 20 years ago, Cobham Pilates offers over 50 mat, reformer and tower classes each week. cobhampilates.com
- Pilates Works Studio in Weybridge offers reformer, classical mat and rehabilitation sessions. pilatesworksstudio.com
- In Thames Ditton, Mind Body Maintenance offers a variety of Pilates classes, as well as beginner workshops. mindbodymaintenance.com
