The Pilates Place

10/03/2026

We are so proud of Mary-jo Slater ! Being a really good pilates instructor is not a weekend job. And being a great pilates instructor takes years of dedication, study and practise. Thank you Mary-Jo for your commitment to the goals you set for yourself and in that, your commitment to our clients.

Ladies and Gentlemen - you are in safe hands!

26/01/2026

Man! I love my job!

16/11/2025

Love seeing more and more men discovering the open secret.

https://www.msn.com/en-in/news/India/ed-sheeran-says-pilates-made-him-not-squishy-anymore-here-s-why-the-workout-works/ar-AA1PLr3Q?fbclid=IwdGRjcAOGPDZjbGNrA4Y7c2V4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAhjYWxsc2l0ZQIyNQABHsGRc4EZKVR0cDD44KDDwD8CGrMry7SQdBekVAiaeQqoKkhktnP3M2_nHV4B_aem_3p8HAAspk3RCbMYsv3bwtA

If you’ve ever felt like your body moved like it carried “extra baggage”, maybe less spring in your step, less tone in your arms or core, you’re not alone. And when a musician known for his plain-T-shirt, guitar-slung-over-the-shoulder image says he’s “not squishy anymore,” you might l...

02/10/2025

We South Africans love our sports. And the tougher, the better. However, repetitive motion, like hitting the trails weekend after weekend, can lead to overuse injuries, muscle imbalance and even harmful biomechanics.

An active sedentary is a person who sits all day and then goes for gold after five. Instead of doing this six days a week, add a little pilates spice, even in your office chair! A good pilates instructor will analyse your posture, ask questions about your niggles and needs, and then build a programme around strengthening muscle opposites, mobilising tight joints and building core capacity for you to fire on all cylinders on race day.

There is not a muscle or joint that can hide from pilates. Pilates is perfect cross-training.

22/09/2025

The PRO's -
Stretching prepares your body for movement - think about how your dog stretches downward after a nap. It also signals rest to the body after exercise. It can assist in balancing muscles around a joint, creating greater possible range of movement.

The CON's -
You have to own your range. If you cannot hold a limb in a position muscularly, you shouldn't be going there mechanically. This sets you up for damage to joints - cartilage, ligaments, tendons and even muscles.

In pilates, we work the range of movement that you can control, then strengthening muscles and their antagonists session by session, until you have earned your flexibility. Through breathing we put the brakes on unnecessary tension, bringing softness to the body. Through alignment we encourage movement along natural muscle chains. That yummy feeling of having been for a good, deep tissue massage after pilates? Yes, that's it!

Pilates loves the "soft animal of your body", as the poet says.

15/09/2025

Think of your shoulders to your hips as the trunk of a tree. Just as the trunk vitally attaches the roots to the branches, so your trunk connects your arms and legs through your core. Just as the trunk of a tree upholds the moving parts of the tree, so your core upholds your moving bits. Your core is the whole inner cylinder of muscle of your torso. When all these muscles, front and back, top and bottom, work in synergy, it becomes the powerhouse of your body.
In pilates we cue movement from the core outwards, because from it flows efficient movement, good posture, balance and better mind-body awareness.

Pilates understands strength comes from within.

10/09/2025

One of the biggest favours you can do your body, is to take care of your bones. That becomes an absolute must when you are female and nearing menopause.
The number one way of doing just that, is with exercise. When you put force through your joints, it signals to your body it's time to strengthen bones. You can do weights, or you can do pilates.

Pilates will take bone strength a few steps further, by not only challenging the joints, but also stabilising them and improving balance from the inside out. As you grow stronger, your pilates guru will gradually increase the load with springs, straps, body positioning and the like. All of this happens while you still look fabulously elegant and in control as you move.

To be frank - pilates has got your back!

05/09/2025

You build muscle when you challenge muscle.
A good pilates instructor will always ask a little more than yesterday. Sometimes that looks like a little less spring load on the reformer or a little more on the wundachair. Sometimes it will be the next progression of the teaser on the mat. Tomorrow it might be full body work on the cadillac trapeze and the day after hips from side core balance. The point is, the variety of positions and load is almost endless. And because pilates is expert at reaching the ends of your range, there is no unnecessary bulking.
Who needs to look like the tight five of a rugby team, except the tight five, right?

Pilates always has something new up its sleeve to challenge your muscles.

03/09/2025

Losing weight, in simple terms, is a matter of energy input and energy output. Your heart rate has to elevate for at least an hour a day for you to lose weight with exercise.
But pilates will become your new best friend, that won't make you sweat too much. Pilates will bring out your inner dancer. Think improved posture.Think lean, long and strong muscles. Those muscles will be your fat burning furnace on your journey to goal weight. Notice after about ten sessions of pilates dedication, how your favourite pants drape more flatteringly.

Pilates loves your curves.

01/09/2025

You signed up for many hours on foot, in the saddle or in the water. And tomorrow you get up to do it again. Therein lies endurance. While there is no substitute for commitment to your sport, pilates will improve your endurance.

An experienced pilates instructor will study your sport and design a programme that will compliment your usual training. This instructor will iron out muscle imbalances, fix flexibility issues and teach you how to stabilise your joints. All of this will lead to more efficient movement and better recovery so that you can do it again...and again...and again.

Pilates knows endurance is more than just VO2 max.

29/08/2025

Everything in pilates has a reason. We are working with a high performance machine - your body. We fine-tune it towards movement integrity, which impacts even your physical health and emotional well-being.

Well-trained pilates instructors will be able to explain every fine detail of the pilates repertoire to you - every compensation and every modification - because they understand bio-mechanics to the bone.

From the first breath to the last "...and hold...", nothing is superficial, nothing unnecessary.

Pilates is intelligent exercise!

27/08/2025

Pilates is not your average Jo! It is a skill performed with specialised equipment, with a trained instructor guiding you along.
You are not just paying for 60 minutes of body bliss, but for all the years your instructor studied, practiced and perfected her art.
Class fees will also depend on the type of pilates class you attend. If you are uncertain, phone a few studios and compare prices, but I promise you - you mostly get what you pay for!

Putting it bluntly, you wouldn't take ballet classes from a rugby coach who watched Swan Lake online, would you? So never short-change yourself when it comes to pilates. Invest in your well-being, like it's your hospital plan!