From my earliest years, I didn’t truly connect with sport until a severe migraine attack changed everything. In my twenties, migraines became a regular part of my life, and the medication prescribed to prevent them left me feeling weak and disconnected from my body. I knew I needed something else, something that could support both my physical health and my well-being.
My first Pilates class was in a studio in my hometown, but when I later moved abroad, I realized that what I had been practicing was a version of the work.
I began training twice a year with teachers closer to the original method. I could feel how much it was helping. At the same time, I was going through a very deep depression (the kind of deep that I now understand should have been supported by a professional). I didn’t know that then. What I did know was that a few things kept me going — and one of them was my Pilates class.
Why Classical Pilates Mattered to Me
Traditional Classical Pilates is often taught in private sessions. While there are very good reasons for this, my own experience with small group classes was essential, not only financially, but emotionally.
The camaraderie, the shared effort, and the quiet support of practicing alongside others played a real role in my recovery. As a teacher, I’ve witnessed this again and again. That’s why at Pilates School of Movement, we work with a maximum of five people per class. This allows us to stay very close to the authentic method. We want to ensure that everyone receives the individual attention they deserve while also creating a sense of community and support.
We know you are capable of amazing things.
Jay Grimes, a direct student of Joseph Pilates, used to say that Pilates treated every client as an athlete, celebrating their potential and intelligence in an open studio where independence was encouraged. Joseph Pilates also believed strongly in home practice, which gives me confidence in saying that Classical Pilates can be taught in group classes, as long as those groups remain small, focused, and respectful of the work.
Learning the What, the Why, and the How
I did not initially train as a Classical Pilates instructor. My first training was with a another school, and it was technically good. I learned a lot with them. However, the only studio near my home where I could practice consistently was connected to the lineage of Romana Kryzanowska. From my very first sessions there, I felt that this approach was more enriching.
There was an extra layer of knowledge, one that my original training program simply did not have. What was missing was the what and the why.
From Amy Taylor at The Pilates Center in Boulder, I learned that as a Pilates instructor, you must know what Pilates is and why you teach it — and just as importantly, why it is taught in a specific way. The order of the exercises, the transitions, the precision, the repetitions — none of it is arbitrary. Every detail serves a purpose.
Only after that understanding settled into my body did the words of Pilates elder Eve Gentry truly make sense to me. She famously said:
“Pilates is a concept… you can learn every exercise on every piece of equipment and you don’t know Pilates.”
Ron Fletcher emphasized the same idea in his own words:
“The key word on this body trip is feel.”
Pilates is something you experience. You understand it through sensation, repetition, and consistent practice. That embodied understanding is what allows both practitioners and teachers to evolve.
In the school where I first trained, this essential aspect was sadly missing. And that absence may explain why the work gradually drifted away from its original roots.
Why Contrology Is Called Classical Pilates
Contrology — also called classical, authentic, traditional, true, real, pure Pilates — stays close to the original work of Joseph Pilates and the lineage passed down through his direct students.
Joseph Pilates envisioned a safe body and a safe mind, believing that this combination would create better citizens (an idea inspired by ancient Greek philosophy). He was deeply influenced by natural movement, observing children and animals, and seeking to restore that same ease, strength, and vitality in adults.
This joy — this zest and pleasure in our own bodies and minds — was never optional in his work. As Joseph Pilates himself wrote:
“Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.
Our interpretation of physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind, fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.”
After almost 13 years of teaching, I believe deeply that joy is essential. Classical Pilates requires discipline, precision, and respect for the method, but it must also be embodied with openness, curiosity, and warmth.
This joy is not only about feeling good in the body — it is the zest that inspires us to be more patient, compassionate, and understanding. When that element is missing, the work loses part of its spirit. Classical Pilates is at its fullest when it nurtures both the body and the mind, guiding practitioners toward self-awareness, kindness, and a sense of connection.
If the exercises are delivered without embodying that generosity, empathy, and mindful presence, it may not be fully Classical. The essence of the method lies not only in technique, but in fostering joy and inspiring us to be better versions of ourselves, both in the studio and beyond.
For me, honoring Classical Pilates also means honoring its humanity: allowing space for learning, independence, and shared experience. The work was meant to strengthen people and inspire happiness. This is why Joseph Pilates considered his system a physical, mental, and spiritual method.
I became a Classical Pilates instructor because I truly experienced its benefits and learned to embody them in my own body and mind. I was weak and struggling with depression, and Pilates gave me strength and clarity. Teaching and helping others to heal inspire me deeply. Their progress and smiles remind me every day why this work matters.
If this approach inspires you, come experience Classical Pilates at Pilates School of Movement. Join us in Saint Gilles Brussels, near Chatelain and Ixelles, to reconnect with strength, clarity, and joy through movement.