Blogs

“Pilates is complete coordination of body, mind and spirit”

Joseph Pilates

Why Smaller Classes Make all the Difference!

September 2026

If you’ve been coming to Loving Pilates for a while, you’ll probably have heard things like:

“Take care of that shoulder with this one, Mary.”

“Christine, you keep to the single-leg version today.”

“Robert, remember what we worked on last week…”

Or perhaps simply, “How’s that knee feeling today?”

These little conversations happen all the time in our studio. And actually, they say quite a lot about why we choose to keep our classes small.

At Loving Pilates, we want to teach you, not simply lead you through a workout.

In a small class, your teacher can see how you are moving. We notice when your shoulder starts creeping towards your ear, when you’re putting more weight through one side, when you could work a little harder and, equally, when today might be the day to ease back.

Sometimes it’s a tiny correction: move your foot slightly, soften your ribs, lengthen through your neck. Sometimes it’s changing an exercise altogether because we know your body, your history and what you’re working towards.

And sometimes it’s knowing that you are actually capable of a little bit more than you think you are!

That’s one of the things we love about teaching small groups.

Over time, we get to know you. We remember the knee that was bothering you last week, the exercise you’ve been working hard to master, the shoulder that needs a little extra care, or the fact that you’re determined to improve your balance.

We also notice the progress that you might not notice yourself.

The exercise that once felt impossible suddenly looks strong and controlled. You’re standing a little taller. Your balance has improved. You’ve moved on to another spring, another variation, another piece of apparatus.

And because our classes are small, there’s room for conversation too.

You can tell us, “That doesn’t feel quite right today,” or ask, “Where am I supposed to feel this?” without feeling as though you’re interrupting the class. We want to know. Your body isn’t exactly the same every time you walk through our door, and good teaching needs to take that into account.

For us, keeping our classes small has never been about exclusivity. It’s about attention, safety and good teaching.

We want the hour you spend with us to count.

We want to know who you are, what your body needs and where we can help you progress. We want to correct you when you need correcting, challenge you when you’re ready and occasionally remind you not to do the version you know perfectly well you shouldn’t be doing!

Most importantly, we want you to feel seen when you come through the doors at Loving Pilates.

Because you’re not just a name on our booking system.

You’re part of our studio community, and we genuinely care about helping you move well, get stronger and keep doing the things you love for many years to come.

That’s why our classes are small.

And we wouldn’t have them any other way.

The Loving Pilates Team 

Why September isn’t about starting over!

August 2026

There’s something about September, isn’t there?

The days are still warm, but there’s a subtle shift in the air. The long, lazy days of summer begin to give way to more structure. Holidays come to an end, routines start to settle, and we naturally begin thinking about what we’d like the next few months to look like.

For some, September means children heading back to school. For others, it simply marks the end of summer and the return to a more familiar rhythm.

Either way, there’s often a feeling of a fresh start.

Psychologists actually have a name for this. It’s called the “fresh start effect” – the idea that we feel more motivated to pursue our goals at symbolic turning points in the calendar. A new month, a new season, a birthday, the start of a new year. Our brains see these moments as an opportunity to draw a line under what came before and begin again.

And after a summer of holidays, late nights, relaxed routines and perhaps fewer Pilates classes than usual, it’s easy to think September means getting “back on track”.

But we’d like to gently push back on that.

Your body isn’t a project that fell behind over the summer.

You don’t need to undo anything, catch up, or earn your way back into movement. Pilates was never about punishing yourself into shape, and it certainly isn’t now.

Instead, September can be an opportunity to think a little further ahead:

“How do I want my body to feel five, ten or twenty years from now?”

That’s a very different question.

Because the body you’ll rely on in the future is being built by what you do today.

Every time you strengthen your legs, improve your balance, move your spine, challenge your coordination or work on your posture, you’re not simply having a Pilates class. You’re investing in the person you’ll be later.

And that doesn’t mean you need to suddenly commit to four classes a week.

Maybe it’s one class that you genuinely enjoy and can realistically maintain. Maybe it’s making time for a walk, getting outside more often, or simply becoming more aware of how you move through your everyday life.

How you lift something from the floor. How you sit at your desk. How you carry shopping. How you climb the stairs. How easily you can get down onto the floor and back up again.

Pilates isn’t separate from everyday life.

It’s preparation for it.

Strong, mobile, capable bodies aren’t built in a single September. They’re built through small, repeated choices to keep moving. A class you show up to. A walk after dinner. A few minutes of movement when you have time. The decision to keep looking after yourself, even when life is busy.

That’s why we love what we do at Loving Pilates.

We’re not here to help you chase a “new you” every time the calendar changes. We’re here to help you build a relationship with movement that lasts through busy periods, quiet summers, holidays, work, family life and everything in between.

Because the goal isn’t simply to feel good this September.

It’s to build a body that will keep serving you well for many Septembers to come.

So, if the fresh-start feeling has found you this month, let’s channel that energy somewhere sustainable.

Come as you are.

Whether you enjoy Mat, Reformer, Springboard, Barre, Wunda Chair or your regular 1:1, our aim stays the same: to help you move well, feel strong and build a body for your future self.

Here’s to a September that starts gently, feels good, and lasts.

The Loving Pilates Team 

Staying Active During the Summer

July 2026

“There’s a lovely bunch of people attending, and we all have a laugh as well as working as hard as we can depending on what your body feels like on the day.”

The Loving Pilates Team