Skills You May Learn Faster in Mat Pilates

(Even If You Love the Reformer)

I love doing Pilates on a reformer. I began my own Pilates practice in 2012, began teacher training in 2014, and now I own two reformers (and other apparatus). Lying on a reformer feels good; moving the carriage with your arms and legs is rhythmic and empowering. I understand why “reformer Pilates” is popular, and I agree that it’s a fun way to learn and practice Pilates. A reformer is both supportive and challenging.

However, after teaching for more than six years, I’ve noticed a pattern: certain skills and strengths improve faster doing mat Pilates.

Quick background: I’ve taught private Pilates and group reformer classes for more than seven years in multiple studios. In March 2020, I pivoted to teaching mat Pilates twice a week via Zoom, developing a "reformer on the mat" style that resonated with my students. In 2022, I brought that experience back to in-person group mat classes here in Austin to continue that journey. (I keep “reformer on the mat” in my back pocket for variety; my open level mat classes are informed by the original mat order plus “pre-Pilates” exercises, and skips and substitutions.)

Every week, I see students’ “trajectory of transformation” when they do mat Pilates. It happens because students acquire and apply new skills without the assistance of springs and straps. (Yes, I teach with props such as balls, bands, Pilates circle, usually one at a time.) They begin by following along with my visual and verbal instructions, and over time, they interpret exercises and apply them to their own bodies.

This is the invisible Pilates transformation: with practice, we create an internal, intuitive dialogue between mind and body—both in class and in daily life.

3 Neuromuscular Skills You Improve Quickly in Mat Pilates

Here are some specific physical and mental skills that students develop quickly when they are dedicated to their Mat Pilates practice (at least once a week).

1. Breathing "Mechanics" and Feedback

One of our largest core muscles is our diaphragm, and it contracts and expands with breathing. That's why learning to breathe as a tool for movement is essential in Pilates.

Because mat exercises keep us connected to the floor—usually on our backs, sides, or stomachs—we get immediate sensory feedback. You can feel your ribs expanding against the mat, which helps you understand the three-dimensional breath that is central to Pilates.

On the mat, there is nowhere to "cheat" the breath. You learn to use your breath to stabilize and mobilize your body. Becoming more aware of the relationship between breathing and movement also translates to better posture while sitting at a computer, driving, walking, etc.

2. Applying Core Awareness When in Motion

Mat students learn to move their arms and legs independent of their torso within the first 10 classes – it can make mat “feel harder” than reformer. This supports a pair of skills we need in all Pilates exercises:

• Creating Spinal Articulation: You learn to control how you lift your spine off the floor, whether lying on your back and on your stomach. (Not every spine can and should articulate from end to end; this is also what you learn in Pilates.)

• Creating Stability: You learn to hold your trunk still while moving your limbs.

Mat Pilates fundamentals teach these skills well because we use breath and body weight as our only input.

3. Proprioception: "Mapping" Your Body

Proprioception is our ability to sense where our body is in space. In a mat Pilates class, we learn to mentally "map" our body.

I see this click when students begin to self-correct. They make their own micro-adjustments to their feet, arms, shoulders, and hips. This leads to:

• Better Control: Especially "eccentric" control, which means lengthening muscles while continuing to contract them.

• Precision: Students learn to use only the exact amount of energy required for movement, becoming more efficient in everything they do.

Why These Skills Matter in Pilates and Daily Life

These skills are non-negotiable to practice more difficult Pilates exercises on all apparatus including the reformer. These skills also show up in well-executed standing, spring-loaded exercises off the tower end of the Cadillac/trapeze table, and in seated and hanging exercises on the Cadillac.

In daily life? "Mapping our body" with improved proprioception, breathing in coordination with movement, and engaging our core intentionally also supports better balance and coordination every day activities. Whether we are hauling groceries, working from home, or hiking Austin’s Violet Crown Trail or Circle C Metropolitan Park, these skills and our positive "internal dialogue" support us.

Looking to Get Started with Pilates in Austin?

My mat classes aim to simplify Pilates exercises and then offer progressions and variations. We may use props (like the magic circle or ball) "just for fun" and to bring attention to a specific movement pattern or intention. Whether we're doing Pilates on the mat or a reformer, the intention of the exercises is the same: strengthen the core and its connecting joints (shoulders and hips) by flexing, extending, stabilizing, and rotating muscles of our trunk with control, precision, and focus.

We're a proud sponsor of James Bowie High School Band and Guard in Austin, Texas. Mat pilates is great for everyone -- musicians, artists, athletes, dancers, math whizzes, and bookworms.

I think it's good news that we don’t have to "do reformer" to start doing Pilates.

When we get on the mat for Pilates, we develop broad, useful skills that apply to everything else we do with our bodies -- whether running, strength training, dancing, playing tennis or golf, hiking, canoeing, playing drums, or even, doing needlepoint.

Plus with a mat Pilates habit, you have everything you need to do exercises on a reformer, tower, chair, or other Pilates apparatus.

Ready to build or strengthen your foundation?

Book a Mat Pilates Class in Austin Today