But what are the 34 moves?

We have been breaking them down, building them up... but do you want to know more?

The famous 34 Pilates mat exercises come from Joseph Pilates’ book Return to Life Through Contrology.

Joseph Pilates didn’t sit down and decide, “I’ll make 34 moves.” This was simply the set he arrived at after years of testing what actually worked.

So how did he choose them?

He wanted a complete, full-body system—one that covered core strength, spinal movement, flexibility, and coordination. He worked with dancers, gymnasts, and even boxers, and drew heavily from rehabilitation work and breathing techniques. All of this influenced what made the final cut. Quite simply, he kept what worked and dropped what didn’t.

His philosophy was clear: do fewer exercises, but do them really well. This idea of efficiency is key—and it’s where we need the discipline to sometimes slow things down, make movements smaller, and really make them count.

He believed that these 34 exercises were enough to work the entire body without being excessive.

The order matters

The sequence isn’t random. Traditionally, you might warm up with things like spotty dogs or star jumps before coming to the mat for The Hundred. This is where we start to connect breath with movement and switch on the core—what Pilates called the Powerhouse (often referred to as “the centre,” or as I like to say, the engine room). From there, we build into more challenging strength and control work, finishing with integrated, full-body movements.

The 34 are essentially his “best of” list—a tight, well-thought-out sequence refined over time, not a magic number he was aiming for. He created many more exercises, and through first- and second-generation teachers, there’s now huge variety. But if you go to a class and work through “The 34,” you’ll find the same movements all over the world—just taught with different cues and emphasis.

I really like that. Despite all the variety out there, it connects us through a shared foundation.

Bringing it to our mats

We’re not dancers or gymnasts—we’re real people using these exercises (among many others) to move better, build strength, improve endurance, and increase mobility. What we all share, though, are the principles: breath, control, precision, coordination, and centering.

I truly believe all levels can work with the 34, because there are so many ways to adapt and modify. Over the past few weeks in our intermediate classes, we’ve been breaking the exercises down and building them back up so we can run through them in sequence—and identify the ones we want to improve or better understand. I’ll be bringing this into the all-level classes in the coming weeks too, and all sessions will be recorded so you can revisit them—because practice really is essential.

Joseph Pilates didn’t see his method (which he called Contrology) as something you only did for an hour on the mat. He believed it should carry into how you move and live every day. His famous quote, “Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness,” really shows just how forward-thinking he was.

So with that in mind—practice matters. Use the library, revisit your nemesis exercises, and keep working at them.

Yes, running through the 34 can be tough—but it’s so worth it. It flows, it challenges us, and it leaves us feeling stronger, more open, and more connected.

It just works.

New in library this week

We have been far more interactive this week so less new content but last Saturday's 30 mins class (and tomorrow's) are recorded, plus Pilates and Strength training week 2 from today. (weight training)

I suggest you all try yesterday's "breaking down the moves" class as we start with a bit of a twist on 100, 1 leg circle, single and double leg stretch, spine stretch and roll up by doing them standing. A different approach on a familiar move. (The 34 moves and how to break them down)

How did you get on with some of the Q and A/workshop style classes this week? I've really enjoyed them (but no, it's not all about me!)

Next week's classes

Tomorrow's extra Easter ad hoc 30 mins will be reformer on the mat. Details in calendar of what you need to be prepared.

Easter Monday class is an express 30 mins.

Wed extra 08.30am

Friday - no live classes - PLEASE stay with your schedule and go into the library and select a class from last Friday to keep you on track.

APRIL PTPB

Pass the Pilates ball.

This has been a daft/fun thing that has been doing the (social media) rounds and is into it's 10th year and I thought this year, we at JP, could join in.

So... you need your Pilates soft/squishy/mini ball and your mobile. Prop your mobile up to film you and get someone off screen to throw the ball to you which you catch - you then do something like a squat with it between your legs or a one arm circle or lunge holding it in front of you - any of the many moves we have done (you can call me for inspiration) or simply just catch and then throw... I will then link all the little clips together to make a montage so it looks like one is throwing it to the next and so on.

As you are looking at the camera, have the ball thrown in on your RIGHT and throw it to your LEFT - that. keeps us all uniform! if you what's app me the video I can edit off the bits either side. Keep it short - 2- 3 secs should give you time but dont rush it! if in doubt just catch it, smile it at the camera and throw it on again. Get the kids involved and get creative. On the boat, on the beach, in the garden, in your camper van, down on the allotment, wearing Easter bunny ears, in pyjamas.. you get the picture. Send in as many as you like - the more the merrier. I will put it all together and post at the end of Easter on Insta and Facebook and will share on you tube too for those who don't have social media. This will not make any money, win any prizes or achieve anything other than being a part of a fun, daft Pilates thing that started in Australia and has grown legs around the world( I was going to say grown balls but maybe not... )

Dates for your diary

Coffee and catch up TUESDAY 21 April - details in calendar

Summer picnic - June 24th, Haunted History walk and pub supper - July 8th and Isle of Wight Revitalise day July 23 - all details to follow but save the date.

If you know anyone who might like to try a class or join one of our ad hoc 30 mins, there is a stand alone charge and all welcome! Send them my way.

Amongst other things, I am currently working on my content on You Tube and creating a couple of playlists to share with "Friends of Juliet's Pilates" so class attendees who I may not be currently seeing are going to be sent a link. I will get back to you when I have completed this.

If you have not yet, why not join our what's app group - an easy way to keep in touch and swap ideas, share class feedback, arrange lifts to socials and more. What's app me and I can add you to the group .

Have a very happy Easter,

Juliet x

Julietspilates.com email juliet@julietspilates.com call 0773 6359062

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Be your own world champion!

By juliet • May 14, 2026

Last weekend was a recognition of some huge achievements. On Friday I, like millions, watched the BBC concert to celebrate Sir David Attenborough’s 100th birthday. What an incredible man who has done so much for our planet and all it’s inhabitants. I found it hugely moving and reminisced about all the years his familiar voice boomed out of our TV screen as my own children grew up watching his documentaries. Of course me being me, I was instantly drawn to how many times he stood up… sat down… stood back up… I also later saw video footage of him arriving in the car outside The Royal Albert Hall and alighting from it totally unaided and just like during the concert, standing up and siting down with control and balance. My goodness me, if ever there was a lesson right there to never just let your brain turn to mush! While some are in such a rush to retire, he is a superb example of how beneficial it is to have a passion, to keep your mind and body active, to find something you love and to commit to it. Wasn’t it great to see that little clip of him, days away from celebrating 100 years, still working, recording the new Blue Planet! Despite his global fame and unparalleled success, he remains still so humble, so gentle and respectful. We could all benefit from being a bit more David. Onto Badminton Horse trials and to see the remarkable Ros Canter (as people have cracked the Romeo jokes to me all my life, how she must cope, I can’t imagine) winning Badminton and going on to to make history with Lordships Graffalo as the first same rider /horse partnership to win Badminton together 3 times. Not only that but she had a baby just 12 weeks ago!! To be so composed and deliver such stimulating interviews before she had even taken her riding hat off with her baby coo’ing on her hip and young daughter wrapped around her leg… what dedication to her sport. Keeping it real, she had to dash off just before her dressage test to express milk as her boobs were too big. Love it! Then the BAFTA’s on Sunday and while Adolescence predictably swept the boards, it was Martin Lewis’ speech on receiving a special award that moved me. He spoke of how he found out he had been nominated 42 years to the day after his mother had died when he was 12, and I quote “For six years, barring school, I barely left the house, and now I am picking up a BAFTA” He then spoke bravely and a little tearfully to tell whoever was watching that yes, you can turn your life around, you can fight your demons and find your way back (and being the brilliant human that he is, he finished his speech on the primetime platform he had, to bash the chancellor over student fees). How brave and what a strong message. Another big character devoting himself to sharing his passion and educating others. Earlier last week, Rachel Entrekin made history by beating both men and women to win the Cocodona ultra marathon in Arizona. "What is that" you might well ask! Well, recognised as one of the world’s toughest ultras, it is 253 miles long including numerous elevations and desert. She tells of surviving on mashed potatoes (easy to swallow, don’t waste energy on chewing) and 19 minutes’ sleep over 56 hours. What an unbelievable achievement - to keep pushing when everything in your body is screaming at you to stop. The power of the mind over the body. However, was it not put into perspective if, like me, you happened to watch The Antiques Roadshow, presenting on Sunday at Bletchley park, based around artefacts and memories from WW2. What exceptional men and women who performed acts of unimaginable courage and selflessness. Their stories deserve to be heard over and over again. Simple, everyday folk who found themselves in uniform, fighting for their country. Can we even begin to imagine? We can’t all break world records or win awards. We can’t all expect stratospheric careers and global success. However, we can all change our lives and impact those around us, in even the smallest ways. I think if we look back and reflect on experiences we have survived, we can ALL think of challenges and situations we thought we could never get through, times that seemed never ending, pain that seemed too much to bear. Yet here we are. We are all warriors. We are all world champions in our own lives. It can be easy to overlook our achievements but helpful to reflect sometimes in order to see how brilliant we all are. Maybe you had the courage to leave a job or friendship or even a marriage that made you unhappy. Maybe you finally took up that activity or started that project you had always put off as you were scared of failing. Maybe you just finally learned to say no sometimes. All big wins in their own right and all worthy of celebrating, even quietly and privately. I was determined to clear and organise the chaos that is my garage. Stored furniture, xmas decs I don’t want any more: you know how it is. As a bit of a control freak, this disorganised clutter was constantly chipping away at my OCD brain. RIGHT! A couple of Fridays ago, I marched over, opened the door, looked at the enormous job in front of me, shut the door and went back to the house, totally overwhelmed. Instead I lay on the sofa, stuck on my audio book and gave myself the afternoon off with a note to self - it's Friday. You need to stop! Fast forward to last weekend and having got a few other ducks in a row, I opened that door again and worked my way through, selling some things on eBay, doing a tip run, stacking and sorting. I was SO ridiculously pleased with myself. Will it benefit anyone or make any difference in the world? No, of course not but I had achieved something that showed me how important it is to listen to myself. I recognised that on the other Friday, choosing to postpone it was the right thing to do rather than seeing it as a cop out and that giving myself space and time to come back to it was the better option. Just a little win, but a win nonetheless. I didn't win Badminton or get a lifetime achievement award, but I know how many of you will feel my joy! It is a tough old world out there and to steal a well used quote “comparison is the thief of joy”. If you find yourself “falling short”, perhaps take a moment to consider who you are measuring yourself against - is it a fair and reasonable comparison? Are you taking into account what you have already ticked off and achieved in your day. My goodness! this is something I have had to work SO hard at; am I falling short? Could I have done more? and learning to say to myself “what you did today was enough’. I find the following a really useful tool - if you find yourself tutting over what you haven’t done or getting upset over not matching up where you think you fall short, take a moment to focus on what today, you HAVE done. It may not be ground breaking but acknowledge, recognise and reward yourself for what you HAVE achieved, even if you just got dressed and faced the world. Sometimes, that is enough. A brilliant piece of advice I was given was this - talk to yourself the same way you would talk to your best friend. If they are having a wobble, a moment of insecurity or self doubt you would instantly jump in to lift them up, point out their strengths and successes, show them what they have done well so why not to yourself? Learn to be your own best friend. No-one wants to revisit that terrible experience or that dreadful pain or that life changing loss but sometimes it is useful to reflect on that time and remember how strong you were, how you DID get through it, how you ARE still here and that is part of what makes you amazing. Jay Shetty says in his book Think like a monk, “Be the person you would want to be in a relationship with”. Maybe that means pulling your socks up. Maybe that means recognising how wonderful you are! I'll leave that with you. Wrapping up, this week I received an email following last week's blog from a friend and fellow teacher who I worked with a few years ago and I share - "Hi Juliet!. A good article about Pilates and running......I have now run over 50,000 miles and recently put in a 31 minute 5k at age 80. I hold my Club's record for running (& finishing before the cut-off) their annual 10 mile cross country championship 54 years apart (1969 & 2023). My brother has replacement hips and my sister replacement knees - neither run nor do Pilates....." I think we are all warriors deep down. We just sometimes need to remind ourselves! If you are still unsure about joining us online and would like to see more of what we get up to, here is a link to a 30 min pure mat mixed ability class. Have a look and always come back to me with your comments and questions. For just £45 a month , you can access 7 live classes (in a typical week) plus access to a huge library plus me on the end of the phone or FaceTime to discuss any areas where you may want more support plus the invitation to request specific classes plus social events and get togethers.

So, you ran the London Marathon.... what next?

By juliet • May 7, 2026

In the words of Holly Willoughby, "first of all, "how are YOU?".

The Zanzibar Yoga Festival

By juliet • April 28, 2026

Members news. Week upcoming : Bank Holiday Monday - class running as usual and this coming Wednesday, 2 x 30 min classes. Details in library. As I am away a few days here and there in May/June, I will continue to put in extra classes now and then to keep everyone topped up. It's all about give and take! Following on from requests this week, upcoming we have a Roll over/Control Balance workshop (Thursday 8am), Back care (Thursday 9am) and Body Conditioning, sculpt and tone style (Wed 8am). All updates will always be in your live calendar. We welcome 4 new members this week and can't wait to see you on the screen! We can now add Portugal to our community! That means that currently, we are beaming into the UK from Cornwall to Yorkshire, Spain, Italy, Greece, France, Germany and now Portugal! We are so much more than Pilates and our community continues to support in so many ways. While a couple of our treasured members are going through some hefty challenges, I am so pleased that you use our online connection as a form of support and to use the friendship of your fellow members. Don't forget you can log in 15 mins early for a natter before class and on Thursdays, I will leave the meeting open after we finish the 9.45am class for anyone to stay on and have a chat. Grab a coffee and log back in even if you weren't in the class. If you would like to join our "Friends of JP's" what's app group , let me know - we are slowly growing and it is a friendly place for a chat and check in, (and a grumble about how tough the class was!). Have a lovely weekend, Jx

Sitting in Southampton airport and other stuff

By juliet • April 9, 2026

I want to keep it as on point and brief as I can and here are some cold, hard facts. Doing SOMETHING is a lot better than doing NOTHING! Whatever equipment you use and program you follow is far less important than the fact that you show up. Regularly and consistently. Only 30% of adults meet the resistance training guidelines and this drops to as low 10% for older adults. What is required? Training all major muscle groups at least once a week Aiming for 2 - 3 sets per exercises Using a weight that is getting challenging by the end of the set Moving through full range of movement. Now, why this is good news is that this can be acheived in whatever form of exercise takes your fancy and over here on our Pilates mat, we tick a lot of those boxes. Going into the 100 and wishing for the end, sitting tall in your Spine Twist and pushing for JUST ONE MORE rep is meeting this! We go through full range of movement, we use bodyweight as well as small equipment, so even if you are not lifting weights, you are doing your bit. (N.b. provided this is min. 3 times a week and you are pushing yourself to max ability in each of those sessions in one way or another and bringing in bands, small weights etc for additional resistance) WHAT COUNTS BODYWEIGHT EXERCISES AT HOME BANDS, BALLS, BODY WEIGHT, LOOPS A QUICK EXPRESS SET WHEN YOU GET BACK FROM YOUR RUN/WALKING THE DOG 15 MINS IN THE KITCHEN - YOU DON'T NEED TO COMPLICATE IT IT DOESNT NEED TO BE FANCY, STRUCTURED OR ELABORATE. IT JUST NEEDS TO HAPPEN Generally ALL types of resistance training work, as long as they are performed with high efforts which means that you get to a point where you are almost at failure. In other words, choose what you enjoy as you are more likely to stick to it and work harder at ut. CONSISTENCY IS KEY and the BEST exercise programme to do is the one you enjoy and will be more likely to stick at! MEMBERS. We have multiple classes involving strength and resistance every week. NON MEMBERS - I am just putting dates together for another 4 week strength program. Please email me if you are interested. More details to follow (I am delighted to be starting a 4 week strength training session with my local running club so I really am doing my best to share the love! )

Why runners need to lift weights

By juliet • April 8, 2026

Let's start with Improves balance and coordination Improves bone density Boosts metabolism and weight management Enhances mental health Helps with daily activity A few more?! Improves posture by strengthening your core and back muscles Reduces risk of injury by strengthening joints, ligaments, and tendons Helps regulate blood sugar levels and lowers risk of type 2 diabetes Improves sleep quality and helps you fall asleep faster Enhances athletic performance (speed, power, endurance) Slows down age-related muscle loss (sarcopenia) The ACSM (American college of Sports Science) is the bible of the fitness world with regards to fitness and exercise prescription and has recently done a huge survey, publishing it’s findings in a new report which has got the fitness world very excited as it is the first survey of it’s kind since 2009.