Pilates

If you're in your 40s or 50s and you've started leaking when you sneeze, feeling heaviness in your pelvis, or noticing urgency that wasn't there before, the chance that your pelvic floor is involved is high. According to Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists polling, over 60% of UK women have at least one symptom of poor pelvic floor health. And 69% of those women have never been spoken to by an NHS professional about what to do about it. Most women who mention sy

If you have osteoporosis or are worried about bone density, you have probably been told to do weight-bearing exercise. What you may not have been told is where Pilates fits in, and how to use it well. The short answer: Pilates is good for bone health, but it works best as part of a wider programme rather than on its own. Here is what the research actually shows, and what that means in practice. Here are 5 things to know about Pilates and osteoporosis: Pilates does improve bon

Most people with lower back pain have already tried something, rest, a course of physio, avoiding certain movements, waiting for it to settle. Pilates may not be the first option they consider. Among women in their 40s and 50s in particular, it should be. A 2025 meta-analysis of 93,021 women found that 57% of perimenopausal women experience back pain, compared to 42% premenopausal, a significant increase linked to hormonal changes affecting connective tissue and muscle (PMC12

The assumption most people make about online Pilates is that it's the compromise option. What you choose when you can't get to a studio. A reasonable workaround for a less-than-ideal situation. In 2024, a peer-reviewed randomised controlled trial found that women doing Pilates via Zoom achieved 80% adherence over 8 weeks. The in-studio group achieved 74%. Fitness gains showed no significant difference between the groups across five motor tests. That's not the rounding error m

Reformer Pilates is one of the most misunderstood options when women start looking for the best exercise for perimenopause. Most people hear "Pilates" and think gentle. Low-impact. Recovery work. Something you do when you can't do real exercise. What it actually is: precise. And precision is exactly what the perimenopausal body needs. In 2024, a meta-analysis of 11 randomised trials involving 1,005 women found that mind-body exercise, the category Pilates sits in, produced la

Dark editorial cover image for Shaw Lifestyle blog post titled What Is Reformer Pilates: The Equipment, the Method, and What to Expect.