Hello darling,
I’m unrolling my scroll 📜 and declaring to the world that I have found one of the rare Pilates apps untouched by influencer culture. The kind that drops you straight back into your feminine. A community that doesn’t ask you to look a certain way, buy the most flattering matching sets, or show up to the mat as a woman who already has her life perfectly together.
The app and studio is called Fluid Form Pilates.
Yes, their app is a little buggy.
Yes, the audio sometimes lags.
And yes, the interface sometimes behaves like it needs a weekend off (these imperfections are what give it its charm).
But wo(man), does it feel good to have found a teacher who genuinely wants her students to feel good in their bodies — before, during, and after the practice.
Confessions of a Former Workout Psycho
I’ve been working out for fifteen years (fine, on and off), whether it was the gym, hot yoga, traditional yoga, or Pilates. And every time I used to get into a routine, I would turn into a bull.
If there were a cartoon version of me, she’d be stomping toward the studio with wild determination, eyes blazing red, veins pulsing, mat under her arm, slamming it to the floor and becoming that girl, the one who is just… too intense.
I know. Not a good look.
So when you mix that competitive inner character with the subtle competition of social media (the pressure to look perfect, put together, slim, toned, ethereal), it becomes nearly impossible to step into any physical practice without feeling judged, watched, or behind.
All this to say: the inner work of softening the masculine, competitive, overly-intense mindset around exercise, and the outer work of finding the right environment, teacher, and philosophy, has been a journey.
But one thing has always been clear:
I knew what I wanted from movement.
I want to feel good in my body.
I want to feel the blood moving, the life in my veins.
I want my mind to be clear.
I want to feel light yet grounded.
I want my breath to soften.
I want my nervous system to unclench.
I want my body to feel like mine, not a machine I’m trying to optimize.
I want to be able to look at my body throughout the practice and love every inch of it.
I want enough effort to feel alive, not depleted.
And I want to feel excited about tomorrow’s practice.
I’m not asking for too much, am I?
Haha.
A Pilates Studio with Heart
Anyway, I’m happy to say this little app (an actual Pilates studio based in Australia) is giving me these feelings for now, especially the classes taught by the founder, Kirsten King. I especially love their app notifications asking how you feel, sometimes an hour after practice. To me, that’s a sign of a teacher who truly cares, and I want to support that kind of teaching.
About the classes: they aren’t too short or too long.
Their philosophy (that twenty minutes a day is enough to feel the benefits) is something I deeply resonate with. The practices are smooth, slow, and have just the right amount of burn. The kind of burn that makes you feel like you’re caring for your body, not punishing it.
Some would say yoga offers the same benefits, but I’ve always found the “yoga high” to be much more intense than what Pilates gives me. As much as I love it, sometimes that high is simply too high. And since we’re comparing activities, running and the gym tend to exhaust me for the entire day; sometimes even the shower afterward feels like another workout.
All of these practices have their place, of course, but Pilates (especially through this little app) keeps me present rather than sleepy or depleted. It lets me move through the day with a clearer mind and a deeper sense of being in my body. It changes the way I walk, the way I dress, the way I inhabit my own skin.
Where the Real Change Is Happening
Pilates is teaching me something I didn’t expect: that discipline can actually feel soft.
It’s teaching me the power of consistency, and that movement doesn’t need to feel like punishment. How I don’t need to slip into my “intense mode” a few times a week and then spend the rest of the day recovering from it.
A little every day is enough.
More than enough.
So yes; twenty minutes of Pilates a day is keeping my mental health at bay.
Not because I’m suddenly a Pilates girlie,
but because it’s giving me something I didn’t realize I was starving for:
A place to return to myself.
So if you’ve been craving a gentler way back into your body — something nourishing, steady, and yet powerful — consider this your sign.
Start with twenty minutes.
Not to get smaller, stronger, or better.
Just to feel like you again.
