Why pilates belongs in every winter routine

If you have been looking for an indoor exercise practice that genuinely delivers pilates may be the answer winter has brought you. Pilates improves your posture, relieves back and hip tension, builds core strength, and leaves you feeling taller, calmer and more at ease in your body.

Developed by Joseph Pilates in the early twentieth century, the method was originally created to rehabilitate injured athletes and dancers. It is now one of the most widely practised forms of exercise in the world, and for good reason.

Unlike many workout modalities, pilates builds what its founder called the body’s ‘powerhouse’: the deep abdominal, pelvic floor and spinal muscles that support every movement the body makes. When these muscles are strong, the whole system benefits.

For people who spend winter sitting more, at desks, on sofas or in cars,  pilates addresses the particular patterns of tightness and weakness that sedentary behaviour creates. Hip flexors shorten. Thoracic spines round. Glutes inhibit. Pilates works precisely these areas, restoring length, activation and mobility in a way that feels restorative rather than punishing.

Short sessions are enough. Ten to fifteen minutes of gentle mat work can warm the body, activate deep core muscles and support spinal alignment. Movements like pelvic tilts, bridges, leg lifts and slow roll‑downs build strength without strain. These exercises help maintain stability, reduce tension and support everyday movement.

Pilates also encourages mindful breathing, which helps regulate the nervous system and increase warmth from within. Consistency matters more than intensity: a few sessions each week keep the body feeling centred and mobile. Winter is a season for steady, supportive movement, and Pilates offers exactly that.

Start with two or three sessions a week and notice the difference in how your body feels within a fortnight. Winter is not a pause in your movement practice. It might be where you build your best foundation yet.

Hopewood tip: There are excellent free pilates classes for beginners on YouTube — search for ‘beginner mat pilates 20 minutes’ and commit to the same class three times before trying another. Repetition is how the body learns.