the Who, the Why

I’m Megan, that girl behind That Girl Pilates.

Working as a fitness instructor in big gyms, I began to notice something: women were getting burned out and not achieving their goals in many of the classic workout formats. Some women pushed harder, reasoning that hard equaled good. Yet the harder these women worked, the more their desired results - whether aesthetic, pain relief, or some other health marker - eluded them. Some quit those formats to join my Pilates and stretching classes, and they would come up to me after a single class, thrilled and a little baffled that they felt better after the workout. I began to study what worked - and what didn’t. Was there a way to marry feeling good with an effective full body workout? (Hint: yes!)

So why Pilates? It all started with a mat Pilates class I had to take for a college credit. At that point in my life, I considered myself “unathletic” and many classic exercise formats just hurt. Thankfully for me and now for you, I chose Pilates for that credit - and it felt good. It felt like the way I was meant to move my body. I loved the class so much that I ended up taking it every semester even when I didn’t have to anymore. Then, when I was living abroad out of a single suitcase, with no equipment, I adapted what I knew from class for the floor - and sometimes the bed - of my little room. I came back in better shape from 10 minutes of daily bed Pilates than when I had been logging over an hour in a gym with all the bells & whistles. Pilates continued to be personally healing, both physically and psychologically, when I dealt with thyroid cancer. Then, when I saw the way my diverse group of clients responded to these simple Pilates moves, I knew more people needed it.

Inspired by the independent That Girl heroine of the 1960s New York sitcom, That Girl Pilates is a feel-good, effective workout designed for empowering women. It’s intentionally minimalist and wonderfully sustainable — more “smart effort” than “no pain, no gain.”

The present moment in your body is a gift. Movement is a gift. Let’s treat it as such, and move for our best tomorrows. This might just be the workout you enjoy.