During the lockdown, I discovered pilates, and this week, I thought that I might try out the classes offered by U of T. I have found that while pilates doesn’t get me sweating, the mental shift that I experience from it has kept me sane during lockdown while improving both my mobility and strength. 

UTrain’s pilates class, hosted by Hart House, was taught by H. R. Martin Phills, who graduated from U of T in 1989. He is currently a program advisor at Hart House and has 25 years of experience in pilates matwork. This was the first pilates class I’ve taken that started at 9:00 am, and I — again — roped my roommate into the workout with me to keep me accountable. 

When we joined the class, Phills said hello to the clearly loyal community that he has built. The 20 participants, who were of all ages, had their cameras on and were saying hi in the chat or waving to Phills as we set up our equipment. 

Phills mentioned that he prefers when participants keep their screens on, but I decided to keep mine off as my other roommates rolled out of their beds to start their days. 

We started with five minutes of breathing and spine mobilization. I took the class during the first big snow in Toronto, so Phills mentioned that the spine mobilization movements were great for anyone who needed to shovel their walk later. 

Phills continued the focus on breathing, constantly telling us to “breathe in” throughout the class. We did traditional pilates moves, like downward facing dog and a plank series, but we also did a lot of dance-focused moves as well. 

The hardest part of the class was the squat series, but no matter the movement, Phills called the exercises “stretches” rather than their traditional names. My roommate and I loved this because it gave the whole class a much more relaxed vibe. 

We ended the class with some more breathing exercises and were reminded to “get outside,” “go for a walk,” and be grateful for every day. He even gave us his email and said we could ask any exercise questions if we needed. 

All in all, I wasn’t tired or sweaty after the workout but rather refreshed and ready for my day. I would recommend Phills’ class to everyone!