The Problem With "Advanced Pilates" On Social Media
- Sheela Cheong
- 6 days ago
- 4 min read
There is a growing tension in the way Pilates and yoga are being represented today. On one hand, they are deeply embodied practices—built on control, awareness, progression, and internal work. On the other hand, they are increasingly consumed as visual content: aesthetic shapes, advanced movements, and curated moments designed for social media.
The gap between these two realities is widening.
And what we are seeing online is not necessarily the practice itself—but a highly selected version of it.
The Rise of the Aspirational Body
Pilates, much like yoga before it, has become a visually aspirational practice.
Scroll through any platform and you’ll see it:
curated outfits
soft, aesthetic studios
the “Pilates princess” archetype
long, lean lines and controlled, elegant shapes
It’s polished. It’s appealing. And most importantly—it’s aspirational.
Even beyond lifestyle imagery, the exercises themselves have become part of that visual language.
Advanced movements—teasers, high bridges, complex balances—capture attention because they look impressive.
They signal mastery, strength, control.
But what’s being consumed is not the practice.
It’s the image of the practice.
Yoga Has Been Here Before
We’ve seen this trajectory already in yoga.
Over time, yoga on social media became dominated by:
extreme flexibility
contortion-like backbends
complex arm balances
And the same question emerged:
If a contortionist can perform these shapes, does that make them a yoga practitioner?
Not necessarily.
Because yoga, at its core, includes an element of inner work—awareness, reflection, a relationship to the self that extends beyond the physical form.
Pilates is different in its philosophy, but it shares a critical overlap:
it requires internal awareness
it demands control, coordination, and precision
it is built on progression and foundation
Yet both practices are now being consumed primarily through a visual lens.
When the Image Replaces the Practice
When attention is directed outward—towards what looks impressive—the internal work becomes secondary.
This is where the breakdown happens.
Advanced exercises are not inherently the problem.Wanting to achieve them is not the problem either.
The issue arises when:
the appearance of the movement becomes the goal
the process is bypassed
the foundation is ignored
Without control, strength, and awareness, the body will still attempt the movement—but it does so without integrity.
That’s what shows up as “poor execution.”
But again, that’s the symptom.
Not the cause.
The Work That Doesn’t Show
What is often missing from what we see online is the work that actually builds the capacity for advanced movement.
repetition without performance
correction without aesthetic value
coordination work that takes time
awareness that cannot be captured in a single image
This is the part of practice that is not designed to be seen.
But it is exactly what makes everything else possible.
Beyond the Image: How We Teach in a Visual Culture
As teachers, the more interesting question is not simply what we critique, but how we actively reshape the narrative we are contributing to.
Because we are working within a visual culture—there is no escaping that.
Movement is now consumed through images first, often before it is understood in experience.
So the responsibility shifts towards us: how do we show the reality of the work, not just the highlight?
That means making space for what is often not shown:
the repetitions that don’t look impressive
the coordination work that takes time
the foundational exercises that build control
the moments where movement is “unpolished” but deeply meaningful
It also means centring the human experience of practice, not just the visual outcome of it.
Instead of only showcasing peak expressions of movement, there is value in showing:
the learning process
the corrections
the building of awareness over time
And even more importantly, allowing students’ own reflections to be part of the narrative: what they feel in their bodies, what changes they notice, what feels difficult or revealing for them.
Because when we only consume movement through images, we lose the internal dimension of it.
But when we include the lived experience of practice—the process, the sensations, the learning—we shift Pilates and yoga back towards what they actually are at their core:
Not performance, but embodied education.
Final Thought
If we accept that we are working within a visual culture, then the tension at the centre of Pilates and yoga becomes clear.
These practices have become aspirational largely because they are tied to the visual—captured, shared, and consumed as image.
The more striking the shape, the more it is amplified.
Over time, this shifts what the practice is believed to be.
But the contrast to this is simple.
The image pulls us OUTWARD—towards something to achieve, perform, or reach (future-oriented).
The practice, when grounded, pulls us back into the body as it is now (present-focused).
This is the tension we are working with.
The role of the teacher is not to reject the visual, but to keep bringing attention back to the present body—where control, awareness, and real work actually begin.
Pilates and yoga are not defined by what they look like.
They are defined by the return to the body that is here, now.
Video by Nic Lenny on 'Beyond The Reformer' podcast, a conversation with Rael Isacowitz, founder of Basi Pilates. (15 April 2026.)
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