EQ Pilates

Matwork spotlight: The Double Leg Stretch 🎯

One of my mentors used to call this the ultimate Pilates exercise — and the more I practice and teach it, the more I get it. It’s got everything: stability, strength, stretch, and stamina, all in one move.

Everyone thinks the Teaser is the poster child of Pilates (it’s the one that ends up on every pic 😅), but honestly? Double Leg Stretch deserves that title more. It’s got that beautiful opposition — arms and legs reaching away, everything lengthening out into a full-body stretch, then pulling back together with control. That expand-and-contract is Pilates in a nutshell.

Stability holding the center. Strength to pull it all back in. Stretch through the reach. Stamina to keep the rhythm going rep after rep.

It just does it all. 🖤

Two chairs. One standing leg. Total control. 🪑

These aren’t just leg exercises — they’re full-body balance work, and the classical cueing behind them is precise.

📍 Standing Press Down (Wunda Chair) — The standing leg roots down and hugs in while the working leg presses the pedal. The real skill: moving the leg independently without shifting the pelvis. As the pedal rises, you keep reaching down into it — you control the spring, not the other way around.

📍 Going Up Side (High Chair) — Often taught before the Wunda Chair version because the backboard and handles offer more support while you build the same skill: standing on one leg while externally rotating and moving the other. The cue that matters most — as the pedal rises, resist the urge to lean into the chair. Let your own leg do the work.

Different equipment, same principle: the pelvis stays quiet while the limbs move. These exercises look deceptively simple — but they ask a lot more of your body than they let on. It’s the same demand you’ll find later in Side Kicks on the mat and Side Splits on the reformer.

Before we close for summer on 16 August, we’re opening a handful of places for new clients.

The Summer Foundation ☀️
3 private sessions · £150 one-to-one with one our highly trained teachers

Full movement assessment in session one, then a practice built around YOUR body.

New to Pilates, post-injury, or finally ready to do it properly — this is your way in.

All three sessions happen before the 16th, so it starts now. Limited places, new clients only. When we reopen in September, your regular slot is waiting.

DM us or tap the link in bio to book 🤍

Back to where it all began. 🖤
Our Classical Reformers aren’t just equipment — they’re a direct line to Joseph Pilates’ original method.

Leather straps instead of nylon.

No precision bearings on the carriage wheels, so the springs don’t pull you back in — your centre does.

The work feels different because it is different — more grounded, more connected, more honest with every pull and release.

We’re thinking of bringing small group Classical Reformer classes to Joe’s Gym — just 3 people per session.

Want to see it on the timetable? Comment “REFORMER” below 👇 and help us make it happen.

📍 Joe’s Gym

Let’s be honest — showing up to your first class and expecting the super - advanced stuff isn’t going to serve you. We WILL get you there. That’s literally the job. But first we’re going to make you strong — properly strong — so when those exercises arrive, your body knows exactly what to do with them. Some things only happen in privates. Some things depend entirely on who’s in the room that day. As teachers, reading the class and making those calls is part of what we do. Trust your teachers. Trust the build. The good stuff is coming. ✨ #pilates #classicalpilates #candlestick

Ugly Pilates. Get used to it. 🙃 Jay Grimes said it best — and every teacher needs to hear it. Just because it doesn’t look like the book doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value. Full blog 👉 link in bio.