Let’s Talk About “Flow”
We’ve all seen the videos: a sleek Pilates setup, matching workout set, and a catchy beat playing while someone glides through a creative sequence on the Reformer. The captions usually say something like “Steal My Flow” or “Creative Reformer Flow”—complete with tips and subtitles, encouraging viewers to try it themselves or even teach it.
But for those of us who were classically trained, these trendy clips can feel like yet another example of how far the Pilates method is straying from what Joseph Pilates originally created.
Joe was on a mission when he developed his method. If you’ve read Your Health (1934) or Return to Life Through Contrology (1954), you can feel not just his passion but his frustration—he believed in the power of his method and wanted the world to adopt it. He even wrote to U.S. presidents, urging them to use Contrology not just for health, but as a way to promote peace and well-being on a larger scale.
If he could see how widespread “Pilates” has become, he might be thrilled by the reach—but disappointed in how far it’s veered from his vision. Joe didn’t leave much room for interpretation. His instructions were clear: “You must always faithfully and without deviation follow the instructions... and always keep your mind wholly concentrated on the purpose of the exercises as you perform them.” His words, photos, and videos—plus the teachings passed down by his direct students, (known as “the elders”)—offer us a clear roadmap.
So, what’s with the social media flows?
To be honest, many of them don’t look like Pilates at all. The beauty of Pilates is in its structure, its system, and the way it progresses. When we strip that away in favor of flashy moves and random sequences, we lose the essence of what Joe built.
Now, it’s not that flow doesn’t exist in Pilates. It absolutely does—Joe was big on keeping the body moving, and you can see that dynamism in his many videos. But it’s important to understand that “flow” in Pilates wasn’t about freestyling or creating your own movements. It was about executing on his method with purpose, control, and continuity. The popular use of the word today often misses that nuance.
So why do these social videos bother so many classically trained instructors? It circles back to the ongoing debate between classical and contemporary Pilates. Contemporary practitioners often feel empowered to get creative, especially on the equipment Joe invented. They argue that movement evolves, our understanding of the body grows, and that the classical work can feel restrictive or outdated.
But here’s the thing: after nearly a decade of teaching and even more years practicing, I’ve never felt boxed in by the classical method. In fact, I see it as a solid foundation—a structure that allows for growth, challenge, and discovery without losing the method’s integrity. As Joe said, “Follow instructions exactly as indicated down to the very smallest detail. There IS a reason!”As Pilates keeps trending online, it’s a good time to pause and ask: what exactly are we watching—and what might we be missing when everything is about the “flow”?
When we hear “flow,” it often sounds like movements are just happening on the fly. But the original order Joe Pilates created was very intentional—designed to warm the body up step by step. For example, twists come after the spine is ready, not just whenever.
Without that structure, students can miss the connection between breath and movement—which means losing out on both the physical and mental benefits. In Return to Life, Joe had super specific breath instructions for every movement.. He believed intentional breathing was key: “Breathing is the first act of life, and the last!”
Classes that focus too much on flow can start to feel more like just “moving around” instead of actually connecting with your body. But two major principles of Pilates are focus and concentration—and those require real intention, not autopilot.
Flow can also make it easier to gloss over the details that matter—like proper alignment, muscle engagement, and control. Joe’s whole idea of Contrology was about complete control of your body through precise repetition. If we skip the details, we lose the power of the method.
All movement has value. But not all movement is Pilates. So when you're watching online workouts, it’s worth asking:
Did Joseph Pilates actually create this?
Is the instructor truly qualified?
Can their training be traced back to Joe’s original work?
Pilates isn’t just random exercises—it’s a structured system, taught on specific apparatus, with a clear progression. If we trade that structure for whatever’s trending on social media, we risk losing what makes Pilates so powerful in the first place.
Joe said it best: “The benefits of Contrology depend solely upon your performing of the exercises exactly according to instructions—and not otherwise.”
If we want Pilates to stay strong and meaningful, we’ve got to respect the method Joe gave us. The details matter—he made sure of that.
@the.pilates.snob
Founder of Real Pilates Montauk, Victoria (Batha) Cuomo is a third-generation classical instructor certified under Alycea Ungaro at Real Pilates NYC in 2016. She also founded The Pilates Snob, a brand dedicated to classical Pilates. An avid athlete, Victoria competed for Syracuse University’s D1 Rowing Team in college. She holds a Master’s in Applied Exercise Physiology from Columbia University and teaches on Alo Moves. She’s currently pursuing certification in the Egoscue Postural Therapy Method.