March MATness is Back

This month marks the tenth anniversary of the March MATness social media campaign that’s meant to bring the Pilates community together by sharing the original Pilates mat work. Whether you want to follow me this month on Instagram or join yourself, it’s a lot of fun. 

What is March MATness?

Benjamin Dengenhardt of 360° Pilates started the March MATness movement. Each day, one or two of the thirty-four original mat exercises will be shared, with Pilates instructors and lovers sharing on their own accounts. Benjamin also shares tutorials every day this month, which you can find on his website. Be sure to tag #MarchMATness2023 if you want to be part of the group, or follow along and do one exercise each day. 

The Origins of the Pilates Method

Joseph Pilates was the creator of the Pilates method. He was born in Germany and was said to be a sickly child, and he used movement and breathing to help strengthen and heal himself. If you look back at “fitness” in Germany during Joseph’s youth, you’ll see a lot of calisthenics and gymnastics. He apparently also was a circus performer and a boxer at some point. 

Joseph developed the mat work as a set sequence of how the exercises were to be performed. This led to him writing the book “Return to Life Through Contrology” (Contrology is what he called his method that we now know as Pilates). His book was (and still is) a great instruction manual on how to do each of the mat exercises, and was meant for you to use at home to be able to do Pilates every day.  

When Joseph moved to New York and opened his studio, he really began sharing his method and developing the apparatuses. There were photos on the walls of all the exercises, and teachers would supervise and guide clients as they worked out independently. Joseph designed his method so anyone could get stronger, more flexible, and more mobile on their own. 

Try Doing Pilates at Home

Over the years, I’ve seen how much faster clients progress if they practice at home a few times a week between their studio sessions. Those who do a combination of mat and apparatus work seem to make the most progress of all. This is why I created the Sweat with Melissa app, which provides you with a large library of mat classes and weight workouts. These are for you to follow along with and focus on certain themes of movement, like balance, spinal extension, the feet, or finding your curl. 

Even better, I would love my clients to learn the mat exercises so that they can do the exercises anywhere at any time. Basically stop, drop, and do Pilates! I truly feel like I’ve been successful when a client has learned to do Pilates independently. Another great place to learn the mat exercises is this free Introduction to the Mat Series in my app, which has most of the exercises. 

Get Better in the Studio

When you practice Pilates at home, you aren’t constrained by class times or your own schedule. You will get stronger faster and benefit from the relief Pilates is known for whenever you need it. The studio, on the other hand, is a fun space to come together, do the work, and tweak what you’re doing and how you’re moving. The studio also has the apparatuses to help and challenge you, something most people don’t have space for in their homes. 
When you’re in the studio, you’re also surrounded by others who love Pilates, too – which is what March MATness is all about. I hope you’ll follow along. See the event calendar here, and tag me if you decide to post on your social media. I’d love to see what you create!