Beginner's glossary

What your instructor actually means

Every class comes with its own vocabulary. Here's the plain version, so “knit your ribs” stops being a mystery. No account needed, and you don't have to read it in order.

Cues you'll hear

Neutral spine: The natural, slightly-curvy shape your back has when you're standing well. Not flattened into the floor, not arched off it. Most exercises start here.
Ribs downalso: Knit the ribs, close the ribcage: Stop your lower ribs from flaring up and forward. Usually means your back has arched and your core has switched off. Soften the front of the ribs toward your hips.
Zip upalso: Navel to spine, scoop, hollow: Gently draw your lower belly in and up, like doing up a tight pair of jeans. It switches on the deep core muscles that hold you steady. Gently is the word: you should still be able to breathe and talk.
Engage your core: Same idea as zip up. Switch on the muscles around your middle so your torso stays still and controlled while your arms or legs move.
Lengthen through the crown of your head: Imagine a string pulling the very top of your head toward the ceiling. It stops you slumping and makes you feel taller. Nothing actually moves much.
Soft knees: Don't lock your legs dead straight. Keep the tiniest bend so the joint isn't taking the strain.
Stack your joints: Line things up. Wrists under shoulders, knees under hips. It puts the load through the bones rather than the soft bits.
Set your shoulder bladesalso: Scapular stability, slide your shoulders down: Draw your shoulders away from your ears and let the shoulder blades rest flat against your back. Stops you hunching when your arms are working.
Wrap the seatalso: Squeeze the glutes, tuck: Gently tighten your backside. In Barre especially, you'll hold this while you pulse.
Lateral breathingalso: Breathe into your back, breathe into your ribs: Breathe wide into the sides and back of your ribcage rather than pushing your belly out. Lets you keep the core switched on while you're still getting air.
Find your sit bones: The two bony points at the base of your pelvis that you feel when you sit on a hard chair. Instructors use them as a reference for sitting evenly.
Pulse: A tiny repeated movement in a small range, an inch or two, rather than a full rep. It keeps the muscle working without a rest. Your legs will shake. That's normal.

Positions and shapes

Neutral pelvis vs imprint: Neutral: the pelvis in its natural resting tilt. Imprint: tip it slightly so your lower back gently presses toward the floor. Instructors switch between the two depending on the exercise.
Tabletop: On your back, knees bent to 90 degrees and lifted so your knees are over your hips and your shins are parallel to the floor, like the underside of a table.
C-curve: Rounding your spine into a long C shape, usually by drawing the belly back and tucking the tailbone. Shows up in roll-downs and anything where you curl up off the floor.
Roll-down / roll-up: Moving through your spine one vertebra at a time, either curling down toward the floor or peeling back up. Slow and controlled is the whole point.
Turnout: Rotating your legs outward from the hip so your knees and toes point away from each other. A Barre and ballet thing. Small is fine.
First and second position: Foot positions borrowed from ballet. First: heels together, toes turned out. Second: feet about hip to shoulder width apart, turned out. You'll hear these in Barre.
Plié: A bend of the knees, keeping your back long and your heels down (or lifting them for a deeper version). The basic Barre squat.
Relevé: Rising onto the balls of your feet, heels lifted. Often held while your legs do something else, which is when the calf burn starts.
The Hundred: A classic Pilates exercise: on your back in a small curl-up, pumping your straight arms up and down while you breathe in for five counts and out for five, ten times. Hence a hundred.

Anatomy, roughly

Corealso: Powerhouse: Not just the six-pack. The whole cylinder of muscle around your middle, front, sides, back and the floor of your pelvis, that keeps your torso stable.
Glutes: Your backside muscles. Three of them per side. They do a lot of the work in Barre and in any bridge or kickback.
Hip flexors: The muscles at the front of your hips that lift your knee toward your chest. They get tight from sitting, so a lot of classes stretch them.
Pelvic floor: The sling of muscle at the base of your pelvis. Part of the deep core. When an instructor says lift from underneath, this is what they mean.

Kit

Mat: A slightly thicker, grippier mat than a standard yoga one, so your spine isn't rolling on a hard floor. Any exercise mat is fine to start.
Resistance bandalso: Loop band, long band: A stretchy band that adds load. A long flat one for pulling, a small loop for putting around your thighs. Always optional in a class here.
Pilates ballalso: Soft ball, mini ball: A small squashy ball, about 20 to 25cm, used for support or to squeeze between your knees. A rolled towel does a similar job.
Magic circlealso: Pilates ring: A springy ring you press between your hands or knees for a bit of resistance. Nice to have, not needed.

Class types

Mat Pilates: Pilates done on the floor with your own bodyweight, sometimes small props. This is what you'll find here, filmable and doable at home.
Reformer: The bed-like machine with springs and a sliding carriage you'll have seen in studios. Not something you do at home, but instructors often teach reformer-style shapes on the mat.
Classical vs contemporary Pilates: Classical sticks closely to Joseph Pilates' original exercises and order. Contemporary keeps the principles but mixes in newer movement and rehab thinking. Both are welcome, and instructors say which they teach.
Barre: A workout built from ballet-inspired moves, small pulsing movements and high reps, usually holding something waist-height for balance. Strength and stamina without the jumping around.

What your instructor actually means

Every class comes with its own vocabulary. Here's the plain version, so “knit your ribs” stops being a mystery. No account needed, and you don't have to read it in order.

Cues you'll hear

Neutral spine: The natural, slightly-curvy shape your back has when you're standing well. Not flattened into the floor, not arched off it. Most exercises start here.
Ribs downalso: Knit the ribs, close the ribcage: Stop your lower ribs from flaring up and forward. Usually means your back has arched and your core has switched off. Soften the front of the ribs toward your hips.
Zip upalso: Navel to spine, scoop, hollow: Gently draw your lower belly in and up, like doing up a tight pair of jeans. It switches on the deep core muscles that hold you steady. Gently is the word: you should still be able to breathe and talk.
Engage your core: Same idea as zip up. Switch on the muscles around your middle so your torso stays still and controlled while your arms or legs move.
Lengthen through the crown of your head: Imagine a string pulling the very top of your head toward the ceiling. It stops you slumping and makes you feel taller. Nothing actually moves much.
Soft knees: Don't lock your legs dead straight. Keep the tiniest bend so the joint isn't taking the strain.
Stack your joints: Line things up. Wrists under shoulders, knees under hips. It puts the load through the bones rather than the soft bits.
Set your shoulder bladesalso: Scapular stability, slide your shoulders down: Draw your shoulders away from your ears and let the shoulder blades rest flat against your back. Stops you hunching when your arms are working.
Wrap the seatalso: Squeeze the glutes, tuck: Gently tighten your backside. In Barre especially, you'll hold this while you pulse.
Lateral breathingalso: Breathe into your back, breathe into your ribs: Breathe wide into the sides and back of your ribcage rather than pushing your belly out. Lets you keep the core switched on while you're still getting air.
Find your sit bones: The two bony points at the base of your pelvis that you feel when you sit on a hard chair. Instructors use them as a reference for sitting evenly.
Pulse: A tiny repeated movement in a small range, an inch or two, rather than a full rep. It keeps the muscle working without a rest. Your legs will shake. That's normal.

Positions and shapes

Neutral pelvis vs imprint: Neutral: the pelvis in its natural resting tilt. Imprint: tip it slightly so your lower back gently presses toward the floor. Instructors switch between the two depending on the exercise.
Tabletop: On your back, knees bent to 90 degrees and lifted so your knees are over your hips and your shins are parallel to the floor, like the underside of a table.
C-curve: Rounding your spine into a long C shape, usually by drawing the belly back and tucking the tailbone. Shows up in roll-downs and anything where you curl up off the floor.
Roll-down / roll-up: Moving through your spine one vertebra at a time, either curling down toward the floor or peeling back up. Slow and controlled is the whole point.
Turnout: Rotating your legs outward from the hip so your knees and toes point away from each other. A Barre and ballet thing. Small is fine.
First and second position: Foot positions borrowed from ballet. First: heels together, toes turned out. Second: feet about hip to shoulder width apart, turned out. You'll hear these in Barre.
Plié: A bend of the knees, keeping your back long and your heels down (or lifting them for a deeper version). The basic Barre squat.
Relevé: Rising onto the balls of your feet, heels lifted. Often held while your legs do something else, which is when the calf burn starts.
The Hundred: A classic Pilates exercise: on your back in a small curl-up, pumping your straight arms up and down while you breathe in for five counts and out for five, ten times. Hence a hundred.

Anatomy, roughly

Corealso: Powerhouse: Not just the six-pack. The whole cylinder of muscle around your middle, front, sides, back and the floor of your pelvis, that keeps your torso stable.
Glutes: Your backside muscles. Three of them per side. They do a lot of the work in Barre and in any bridge or kickback.
Hip flexors: The muscles at the front of your hips that lift your knee toward your chest. They get tight from sitting, so a lot of classes stretch them.
Pelvic floor: The sling of muscle at the base of your pelvis. Part of the deep core. When an instructor says lift from underneath, this is what they mean.

Kit

Mat: A slightly thicker, grippier mat than a standard yoga one, so your spine isn't rolling on a hard floor. Any exercise mat is fine to start.
Resistance bandalso: Loop band, long band: A stretchy band that adds load. A long flat one for pulling, a small loop for putting around your thighs. Always optional in a class here.
Pilates ballalso: Soft ball, mini ball: A small squashy ball, about 20 to 25cm, used for support or to squeeze between your knees. A rolled towel does a similar job.
Magic circlealso: Pilates ring: A springy ring you press between your hands or knees for a bit of resistance. Nice to have, not needed.

Class types

Mat Pilates: Pilates done on the floor with your own bodyweight, sometimes small props. This is what you'll find here, filmable and doable at home.
Reformer: The bed-like machine with springs and a sliding carriage you'll have seen in studios. Not something you do at home, but instructors often teach reformer-style shapes on the mat.
Classical vs contemporary Pilates: Classical sticks closely to Joseph Pilates' original exercises and order. Contemporary keeps the principles but mixes in newer movement and rehab thinking. Both are welcome, and instructors say which they teach.
Barre: A workout built from ballet-inspired moves, small pulsing movements and high reps, usually holding something waist-height for balance. Strength and stamina without the jumping around.