Balance isn’t just standing on one leg – it’s a window into your body’s health, vitality and strength. As we age, balance keeps us mobile, confident and less prone to injury.
Think of balance as a three-way conversation: muscles providing stability, the nervous system making micro-adjustments and the brain integrating it all. Pilates is an expert facilitator of that dialogue, helping you train, refine and expand this skill at any stage of life.
Building STRENGTH & stability
When you balance, your proprioceptive system (your body’s internal GPS) is firing, signalling to the brain exactly where you are in space. In milliseconds, your brain responds, telling your muscles how to adjust to keep you steady. This partnership – body and mind working in harmony – is a hallmark of physical vitality. And, like any skill, it can be strengthened.
As Heartcore founder Jessie Blum says, “Think of movement as a love letter to your future self. Every time you practise balance, you’re building confidence, strength, stability and awareness – for today and for the long run.”
PHYSICAL BALANCE
In every Heartcore class, whether on the reformer or the mat, each move is slow, steady and intentional. We call this our time under tension approach. Muscles work longer without rest, and moving into and out of a position with control transforms the challenge compared to momentum-driven exercise.
Slow movement reveals what fast movement hides. It exposes subtle instabilities, giving you the awareness and the opportunity to correct and strengthen them. For example, a controlled transition from lunge to standing recruits core, hips and ankles in unison. Any wobble is immediately clear.
Over time, consistency builds endurance, coordination and a natural ease in your balance. We also place deliberate focus on often-overlooked stabilisers: the inner thighs and deep core. Inner thighs support the pelvic floor and align the hips. Deep core strength protects the spine and steadies the body. Together, they create a powerful foundation for every move. (See the flow below and via our Instagram).
MENTAL BALANCE
Balance the body, balance the mind – the two are inseparable. When you practise holding steady in your body, you also train your focus, attention and patience.
Time under tension teaches the nervous system to stay calm under pressure. Slow, mindful movement builds steadiness inside as well as out. Add deep, intentional breathing, and you cultivate presence, clarity and calm.
What you practise in the studio on the mat or the reformer will flow into life beyond it. Balance training helps you meet instability and challenges with greater resilience, allowing you to move through your day with steadiness and ease.
a FLOW FOR MOBILITY & COORDINATION
Try this simple sequence from the Heartcore Instagram with Jessie Blum, to explore balance in your own body. Move slowly, breathe deeply and notice the strength that reveals itself with each transition.
1. Runner’s Lunge → Split → Balance
Begin in a Runner’s Lunge, one foot forward, one leg extended back, chest lifted. Inhale to lengthen the spine, arms overhead. Shift hips up into a Split, front leg long, back leg lifted, fingertips grazing the floor. Exhale to draw the back knee to chest and rise to standing, weight on the front leg, arms lifted. Hold steady. Repeat on the other side.
2. Dead Bug
Lie on your back, arms lifted, knees bent at 90 degrees. Extend opposite arm and leg slowly, keeping your core engaged. Alternate sides.
3. Deep Hip Opener with Spinal Mobility → Standing
Start in a yogi squat, heels grounded if possible. Twist gently side to side, opening the chest. To rise, press through the feet and slowly lift to standing, arms overhead.
4. Cross Climbers → Push Up → Deep Hip Opener
From standing, walk your hands out into high plank. Hands under shoulders, body in a straight line from head to heels. Engage the core and glutes. Draw one knee toward the opposite elbow, then return to plank. Repeat on the other side, lifting the knee to the opposite elbow.
From your high plank, move into a push up. Lower the body in one line until your chest brushes the ground, then press back up to plank.
To move into a deep hip opener, walk your hands back toward your feet and keep knees bent until you are in a low squat. Feet slightly wider than hips, toes angled out, heels down if possible. Place hands in prayer at your chest.
THE HEART OF BALANCE
Balance builds resilience. With regular practice, muscles, brain and nervous system unite in perfect harmony – keeping you steady, cantered and ready for whatever life brings.