Forma Pilates Founder Liana Levi Explains Why Pilates Makes You Shake
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If you haven’t experienced the pilates “shake,” it’s a sensation so singular and subsequently satisfying that people are known to become obsessed with the exercise regardless of the pain they endure in the moment.
The shaking is due to targeting and working (read: exhausting) the small muscle groups of the body until they tire and ultimately get stronger. Because our small muscles have less muscle memory, consistency is key when starting and evolving a Pilates practice.
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It’s a core principle of pilates, and often the cause of discovering muscles you were previously unaware existed. The result is a strong body without the bulk, better posture and increased flexibility.
It’s a method that has been around since the 1920s and is having a surge in popularity due to celebrity pilates enthusiasts and people’s general desire for a long, lean and strong physique.
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On the latest episode of the ‘Live & Well’ podcast, I sat down with Liana Levi, the founder of Forma Pilates, a by-referral-only studio with locations in Los Angeles, Texas, New York, London and Paris. Levi’s clientele includes Hailey Bieber, Kendall Jenner, Kaia Gerber and Harry Styles, to name a few. Forma clients are known for their statuesque bodies, a common outcome of the pilates practice and why models, celebrities, dancers and athletes hit the reformer or mat regularly.
Levi, who previously worked in fashion before opening Forma, began offering her friends private and semi-private pilates classes during the pandemic. Her network, celebrity and otherwise, would head to her house and use the reformer under her keen guidance and instruction. Once lockdown ended, the demand for her expertise remained and she made Forma a formal business, opening the first studio in L.A.
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Today, she has studios all over the world that only accept new clients via referral from an existing client. Levi purposely keeps the classes small to accommodate her VIPs and more importantly, give each person highly focused attention so their form remains the focus and to increase the intentionality of their mind-body practice.
In this week’s episode of the ‘Live & Well’ podcast, Levi breaks down her Pilates philosophy and gives great advice to anyone curious to take their first class, including what to ask the instructor during your first class, red flags to be aware of and the importance of the mind-body connection.
She also dives into the difference between classical pilates and more hybrid style methods since many classes now use the “Pilates” name, but the method may be a spin on the classical form.
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We chat about the popularity of pilates as effective physical therapy for injury, scoliosis, lower back pain and frozen shoulder. And while Forma is a physical studio, Levi offers exercises that can be done on the go, in a hotel room and without a reformer to keep a strong core and body through intentional and consistent movement.
As more people grow curious about pilates and may try a class in the new year, it’s crucial to understand the philosophy and first research the best studios in your area. This episode with Levi is a great place to start so that the exercise, which entails an entire philosophy of movement, is more digestible, safe and ultimately super effective.
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