Why don’t we play music at the Pilates Room?
In the last twenty years, technology has offered us a host of wild conveniences and timesaving shortcuts. We can respond to texts by speaking directly into thin air and receive messages at any given moment from a quick buzz on our wrists. However, we’re not going to lie—sometimes we long for the analog days, before smart devices began to condition us to respond to every ping, every vibration, every message and alert.
This sensory onslaught requires constant vigilance and has effectively trained us to live in a constant state of low-key surveillance. Technology has changed our attention span and has fundamentally altered our neurological pathways and behaviors. Digital Dementia—though not an official diagnosis—is a term that’s been thrown around lately to describe the brain’s shift in cognitive abilities: a shorter attention span, a lack of focus, a decline in memory, all which have been linked to excessive technology use.
At The Pilates Room, we’ve made the decision to press pause.
That’s why when you step into our studio, you won’t hear music playing in the background. It’s a conscious choice, not an absence. In a culture that often equates quiet with emptiness, we’ve found that silence offers something incredibly rich: the opportunity to tune in.
Breath Over Beats
Pilates was founded on six principles: concentration, control, centering, flow, precision and breath. Music can certainly be motivating in some settings—for example, we can’t imagine running a few miles without the rhythmic assistance of 90s hip hop. However, in a Pilates studio, music can interfere with the subtlety of breath—the very foundation of your movement. In our studio, we’d prefer you to be able to concentrate on your inhales and exhales and feel the rise and fall of your chest. In a quiet space, you may begin to notice how your breath supports your spine, your core, your strength. That awareness is powerful. It brings you into the present moment, into your body and out of the external noise.
A Quiet Environment
Our studio is designed as a refuge—not just for your physical body, but for your mind. Our digital environment rarely gives us space to think, reflect or just be without some form of distraction. We offer you an hour of silence where the only thing you need to focus on is your body and your practice.
There’s a profound clarity in moving without distraction. In hearing your instructor’s voice clearly. In listening to your own movement. In maintaining awareness of the space around you—the creak of the reformer or the rhythm of your breath.
The Mind-Body Connection
Movements in Classical Pilates were designed to be executed in a specific sequence. When done at tempo, the sequences create a rhythm of their own and integrate body and mind in a seamless flow. It is difficult to maintain this concentration with the competing rhythm of a playlist. Furthermore, Pilates demands precision. Rather than going through the sequences mindlessly, Pilates requires concentration to build neurological pathways between the brain and muscles. And it’s important to be able to tune into your instructor’s cues. That will give you the guidance to create a safe and effective workout. If you’re distracted by music, you may miss some important prompts.
Quiet Doesn’t Mean Empty
Silence can feel unusual at first. Unfamiliar, even uncomfortable. But over time, it becomes something to look forward to—a moment of deep internal connection that we rarely find elsewhere.
We invite you to experience Pilates with us as a small rebellion against the constant demand to multitask. We invite you to look up from your devices, fight against tech neck and strengthen your mind-body connection. Let go of the buzz. Tune into yourself. Sometimes the quietest spaces foster the most powerful transformations.