Alice Pilate
From the inside and out
We have known Pilates teacher and cool Parisienne Alice Pilate for quite a while and are so grateful for this connection. Not only because Alice is the kindest person on earth. But also, because we find her new and emerging way of merging Pilates, art, and fashion extremely inspiring.
Alice is French and lives her best life in Paris, as she puts it, but discovered the world of Pilates while living in Australia. And maybe it was meant to be when taking her last name Pilate into consideration.
“In Sydney there were many Pilates studios, and I was basically seeing my last name all over. And I thought to myself that I should at least try it once or twice. The first time I practiced Pilates I completely fell in love. The way you move your body and the way your body and mind connect as you do the movements in this special flow. I was feeling strong and good from the inside and out. And I can still remember the girls over there saying oh my god, your last name is Pilate. It is meant for you,”says Alice as we meet her in her cozy 3-bedroom apartment in 6th arrondissement, where she lives together with her sister and the cat Becky.
“The way you move your body and the way your body and mind connect as you do the movements in this special flow. I was feeling strong and good from the inside and out.”
Alice has managed to find a cool balance between her interests within Pilates, fashion and art. What does her daily routine look like?
“I am definitely a routine person,” she says laughing.
“When I wake up, I brew a cup of coffee and try to keep the first hour quiet. No phone or email which is a discipline itself. Then I do exercise for one hour - it can be a walk, a run or Pilates at home. When exercising in the morning I don´t want to talk to anyone. It is just me, me, me. Afterwards I work on my SoMe channels, meet with a friend, go to the museums or work on different collaborations. So much is going on here in Paris and it is perfect as I need to get inspiration every day. From 5 to 8pm I teach Pilates, so this is the busiest time of my day.”
To stay in shape, both mind and body wise, seems to be crucial to Alice. In her opinion, what is a healthy body and mind?
“I think it all starts from the inside and out. We are all here for a reason and we need to look inside to find out why we are here. At some point I struggled to find that answer, but it all became clearer once I started to practice Pilates. I think it brought me back to my focus.”
“We have the luck to move every day and feel our energy inside. It is a gift – and for this reason I want to take care of my body. When I was younger, I always compared myself to the successful people around me and I struggled to find my own meaning in life. When I discovered Pilates, I found my thing.”
In Alice´s opinion exercising has to be fun:
“Pilates can be really strict, and with a lot of repetition. It should not be like that. Students often come to my classes because they feel they need to keep in shape. I always tell them: “Don´t be here because you have to. Be here to have fun and because it is magical to explore your body and how it can move. I have always been very sporty – always been on the move. And my beginner classes are probably advanced. I don´t know where this comes from.”
As she says herself Alice is always on the move. Also, when it comes to developing her business. She will soon be launching a new online platform where you can sign up for a membership and follow her classes as video sessions – recorded from her travelling all over the world:
“Your body is the tool – and you can practice Pilates everywhere. You don´t necessarily need a lot of props. It is important to listen to your body. If you don´t do, it may show at some point – could be visible on your skin or in your way of acting. Everything comes from the inside and out. But you can keep the balance by working with your body.”
