Beginner guide · Bare Wellness
Your first class is simpler than it looks. Book a beginner-friendly session, arrive ten minutes early in fitted clothing and grip socks, and let the instructor know it is your first time. They take care of everything else.
The short version
Classes are labelled by level. Pick a beginner-friendly session on the website or app, where the pace is set for people just starting out.
That covers check-in, meeting your instructor and getting set up on your mat or reformer without a rush.
Reformer and mat classes need grip socks for hygiene and grip. Wear fitted clothing so your instructor can see your alignment.
Springs, setup, pacing and any changes are handled for you. Your only job is to follow along and ask questions.
How the first hour goes
Before you go
Booking runs through the website and an iOS app that launches with the studio. Browse the schedule, filter for beginner-friendly sessions and reserve a spot. If a class is full, join the waitlist and we notify you the moment a place opens so you can book it.
Not sure which format to pick? Mat Pilates is the gentlest way into the fundamentals. Reformer Pilates is more supported than it looks, since the springs assist as much as they resist. Either one is fine for a first class.
One thing worth knowing about cancellations: they are free up to six hours before class and your credit comes back. Inside that window the class is forfeited, so book times you can actually keep.
The night before
Wear fitted, comfortable clothing. It lets your instructor see your alignment during class, which loose fabric tends to hide. Leggings and a fitted top work well for most people.
Grip socks are required for reformer and mat classes. They keep you steady on the carriage and the mat, and they are the one thing worth buying before you arrive. Bring water. For a hot class, bring a towel too and drink plenty beforehand.
Skip a heavy meal in the two hours before class. A light snack is fine. If you have an injury, are pregnant or have a medical condition, speak to your doctor first, then note it in your member profile.
On the day
Follow the road signs to the valet stand between the Park View residences and Bloom Arjaan by Rotana, hand over your keys and tell them you are here for Bare Wellness. It is complimentary, so there is nothing to pay and no space to find. Walk through the hotel lobby and out the far side, and the studio is there, facing NYU Abu Dhabi.
Check in at the desk, find your room and say hello to your instructor. Tell them it is your first class. It changes how they teach you, with more attention, more explanation and quieter corrections through the session.
The studio has two rooms inside Bloom Arjaan by Rotana on Saadiyat Island. Yoga, mat Pilates, barre and hot classes run in the Open Studio. Reformer classes run in the Reformer Studio, where ten beds face one instructor. Your spot is set up before the hour starts.
In the room
Before class, your instructor sets up the equipment. On the reformer that means choosing your springs and showing you the carriage, footbar and straps. On the mat it means props and positioning. You are not expected to figure any of this out on your own.
During class, the cues are in plain language. You might hear terms like neutral spine or tabletop, and each one is explained the first time it comes up. Instructors hold recognised certifications such as STOTT, BASI and Polestar, and small classes mean they can watch everyone in the room.
If a movement does not work for your body, they give you an easier version, quietly and without any fuss. Taking that option is not failing the class. It is doing the class properly for where you are today.
Afterwards
Most first-timers walk out feeling taller and more awake than tired. Pilates works the deep stabilising muscles rather than chasing exhaustion, so you feel worked but not wiped out.
Over the next day or two, expect a little soreness in places you did not expect, usually the deep core, inner thighs and the muscles between your shoulder blades. It is normal and it passes. Gentle walking and water help.
One class teaches you the basics, and consistency does the rest. Two classes a week is a good rhythm to aim for in your first month.
Where you will be
The Reformer Studio
Reformer classes run in a room built around exactly ten machines. That number is the point: it is small enough for the instructor to see every body in the room and correct quietly as the hour unfolds.
Your bed is ready before you arrive. Springs, straps and headrest are set for the class, and your instructor changes them for you as the work changes.
The Open Studio
Mat classes, barre, yoga and infrared hot sessions share the second room, a bright space with arched mirrors and room to move.
If your first class is on the mat, this is where you will be. Everything is provided; you bring grip socks, water and, for a hot class, a towel.
Choosing your first class
There is no wrong door. Both formats welcome beginners; they just teach differently.
On the mat
Nothing but a mat, a few props and your own body weight
On the reformer
A sprung carriage that assists as much as it resists
The reformer looks technical, but for beginners the springs mostly help: they support you into positions your own strength cannot hold yet.
On the mat
Teaches the vocabulary: breath, neutral spine, control
On the reformer
Teaches the equipment while giving you instant feedback
On the mat you learn what the words mean. On the reformer, the carriage tells you the moment control slips, which is its own kind of teacher.
On the mat
Feels like focused, precise floor work
On the reformer
Feels like guided, gliding strength work
Both run at a deliberate pace, and neither is trying to exhaust you.
On the mat
Choose it for foundations you can practice anywhere
On the reformer
Choose it for support and structure from minute one
Whichever you pick first, most people end up doing both. The practices feed each other.
Before you talk yourself out of it
Almost everyone turns up with the same quiet doubts. Here is why none of them last past the first class.
Some people will have more experience. Nobody is watching you. Everyone is busy with their own carriage.
Yes. Your instructor explains everything before you touch it, and the reformer is far simpler in practice than it looks in photos.
You take the easier version. Nobody expects you to nail every movement on day one.
A good beginner class works you while keeping you in control the whole way through.
No. Flexibility is something Pilates builds over time, not something you need before you start.
Studio vocabulary
Good to know
Sources
Two sources inform the practical guidance above. Neither shows that a class produces a particular result for you.
A Sports Medicine review of post-exercise soreness. It informs the guidance that mild soreness after unaccustomed exercise is normal and settles on its own. Not a Pilates-specific study.
A twelve-week trial of two Pilates classes a week in adults, which informs the two-classes-a-week suggestion. It found improvements in muscular endurance and flexibility, though not in every measure it tracked.
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Saadiyat Island, Abu Dhabi
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