Ruqayyah in her downtown Toronto studio, smiling, the brick wall and the Cadillac frame behind her

About

Taught by someone who reads the charts.

Hi — I am Ruqayyah, a Pilates instructor in Toronto. I am certified with STOTT PILATES in mat and reformer, and I also work as a physiotherapist assistant. Chiropractors and physiotherapists prescribe, the client comes to me, and I keep the charts.

That second job is why my sessions look the way they do. Making you tired is the easy part. What I care about is what your spine can do, how well you can find your own core, and whether your body still works properly in thirty years.

In her own words

About her

Ruqayyah is a certified STOTT Pilates instructor specializing in mat and reformer training, with ongoing training in the Cadillac, Chair, and Barrels. Shaped by her background in international modeling and samba dance, her teaching embodies a refined blend of elegance, rhythm, and control.

Through supportive, dynamic classes, she helps clients improve posture, sculpt and strengthen the body, and cultivate a deeper connection to mindful, intentional movement. Ruqayyah believes Pilates is a powerful foundation for overall wellness and physical performance—helping individuals move with greater confidence, build functional strength, enhance mobility and endurance, and embrace their most vibrant selves.

Her approach inspires dedication, confidence, and joy, empowering every client to feel aligned, strong, energized, and ready to perform at their best, both in everyday life and in their athletic pursuits.

The work

What a session is actually for

There is a version of Pilates that counts repetitions and calls it a workout. This is the other one. The aim is to articulate your spine, restore the mobility you have quietly lost, and teach you to use your own body well — so that good form is not something you perform in a studio for an hour, but the way you move for the rest of your life.

Posture correctionDesk shoulders, a stiff low back, one hip that sits higher. Usually the reason people book.

Mind-body movementFewer repetitions, done with your attention on them. That is the whole method.

Athletic conditioningJump board work and time spent with athletes, for people who already train and want the mobility to match the strength.

Core strengthDeep abdominals and pelvic floor first, the visible muscles after.

Two rooms

Where the Pilates ends and the clinic begins

Most instructors work in one room. Ruqayyah works in two, and it changes what she notices.

In the studio

Certified with STOTT PILATES in mat and reformer, and teaching for around two years. STOTT is the contemporary method built around the spine's natural curves, and the training for it is long and examined.

In the clinic

She works as a physiotherapist assistant alongside chiropractors and physiotherapists. She is used to working to somebody else's clinical plan, and to writing down what happened. That habit does not switch off when she teaches.

To be plain about it: a physiotherapist assistant is not a physiotherapist, and a Pilates session is not treatment. Nothing here is medical advice. What it means is that when your practitioner has given you instructions, she will follow them rather than improvise around them.

Method

How a session is built

STOTT PILATES rests on a handful of basic principles, and Ruqayyah teaches them explicitly rather than leaving you to guess. Her own teaching posts walk through them one at a time.

BreathingWhere the breath goes decides whether the deep core switches on at all.

Pelvic placementNeutral or imprinted, chosen for the exercise rather than by habit.

Rib cage placementThe abdominals hold the ribs over the pelvis, so the work stays in the middle and off the low back.

Scapular mobility and stabilityShoulder blades free to glide, then held by tension rather than locking — most of what undoes a desk posture.

Head and cervical placementThe neck follows the spine instead of leading it.

Lower body mobility and stabilityHips, knees, ankles and feet work as one chain, and stiffening one joint just sends the movement to the next easiest one.

Then the apparatusThe reformer and the mat, chosen for what your body needs that day.

In her own frames

The whole picture

Pilates is not separate from the rest of it. The studio, the apparatus, the corrections and the quiet are the same practice, done in different rooms.

Ruqayyah seated on the Stability Chair in her studio, smiling towards the camera

Ruqayyah on the reformer in a long side stretch, one arm reaching overhead

Both hands gripping a resistance band on the reformer, arms extended, spine tall

Feet in the straps on the reformer, seen from above, both hands on the handles

Ruqayyah standing on the Cadillac trapeze table, one arm overhead and the opposite leg extended

The person in the room

Every session is taught by Ruqayyah herself. There is no rotating staff and nobody calling a count from the corner — just the person whose name is on the door, watching how you move.

On the reformer

The springs are the surprise. Most people assume they add difficulty; just as often they carry the weight of your own body so that a movement you could not do on the mat becomes possible on the first attempt.

Hands on

Spring tension, footbar height, strap length and tempo, all set for one body and changed the moment they stop serving it. On a machine that adds load, that is not a luxury.

The straps

Where most people first feel their lower back let go. It is usually the point in a first session when someone stops concentrating on getting it right and starts noticing what it feels like.

On the full apparatus

The Cadillac, the Chairs and the Barrels are part of what she teaches, and part of her own practice. She is on them most weeks, on both sides of the work.

Questions people ask

What is STOTT PILATES?

The contemporary method built around the spine's natural curves. The training for it is long and examined, and Ruqayyah is certified in mat and reformer.

Does she teach on the Cadillac, the Chair and the Barrels?

Yes. She teaches on the Cadillac, the Stability Chair and the Barrels, and she is working towards the Level 1 certification that formalises it.

Is a Pilates session the same as physiotherapy?

No. Ruqayyah works as a physiotherapist assistant alongside chiropractors and physiotherapists, but a physiotherapist assistant is not a physiotherapist and a Pilates session is not treatment. What it means in practice is that when your own practitioner has given you instructions, she will follow them rather than improvise around them.

How long has she been teaching?

Around two years of teaching mat and reformer, after a background in international modelling and samba dance.