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March Matness: Returning to Life One Mat at a Time

  • Author: Lesley Logan
  • March 1, 2026
Home  »  Blog   »   March Matness: Returning to Life One Mat at a Time
joseph pilates performing the original mat work from his 1945 book return to life online pilates classes

The Origins of a Pilates Revolution

Joseph Pilates created his Mat work long before it was published in his book ‘Return to Life‘. But, his book helped spread the word beyond his New York Studio. He wrote in his book tips for breathing and getting more zest and pleasure out of life. And, he broke down the original 34 pilates exercises to do on your own, at home, as often as you could!

A Love Letter to the Original Method

I remember after I fell in love with Pilates ordering my copy of Return to Life through Contrology. Its a simple print, black and white, pictures of Joe Pilates at 60 doing his exercises from start to finish. As best as he could capture the movement by camera back in 1945!!

As an obsessed Pilates lover I did the exercises I could. To me, the mat work was everything! And, also, its hard.

From Basketball to the Body: The Birth of March Matness

Back in 2012 Pilates was popular, not as popular as today’s standards. But still widely known. And, many people were more interested in Reformer classes or Tower classes. A friend of my Benjamin Degenhardt played with the famous March Madness (basketball competition season) and created March Mat-ness.

It was designed for Pilates lovers of all levels and backgrounds to have fun, showing off one of Joe’s Mat exercises each day:

March 2nd Roll Up
March 1st 100
All the way to March 31st the Push Up

Your Mat, Your Rules, Your Theme

And, so many years later Pilates lovers are still posting their March Matness themes. Yes, themes!! You can show how to do all the exercises on a park bench, air port, in a fancy dress! What inspires you? Do that!

Or, you can be like me and post your March Matness picks when you feel like it in your pajamas.

Why the Mat Matters

For me, I love that there is a month where we can simply focus on the Mat work. Take our time each day to dive deep into each Mat exercise on its own.

The Mat work is often more accessible to people to do. Either because classes are more affordable or because they can do the Mat work at home, work and on the road.

How to Join the March Matness Hype

So, what should you do if you want to jump into the March Mat-ness hype? Mat Pilates! I mean, really! Its so fun! You can post if you want to! If you do use hashtags for each post like #marchmatness20__ and #exercisenameofthe day so people can follow along!

You honestly can’t do it wrong!

Tools to Help You Succeed

In fact, if you are not as versed in the Mat Pilates exercises tutorials from Joe Pilates, we made it really fun and easy for you.

1) Check out my YouTube playlist March Matness here. Its got a free tutorial for every single exercise so you can learn it on your own.

2) Use my Mat Pilates Flashcards! You can put the exercise of the day out for all to see and try.

Similar to a tarot card pull! Each card has details on how to do the exercise and a QR code that will take you to the video.

The Power of Consistency

And, if all you do all March long is the 1 rep mat every day that’s amazing too! Or, maybe you do 3-5 reps!? I’ll never forget how strong I felt after 90 days of doing the Mat work from Joe. Every day. 3 reps.

What exercises from Joe’s Mat work do you struggle with? What are your favorites? My favorite is Spine Twist. Boomerang is my big challenge. Your turn!

xx~LL

PS if you’re an Online Pilates Classes (OPC) member you can send video of you doing the Mat exercises you struggle with to get feed back from me!

Follow this exercise list:

By Lesley Logan

Lesley Logan, a 2nd generation certified Pilates teacher, breathwork, habits and mindset coach, is the founder of OnlinePilatesClasses.com, the first free online catalogue of Pilates exercise tutorials, where you can also find weekly Pilates classes and workshops. Teaching Pilates since 2008, she has run multiple studios, has trained hundreds of people to become teachers themselves and has taught thousands of students around the world. When not teaching from her studio in Las Vegas, Lesley she’s hosting her podcast Be It Till You See it or traveling the world leading Pilates retreats. Connect with Lesley on Instagram @lesley.logan or through the contact page on this site.

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Disclaimer: Some of the links in this article are “affiliate links”, a link with a special tracking code. This means if you click on an affiliate link and purchase the item, we will receive an affiliate commission. The price of the item is the same whether it is an affiliate link or not. Regardless, we only recommend products or services we believe will add value to our readers. By using the affiliate links, you are helping support our Website, and we genuinely appreciate your support. By watching this video, you agree to our Terms and Conditions, which you can read here:https://opc.me/tc

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BREATHE IT IN

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Back by popular demand entire workouts led by our breath. We'll use inhales and exhales to get the most out of our work. And, perhaps some exercises that have felt challenging will have a bit more flow! 

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SIDE SITUATION

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BABY GOT BLACK… BENDS

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