Reformer pilates in Koh Samui for complete beginners

The reformer looks alarming the first time. A sliding carriage, springs, straps, a bar — it reads like gym equipment and it is not. It is a machine for making movement easier to feel, and the first class is mostly about learning where your body actually is.

What the first class is like

The teacher sets your springs, shows you the two or three positions the class is built on, and watches. With ten reformers in the room there is nowhere to hide and no need to: the point of a small class is that somebody corrects your form before a habit sets. Expect to feel muscles you did not know you had, in the good way, the following morning.

Wear this, bring this

• Leggings or shorts that stay put when you lie down. Nothing with zips on the back.
• Grip socks — required on the reformers. Pick up a pair at the studio if you have none.
• Water. It is Samui.

Start with the intro offer

If it is your first time at Isla, the intro offer is ฿1,800 for three classes — two paid and one free. Three is the right number: the first class is orientation, the second is where it clicks, and the third is where you decide whether this is your thing. A single class is ฿900 if you would rather; the packs and prices has everything.

Book from the timetable — look for the classes marked for beginners or all levels. And if you are here on holiday and want to do this every day, the Isla retreat does exactly that.

Try a reformer class in Koh Samui

Isla is a ten-reformer studio in Bophut, a few minutes from Fisherman’s Village, with small classes taught in English. If it is your first time here the intro offer is ฿1,800 for three classes; a single class is ฿900. Pick one from the timetable, or see the packs and prices first.