Cosy, intimate, and well-equipped, Joyce&rsquo;s home Pilates studio is for the home body.

I started Pilates when I was seeking a low-intensity workout to get back into a regular movement routine. For the longest time, I avoided exercise altogether. With an old knee injury and ankles that roll a little too easily, I thought it was safer to hold back until my body eventually felt stiff and tense. I joined group classes at a neighbourhood studio, and it felt good. I moved, stretched and sweated, but somewhere along the way, I realised I was going through motions without personal guidance in mindful control. So, when a friend mentioned that Joyce Shih had just moved back to KL and started teaching from her home studio, I took it as a sign for a reset. The wellness girlies probably already know Joyce &mdash; attended her classes, recreated her recipes, or have been inspired by her discipline and energy. From integrative nutrition health coach to Pilates instructor, her journey is rooted in a holistic philosophy of wellbeing.
&ldquo;I&rsquo;ve tried a lot of different workouts over the years, and Pilates is the one I know I can do for life. It just keeps giving back,&rdquo; Joyce shared. &ldquo;I took my teacher training in 2019 and here I am!&rdquo; These days, she focuses on teaching STOTT Pilates. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s a contemporary method that incorporates modern exercise&nbsp;principles with an emphasis on core stability and spinal rehabilitation,&rdquo; she explained. &ldquo;We move across mat, reformer, stability chair, Cadillac and barrels.&rdquo;

Stepping into Joyce&rsquo;s studio feels a lot like dropping by a friend&rsquo;s place. She told me that she was inspired by the home studios she visited during a trip to Australia, and the idea sparked when she &nbsp;was living in Singapore. &ldquo;I&rsquo;m just such a homebody. I love my space and having friends over,&rdquo; she said. The next thing she knew, she was back in KL, setting up her studio. &ldquo;Everything fell into place when I found this apartment in a lovely neighbourhood.&rdquo; Transformed from a living area, the space is intimate and full of warmth, with all the equipment curated just right. It opens to a balcony with a leafy view, letting in sunshine, breeze and the quiet sounds of the neighbourhood &mdash; everything feels calm yet alive here. &ldquo;I wanted it personal and inviting,&rdquo; shared Joyce. &ldquo;The set-up is quite snug, but it&rsquo;s enough for me to do classes fromone-on-one to duet and a small group of three.&rdquo; She continued as she gave me a little tour around, &ldquo;I have a Cadillac and a pair of reformers with tower, so I can just turn them into Cadillacs during group classes.&rdquo; There&rsquo;s also a ladder barrel and stability chairs for exercises that focus on core strength and flexibility.

Before getting into action, Joyce did a little check-in. I told her about my past injuries and that I&rsquo;m hoping to work on my posture and physique while building some strength. She brought me over to a wall mirror and had me stand with my arms resting at my sides for an alignment assessment. Joyce was quick to notice that one shoulder was sitting higher than the other, and I admitted that&rsquo;s where I always hold tension without even realising it (thanks to screen time, I guess). She also observed that I tend to stand with my knees and feet rotated inward. I felt reassured when Joyce reminded me that such asymmetries are common, &ldquo;Identifying them is already the first step towards a stronger and healthier you,&rdquo; she said. And honestly, my first class with Joyce gave me a whole new understanding of my body and how it moves. We sat facing each other as she carefully guided me through the basics like breathwork and pelvic floor engagement so that I could learn to properly activate my core. Then came a full-body workout. We warmed up with footwork on the reformer, worked on spinal articulation and strength with the Cadillac, focused on core strength on the ladder barrel, and challenged my balance on the stability chair. &ldquo;Pilates gets us moving through all three planes of motion &mdash; sagittal, frontal and transverse,&rdquo; Joyce explained. &ldquo;That&rsquo;s how it encourages better alignment and makes sure the muscles are equally trained.&rdquo;

Joyce was incredibly patient and attentive throughout the entire session. She noticed that I tend to lock my knees, and that helps me stay more mindful of how I move, even outside of the studio. She made sure I was doing it right by encouraging me to be honest about how my body felt, especially when something felt challenging, and she would modify the exercise for me. Not once did I feel out of place, and I appreciated the safe space to explore my body dynamics and its potential.
I left the studio feeling refreshed and grounded that day. Joyce told me she&rsquo;ll keep challenging me each time I come back, because with every session, I get a little stronger.

Photography Joe Ng

Joyce Shih has set up her home studio in KL, I had the most amazing Pilates class there

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