Questions people ask before they start

Yes, and it is the easiest way to begin. A private session means the whole hour is spent on you rather than on a room of twelve people, so nothing is rushed and nothing is assumed. Ruqayyah will ask what you want out of it, watch how you move, and build from there. Most people are surprised how much happens in the first session.

No. Flexibility is an outcome of Pilates, not a requirement for it. The work is scaled to the person in front of her, which is the advantage of one to one over a class.

Mat Pilates uses your own body weight on the floor. The reformer is a sprung carriage that adds resistance and support, so it can make an exercise harder or considerably easier depending on how it is set. Beginners often find the reformer more approachable, not less, because the springs assist the movement.

STOTT PILATES is a contemporary method that adapted Joseph Pilates' original work to modern understanding of the spine and its natural curves. It matters because the training is long and examined. Ruqayyah is certified in mat and reformer.

A stronger, more demanding application of the same principles, built for people who already train and want control, stability and mobility that carries into their sport. It is one of Ruqayyah's areas of focus, alongside posture correction, core strength and mind-body movement.

Fifty-five minutes.

Monday 10am to 1pm, Tuesday 4pm to 8pm, Thursday 10am to 2pm and Friday 12pm to 6pm. Those are the times shown on the booking page, and the calendar there will only offer you a slot she can actually teach.

Clothes you can move in and that are not so loose that your alignment is hidden. Grip socks if you have them, and Ruqayyah has spares if you do not. Bare feet are fine on the mat.

Both. A duet is two people in the same session, which works well for couples, friends or a parent and an adult child. It is cheaper per person than a private, and it still allows individual correction in a way a group class cannot.

Hands-on cueing is often the fastest way to explain a movement, and it is used only with your agreement. You can decline it at the start or at any point during a session, and that is completely normal.

Once a week builds real change over a few months. Twice a week builds it noticeably faster. What matters more than frequency is not stopping after three weeks, which is when most people quit and just before most people feel the difference.

Most people feel more aware of their posture within two or three sessions, and feel stronger across roughly six to eight. Nobody can promise a timeline, and anyone who does is selling something.

A fully equipped apparatus room in downtown Toronto. Because sessions are one to one, the room is given entirely to your session. The exact address is confirmed when you book.

Yes. Home sessions are mat-based and she brings what is needed. You need a clear floor space roughly the size of a yoga mat plus room to extend your arms and legs. A travel fee may apply outside the local area.

They work better than most people expect for mat work, because the coaching is verbal and continuous and you are being watched the entire time. What is lost is hands-on correction. What is gained is that you will train on a Tuesday in February when you would otherwise have cancelled.

A mat, a clear space, and a phone or laptop propped so the camera sees your whole body from the side. That side view is the one that matters.

Pilates is often recommended for exactly this, but nobody can answer that question from a website. Complete the PAR-Q+ health questionnaire before your first session and tell Ruqayyah what your practitioner has said. If the questionnaire flags anything, it will point you to speak to your doctor first, and that is the right order.

The Physical Activity Readiness Questionnaire for Everyone is the international standard screening form used by exercise and medical professionals. It is seven questions, and if you answer no to all of them you are cleared to become more active. Clearance lasts twelve months and stops being valid if your health changes. Read about both forms here.

Yes, on paper, in person, before your first session. It takes a minute. You can read it in advance, and reading it beforehand is genuinely the point rather than a formality.

Many people do, and it is one of the settings where one to one is far safer than a class. Speak to your health care practitioner first. The PAR-Q+ asks you to do exactly this, and Ruqayyah will want to know how far along you are or how the birth went before planning anything.

Until whoever performed it clears you. Bring that clearance and Ruqayyah will build around the restrictions you have been given.

No, and the distinction matters. She is a certified Pilates instructor who also works as a physiotherapist assistant, alongside chiropractors and physiotherapists — they prescribe, the client comes to her, and she keeps the charts. So she is used to working to someone else's clinical plan, but a Pilates session with her is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment, and she will say so plainly rather than guess. Pilates works alongside physiotherapy very well; it does not replace it.

She has completed the training and her certification exams are still to come, so those apparatus are not part of what is offered yet. That will change once the exams are passed. It is mentioned here rather than quietly implied.

Use the booking page to send a request for a day and time that suits you, or message her on WhatsApp. She replies herself to confirm — the calendar sends a request, not an instant confirmation.

Private in the studio is CAD 110, at your home CAD 125, and online CAD 85. A duet is CAD 70 each in the studio and CAD 80 each at home. All prices are before HST, and packages of five and ten bring the per-session price down. The prices page lists every option.

The five-session blocks take CAD 25 off, and the ten-session blocks for home and online sessions bring them down to CAD 115 and CAD 75 each. Practically, a package also makes you turn up, which is usually worth more than the discount.

Ruqayyah confirms payment details when she confirms your session.

Tell her as early as you can and she will move it where she can. Her hours are narrow, so an early message is the difference between rescheduling you this week and next.

Yes — a first session at CAD 50, so you can find out whether you want to work with Ruqayyah before committing to anything. It is a full session and a full assessment, not a sales pitch.