{"id":926231,"date":"2026-10-13T04:42:16","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T04:42:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/926231\/"},"modified":"2026-10-13T04:42:16","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T04:42:16","slug":"why-uma-thurman-swapped-intense-exercise-for-classical-pilates-and-the-shakti-method-to-stay-strong-at-56","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/926231\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Uma Thurman swapped intense exercise for classical Pilates and the Shakti method to stay strong at 56"},"content":{"rendered":"

Uma Thurman knows that when it comes to staying fit, more isn\u2019t always better. After following intense training regimes for her roles in Kill Bill and The Old Guard 2, the Dexter star says she\u2019s now embraced a new style of exercise to avoid burnout and to give her body a break. <\/p>\n

Speaking of her training for Kill Bill, she told Gulf News<\/a>: \u2018I trained for three months for five days a week from 5am to 5pm. Imagine you can’t go to use the bathroom without screaming in agony. Your body hurts so much.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Fast-forward to 2025 and she told The Purist<\/a>: \u2018Over time, I learned that pushing yourself to the limit, close to burnout, really loses its charm. As much as I want to stay challenged, and I believe in boldness, I learned not to take well-being for granted.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\"uma<\/p>\n

Theo Wargo\/\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Uma Thurman’s exercise routine<\/p>\n

Now, she focuses on two particular forms of exercise: Pilates<\/a> and yoga<\/a>. \u2018I hated yoga when I was younger,\u2019 she said. \u2018I was too much in my head. But I\u2019m sort of obsessed with yoga now, which might be from having found the right teacher, Linda Winnick. Pilates and yoga are different tools, really, but it\u2019s neuromuscular physical centering, aside from strengthening and staying flexible and fluid.\u2019<\/p>\n

Her yoga teacher Winnick teaches her own style of yoga called Shakti yoga, which focuses on wave-like yoga sequences that mimic a yogic dance rather than a fixed pattern, while many sources claim that Thurman practices classical Pilates<\/a>, which follows Joseph Pilates’ original 34 exercises performed on a mat in a strict, unchanging order.<\/p>\n

Both practices challenge the body without high impact and without pushing yourself too hard \u2013 although they can be high-intensity. Classical Pilates focuses on alignment and control, core<\/a> stability and muscular endurance<\/a>, while Shakti yoga combines posture<\/a>, balance, mobility<\/a> and breathwork. That combo of strength<\/a>, balance and weight-bearing is particularly important as we age to maintain muscle mass, bone health and physical independence.<\/p>\n

\u2018Every time you make a New Year\u2019s resolution that you\u2019ll be going to the gym five times a week, what happens? Nothing,\u2019 she said<\/a>. \u2018But if you put your arms around yourself and say let\u2019s go for a walk on Tuesday, you start somewhere and develop. <\/p>\n

As she puts it: \u2018All growth happens incrementally.\u2019 <\/p>\n

Want to train like Liz Earle<\/a>? Liz\u2019s PT, Michael Garry, has created a 4-week training plan exclusively for members of the WH COLLECTIVE. It\u2019s designed to remove one of the biggest barriers to fitness: time. You\u2019ll train for just 35 minutes three times a week \u2013 Liz\u2019s exact strategy to build muscle, boost metabolism and support long-term health. Tap the link below to unlock 14 free days of training and start Liz\u2019s plan today.<\/p>\n

GET THE PLAN<\/a><\/p>\n

\"woman\"Headshot<\/p>\n

As Women\u2019s Health UK\u2019s fitness director and a qualified Pilates and yoga instructor, Bridie Wilkins has been passionately reporting on exercise, health and nutrition since the start of her decade-long career in journalism.<\/p>\n

After earning a first-class degree in journalism and NCTJ accreditation, she secured her first role at Look Magazine, where she launched the magazine\u2019s health and fitness column, Look Fit, before going on to become Health and Fitness writer at HELLO!<\/p>\n

Since, she has written for Stylist, Glamour, Cosmopolitan, Marie Claire, Elle, The Metro, Runner\u2019s World and Red. Today, she oversees all fitness content across Women’s Health online and in <\/a>print, spearheading leading cross-platform franchises, such as \u2018Fit At Any Age\u2019, which showcases the women proving that age is no barrier to exercise.<\/p>\n

She has also represented the brand on BBC Radio London, plus various podcasts and Substacks \u2013 all with the aim to encourage more women to exercise and show them how. Outside of work, find her trying the latest Pilates studio, testing her VO2 max for fun (TY, Oura), or posting workouts on Instagram. \u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Uma Thurman knows that when it comes to staying fit, more isn\u2019t always better. After following intense training…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":926232,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[64,63,232204,233233,230011,229867,2372,493595,430,538,137,308081,429,493594,366213],"class_list":["post-926231","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-collection-celebrity-workouts","tag-collection-fit-at-50","tag-collection-fit-at-any-age","tag-collection-fitness-app","tag-content-type-default","tag-contentid-f763da3d-991e-43f2-b7ad-3f84f56f162f","tag-displaytype-standard-article","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-issyndicated-false","tag-locale-gb","tag-shorttitle-uma-thurmans-low-impact-workouts-at-56","tag-sponsored-false"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926231","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=926231"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/926231\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/926232"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=926231"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=926231"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=926231"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}