The Mantra Method – Insights from our founder Kathy Covington

At Mantra Fitness, our unique approach to Pilates, known as The Mantra Method, is at the heart of everything we do. It’s more than just a workout—it’s an applied philosophy of movement, strength, with a focus on intentionally strengthening our inherent body-mind connection. As we welcomed a new group of instructors for training this past weekend, we sat down with our founder, Kathy Covington, to dive deeper into what makes The Mantra Method so effective and why this training is so much more than learning exercises—it’s about embracing a lifestyle of strength, resilience, and integrated wellness.

• What inspired you to create The Mantra Method?
  
  “The Mantra Method was created as a way to consciously incorporate mindfulness into the realm of physical fitness. Breathing is always happening, making it a reliable focus point for attention training. By intentionally directing our attention and focus to our Breath, as we engage in our physical workouts, we can “anchor” to the present moment, pulling our minds away from worries about past/future, making our workouts that much more potent and effective.”

• What sets The Mantra Method apart from other Pilates or fitness programs?
  
  “The unique aspects of this method bridges how it challenges our physical body, as it incorporates intentional internal movements for the sake of integrated long-term results. Other forms of exercise, such as yoga, focus on inner and outer alignment through the use of breath. Focusing on the rhythmic nature of breathing, we can help quiet mental chatter and enhance the focus muscle for our clients. By intentionally reducing stress and improving mental clarity, we help train our clients to tap into training their body’s natural relaxation response, our goal is to help strengthen the natural bridge between the unconscious and conscious processes within each of us.”

• How does Mantra’s fitness and wellness philosophy shape the way we train our instructors?
  
  “The values that we encourage stem from the fact that breathing is a natural process for each of us! Breathing is accessible to all, and through gentle guidance, conscious breathing exercises can be trained to help improve the quality of exercise and the overall quality of life. Imagine what you could do with improved focus and an enhanced awareness of whatever was in front of you. What if you could directly affect and change your emotional state of being? We can do all this through our breath! Considering just how powerful this inherent and intrinsic practice of breathing is, we at Mantra Fitness are choosing to emphasize breath as the cornerstone of empowerment, education, and a healthy community. Our goal is to encourage and to help develop coaching beyond just physical movement- to help as many people tap into the full potential of their own bodies; through awareness and exercising their full Breath potential.” 

• What do you hope new instructors take away from this training?
  
  “We would like to continue to encourage our instructors to grow both their technical skill sets and also encourage them to develop the deeper internal mindset shifts that come from inner and outer alignment. A holistic (a whole body, mind & Soul) wellness that shines through with becoming a Mantra instructor has to start with the individual, and ripple through their classes and naturally ripple through their beloved communities.” 

• What advice would you give to clients looking to get the most out of their Mantra workouts?
  
  “Working on ourselves is the gift that Life gives each of us. Choosing a positive mindset, and choosing to engage in healthy habits consistently (like a great mantra workout!) will help each one of us to maximize the results we desire in our own lives. Through choosing to show up for ourselves every day and breathing intentionally, regardless of what we are doing, we can choose to move through life being more Present, in a more conscious and joyful way.” 

Whether you’re stepping into your first class or preparing to lead others, The Mantra Method is designed to push your limits, transform your body, and elevate your mindset. We are thrilled to welcome our newest instructors into the Mantra family and we are excited to see the impact they’ll make!