BEYOND BALANCE
Why do we feel like our body is an endless project that constantly needs to be "fixed"?
Following her journey through hardcore fitness trends and burnout , Magdalena Berger, the founder of @pilateswithmagda, discovered a form of movement that teaches body respect instead of punishment In our interview , she reveals not only the secrets to a sustainable routine but also how to build a successful , authentic personal brand on social media through pure honesty rather than imitation.
When and why did a healthy lifestyle become a central part of your personal brand?
I went on my first diet at 12 That's where this started Not in a gym, not with a certification, but with a 12-year-old girl who thought something was wrong with her body
For years I chased a version of health that was really just about being smaller It took me a long time to realize that movement could feel like something other than punishment When that finally clicked, I couldn't stop talking about it That's really when my personal brand was born Not when I got my Pilates certification, but the moment I understood the difference between exercising to fix yourself and moving because you actually love your body
How did your career in social media begin?
For a long time I had this quiet voice in my head saying: "Who are you to talk about this?"
I was studying Marketing, working in social media for other brands, and building entire content strategies for other people while telling myself I had nothing worth saying At some point that became embarrassing enough to act on I started @pilateswithmagda almost as a private experiment No big launch, no strategy Just me, a camera, and the things I actually knew Within months a supplement brand reached out to collaborate That was the proof I needed: the right message finds the right people, but only if you actually send it
You do something for yourself almost every day, and movement is clearly part of your routine
Why did Pilates become one of your favorite forms of exercise?
I came to Pilates completely burnt out I was working, studying, and training hard at a crossfit gym and I was exhausted in a way that more HIIT classes were making worse, not better Pilates was the first movement practice that asked me to slow down and actually feel what my body was doing Not just push through it I remember the first time I properly activated my deep core Not the superficial crunch muscles, but the real stabilizers underneath It was such a small thing physically, but it changed how I understood my own body That's when I knew I wanted to teach it Not the aesthetic version of Pilates The actual science of it
What is the one habit that truly changed your life?.
Treating my training like a non-negotiable appointment, not a reward for when everything else is done For most of my life I put movement last After work, after studying, after helping everyone else And of course it was always the first thing to fall away when life got busy Now my training days are in my calendar and my environment knows it Not because I'm disciplined in some extreme way, but because I finally understood: I function better in every area of my life when I move It's not selfish It's actually the most productive thing I do
