Pilates Intel Online Newsletter for the Pilates Teaching Community

Brett Miller introduces a unique exercise called “Cat” on the Spine Corrector. The exercise involves kneeling on the barrel, engaging the core, and balancing through various movements, including stretching, bending, and rolling up. It emphasizes body cohesion, strength, and relaxation, forming a harmonious connection between different body parts.

Issue #441 Wednesday, October 16, 2024 Pilates 101: Teaching Contrology as a College Course Part 3: Teaching the Teacher by Cathy Pagani Photographs courtesy of The University of Alabama If you want to learn something, read about it.  If you want to understand something, write about it.  If you want to […]

Issue #440 – Wednesday, October 2, 2024 Small Weights Pack a Punch by Clare Dunphy Incorporating Reformer exercises onto the mat for your Pilates practice can introduce a whole new dimension to your routine, offering variety and challenge. This innovative approach can significantly elevate your practice, providing benefits for both seasoned […]

Issue #439 – Wednesday, September 25, 2024 Key Influences That Affected Pilates by Amy Alpers I’m asked constantly – all around the world – how and why has Pilates changed? There are many solid reasons. Let’s take a look at a few key ones. It wasn’t until after the word […]

Issue #438 Wednesday, September 21, 2024 “I never intended to be a Pilates teacher” An interview with Sonjé Mayo – a student of JP! Part 2 by Tricia Whitlock Here is Part 1 Sonjé returned to South Africa in 1972, determined to start her own contemporary, multi-racial dance company.  It was […]

Issue #437 Wednesday, August 28, 2024 In Memory of Romana Kryzanowska “You should be able to teach in an evening gown” by Jennifer DeLuca In a protective boot and crutches (not nearly as sexy as an evening gown and only slightly less efficient), I am in Vestby, Norway visiting a Pilates […]

Issue #436 Wednesday, August 21, 2024 Pilates 101: Teaching Contrology as a College Course Part 2: What the Students Think by Cathy Pagani Photographs courtesy of The University of Alabama My time as a student in this class has been truly wonderful. I’ve discovered a deep enjoyment for learning the movements […]

Issue #434 Wednesday, June 19, 2024 “I never intended to be a Pilates teacher” An interview with Sonjé Mayo – a student of JP! Part 1 by Tricia Whitlock Over the course of my career as a Pilates instructor, I’ve taken many workshops. Some of these workshops are more memorable than […]

Issue #433 Wednesday, May 29, 2024 Writing a Pilates Book Part 2 by Eme Cole Hello again! I am happy to return this week with the completion of my previous article about writing a Pilates book. If you haven’t yet, please read part 1 first so that you have a sequential […]

Issue #432 Wednesday, May 22, 2024 Writing a Pilates Book Part 1 by Eme Cole If only I had a nickel for every Pilates professional who has said to me: “I have always wanted to write a book, I just don’t know where to start…” Hopefully, this article will be the […]

Issue #431 Wednesday, May 8, 2024 Pilates 101: Teaching Contrology as a College Course Part 1: Designing the Curriculum by Cathy Pagani Photographs courtesy of The University of Alabama It began with a casual comment. I had recently retired after nearly thirty years as a professor of Asian art history and […]

Photo by John Lindquist at Houghton Library, Harvard University. Issue #430 Wednesday, May 1, 2024 The Renaissance of Joe Pilates’ Magic Square by Rebekah Le Magny Very likely you have never heard of Pilates’ Magic Square. The Magic Square is undoubtedly one of Joe’s least known apparatus, although others have also […]

Issue #429 Wednesday, April 17, 2024 How to Avoid Burnout as a Pilates Teacher by Mara Sievers Are you on the cusp of burnout . . . and think that maybe this whole Pilates teacher thing isn’t for you?  Or maybe that you’re not cut out to make it happen the […]

Issue #428 Wednesday, April 10, 2024 Go with the Flow by Dianne Gard My focus today is less technique and rather a lesson I learned from observing the life of an amazing person, my Aunt Flo, who recently passed at age 95.  Her faith and trust enabled her to truly “Go […]

Issue #427 – Wednesday, March 27, 2024 Activities of Daily Living in Pilates as Motivation by Gwen Miller We all know that Pilates is great cross-training for many activities, that working on balanced muscle development, core strength, mobility and stability are crucial for long-term health of all the joints in […]

Issue #425 – Wednesday, March 6, 2024 Archival 80 Inch Reformer Review by Stefanie O’Rourke Part 2 In our studio, one of our reformers is a little shorter than the others. Most traditional reformers are 86 inches long. This beauty is the 80 inch Gratz Archival Reformer. Pilates apparatus connoisseurs geek […]

Issue #424 – Wednesday, February 21, 2024 Boost Your Pilates Business with AI: Engage More Clients, Save Time, Get Creative Part 2 In the last article, we discussed ideas for how you might use generative AI in marketing. Now, let’s dig into how generative AI can increase efficiency, improve creativity and […]

Issue #423 – Wednesday, February 14, 2024 Boost Your Pilates Business with AI: Engage More Clients, Save Time, Get Creative Part 1 When ChatGPT was first released, I honestly had little interest aside from the occasional silly exploration with friends — “Describe to me a french cabernet wine in the style […]

Issue #421 Wednesday, January 24, 2024 Round Back Deluxe From the Short Box Series on the Ladder Barrel by Brett Miller Today I’m going to show a nice exercise on the ladder Barrel it’s a variation of the Short Box exercise Round Back.  Let’s give it a try shall we? You […]

Issue #419 – Wednesday, December 13, 2023 What are we IMPRINTING? Part 2 by Dr. Suzanne Martin In Part 1 of Imprinting, self-touch and rib impressions explored how curated pressures have a beneficial effect on both superficial and deep fascial connections. This edition will focus primarily on the imprinting of the […]

Issue #418 – Wednesday, December 06, 2023 How Pilates Extends Your Mind by Anne Bishop and Chantill Lopez We know that our individual Pilates practice and teaching experience are both incredibly valuable. Through practice and experience, we also know that Pilates is beneficial for core strength, pelvic floor strength, and […]

Issue #417 – Wednesday, November 29, 2023 All the Sunshine You Can Get by Sophia Briegleb “By all means, never fail to get all the sunshine and fresh air that you can… Whenever and wherever possible, wear shorts or sunsuits outdoors, and let the lifegiving ultraviolet rays reach and penetrate into […]

Issue #416 Wednesday, November 22, 2023 Star ‘Prep’ on the Reformer (with some fun extras) by Brett Miller Enjoy this 3 minute tutorial!!  Brett Miller is the founder of Pilates Intel, he started his professional life in the world of ballet, working with various companies in the US.  Later on he moved […]

Issue #415 – Wednesday, November 15, 2023 A Pilates History Lesson Pilates-Sandow-Muller by Jonathan Grubb Eugen Sandow, Jørgen Müller, and Joseph Pilates were all physical culturists and had similar views on exercise and healthy living.  They also tended towards a minimalist approach to their workout gear! . I have shared with […]

Issue #414 – Wednesday, November 8, 2023 What does a slow sloth have to do with teaching Pilates? by Charlotte Marsh I took a “Pilates for kids and teens” qualification years ago.  The course was great and as a mum of two, I found it very interesting. Around the same time, […]

Issue #413 – Wednesday, October 25, 2023 Pilates for Parkinsons by Miranda Lindgard Like most people I thought Parkinsons was an old person’s disease. The only young person I had ever heard of having it was the actor Michael J Fox who developed the disease at just 29 years old. He […]

Issue #412 – Wednesday, October 18, 2023 Small Weights Pack a Punch by Clare Dunphy The small weights, which weigh in at only 1-3 pounds (or .4-1.3 kilos), might seem like nothing, but these tiny little weights can pack a punch for our posture muscles in the arm weight series. The […]

Issue #411 – Wednesday, October 4, 2023 What are we IMPRINTING? by Dr. Suzanne Martin Imprinting is a beloved term used in Pilates, attributed to our Elder Eve Gentry. Imprinting is a subtle action involved with detailed movements of the vertebra in a supine position, where the imprinted motion seeks to […]

Issue #409 – Wednesday, September 13, 2023 Common Myths About Working with Hypermobility Part I by Gwen Miller Hypermobility is often used as a descriptive term for someone who has greater than “normal” range of motion in some or all of the joints of their body.  Someone who is hypermobile […]

Issue #409 – Wednesday, September 13, 2023 Common Myths About Working with Hypermobility Part I by Gwen Miller Hypermobility is often used as a descriptive term for someone who has greater than “normal” range of motion in some or all of the joints of their body.  Someone who is hypermobile […]

Issue #408 – Wednesday, September 3, 2023 “π”-lates: How to Know if a Pilates Movement is Right Part II by Amy Alpers In Part 1. of this article, [link here] we discussed how nature can give you all the answers you need to better understand the Pilates exercises and how to teach […]

Issue #407 Wednesday, August 23, 2023 The Threefold Path by Benjamin Stuber The Threefold Path is a Buddhist concept concerning the cyclical journey to abandon kleshas (delusions clouding our true minds) and attain Nirvana. For the purposes of this article I’m epically generalizing, but the Path consists of Theravada (“adhishila” – […]

Issue #406 Wednesday, August 16, 2023 Horseback on the Reformer by Brett Miller Horseback has become one of my favorite exercises (even though it is very challenging) because it really deepens my awareness of how to use my whole center in relation to how I use my extremities.  I think it […]

Issue #404 – Wednesday, June 14, 2023 Developing Body Awareness – Learning to Let Go by Suzanne Guttersson If a student comes to Pilates with some knowledge of dance, yoga, Feldenkrais and/or various bodywork methods, the student will probably have some sense of body awareness and should be easier to […]

Issue #403 – Wednesday, June 7, 2023 Discovering the Personal Connection between Kung Fu and Pilates? by Reiner Grootenhuis When we look at the origins of any development, we can often trace it back to a person’s upbringing and background. This is true for the Pilates method too. Many of […]

Issue #402 – Wednesday, May 31, 2023 “π”-lates: How to Know if a Pilates Movement is Right by Amy Alpers Do you ever wonder if you are teaching a Pilates movement or exercise correctly – like how should the spine flex in Roll Up, for instance, or in Stomach Massage, […]