Listen to the Wiggle! – by Theo St. Francis I believe we are now living in the Age of Disconnection. To address this, I think we should all wiggle more. ‘Wiggling’ sounds childish to you? That’s exactly the point. As a Pilates instructor, you understand this Disconnection-with-a-capital-D. You see the […]
Are We Being Lowballed Out Of Business? – by Sunni Almond
May 10, 2017 Are We Being Lowballed Out Of Business? by Sunni Almond A Pilates group class generally costs between $10 and $45 while a private lesson can be had for anywhere between $50 and $250. Or for a few extra bucks added on to a monthly gym membership, […]
For Me Pilates Is Not Enough! by Mariska Breland
Pilates Isn’t Enough By Mariska Breland Don’t get me wrong, I loooooove Pilates. Love it. I love classical Pilates, contemporary Pilates, and all of the apparatus. We have the best toys. The best. No one has better toys than us. I have been teaching and doing Pilates since the early […]
Get Out of the Way! by Clare Dunphy
Get Out of the Way! By Clare Dunphy Have you ever heard the quote “change happens through movement, and movement heals?” A powerful quote I first heard years ago, and in hindsight, it was a real game-changer. Not because it was a revelation but because it has made me think […]
Are You My People? by Mike Perry
Are You My People? By Mike Perry I’ve been lucky to recently start teaching one client in particular. Things were a little erratic in the beginning, because her back pain was such that she couldn’t make it to the studio, or was advised to wait by her osteopath. She would […]
Romana Kryzanowska – Maintaining the Integrity and Spirit of Pilates – by Amy Taylor Alpers
Romana Kryzanowska (1923 – 2013) Maintaining the Integrity and Spirit of Pilates by Amy Taylor Alpers Romana Kryzanowska loved life, and she lived a full, rich, colorful, satisfying, adventurous one, always surrounded by family, friends and students. She was part “American Annie Oakley”, part “Russian prima ballerina”, part “Peruvian shepherdess”, […]
A Letter To Brett From Lolita San Miguel
A Letter To Brett From Lolita San Miguel In February, as you may remember, I had the pleasure of presenting my friend Bob Hannum’s interview with Mary Bowen. In this excellent interview, Mary made a few comparisons between her own and Lolita’s teaching methods and styles. Soon after publication, I […]
Teaching More Than Mass – Quantum Science Made Easy-er ~ James Crader
Teaching More Than Mass Quantum Science Made Easy-er ~ James Crader I remember sitting in a Humanities Class, day one, and the professor writing the words “Homo Religioso” on the board and stating that’s what we are. Comparative Religion was my college minor. He went on to say that the […]
Pilates for the Military Drills That Get Results by Joakim Valsinger
Pilates for the Military – Drills That Get Results by Joakim Valsinger A Pilates studio is a long way from the military exercise ground and the daily tasks expected from military personnel seem very different than executing exercises on a Pilates mat or apparatus. But Pilates can improve the effectiveness of […]
Spatial Awareness Becomes Part of a Pilates Practitioner’s Literacy Larkin Barnett B.A., M.A.
Spatial Awareness Becomes Part of a Pilates Practitioner’s Literacy Larkin Barnett B.A., M.A. Four decades ago, my college dance professor, Eija Celli, was beating on a drum while encouraging us to take up as much space as possible leaping across the floor. It was fun to push movement boundaries and […]
Pilates Breathing and “The Hundred” as Taught to Francene Perel By Mary Pilates
Pilates Breathing and “The Hundred” as Taught to Francene Perel By Mary Pilates I am so fortunate to have been taught by Mary Pilates, niece of Joseph Pilates. Mary was very emphatic about breathing as one of the fundamentals of the Pilates Method. I recorded Mary speaking and one of […]
A Hybrid of Many Masters – by Jillian Hessel
Hybrid of Many Masters By Jillian Hessel If you are a teacher, or even an avid student of Pilates, you can trace your lineage back through a special mentor or formative teacher. We each discovered Pilates traveling our own unique path, and this is how the living chain of lineage […]
Bob Hannum Interviews Elder Mary Bowen – Part 1
Bob Hannum Interviews Elder Mary Bowen – Part 1 Mary Bowen, one of only 2 active Pilates Elders, sat down with me a couple months ago for a lengthy interview. Mary is my teacher and mentor of 40 years. We divided the interview into several parts, this being the first. […]
A Strong Woman – Carola Trier – by Eva Rincke
A Strong WomAn: Carola Strauss-Trier by Eva Rincke Carola Strauss-Trier was the first person to open a Pilates studio – other than Joseph Pilates himself. She contributed significantly to establishing the Pilates method in the field of rehabilitation. The story of her life is just as interesting as […]
How Pilates Helped to Transform My Back Pain by Helen Behn
Since my teenage years, I’ve continually suffered from some level of back pain. As an active person that loves biking, hiking and gardening, it’s been a constant struggle balancing these activities with pain and occasional subsequent inactivity. I have a hypermobile spine, which essentially leads to my body unwittingly overextending […]
Stepping Up And Standing Out by Jenna Zaffino
Stepping Up And Standing Out by Jenna Zaffino As a long-time business owner and teacher, I am frequently asked for advice from teachers who are trying to determine where they “fit in” to the Pilates Industry. Classical or contemporary? Specialist or enthusiast? What’s the next step in my career? […]
Joe Pilates’ Childhood In Poverty – by historian Eva Rincke (Part 2)
Source: Stadtarchiv Mönchengladbach Joe Pilates’ Childhood In Poverty – by historian Eva Rincke (Part 2) “Perfecting the knee bend and many things to commend, his youth was gymnastic to the end.” – Joachim Ringelnatz, Setting up the Equipment (First Draft) Alongside his secret outings into the woods, the only other thing Joseph […]
Embodying the Brilliance of our BioIntelligent Wisdom By Wendy LeBlanc-Arbuckle
Embodying the Brilliance of our BioIntelligent Wisdom By Wendy LeBlanc-Arbuckle As we transition into 2017, I’d love to build on the wonderful article that Kathy Corey recently wrote for Pilates Intel on “The Importance of Honoring our Heritage”. I couldn’t agree more! Kathy begins her article with the quote “Heritage […]
Joe Pilates’ Childhood In Poverty – by historian Eva Rincke (Part 1)
Source: Stadtarchiv Mönchengladbach Joe Pilates’ Childhood In Poverty – by historian Eva Rincke (Part 1) “Perfecting the knee bend and many things to commend, his youth was gymnastic to the end.” – Joachim Ringelnatz, Setting up the Equipment (First Draft) There is a copy of an old photograph at the city archives […]
The Importance of Honoring our Heritage – by Kathy Corey
The Importance of Honoring our Heritage By Kathy Corey Heritage is the linking of the present to its original source. To know where we are today, we need to honor the link to our past. No matter what are our differences, we share the common bond of the man who […]
“Avoid It, If There’s Pain” Does This Pilates Maxim Do Our Clients More Harm Than Good? by Marie Wittman
“Avoid It, If There’s Pain” Does This Pilates Maxim Do Our Clients More Harm Than Good? by Marie Wittman I am in the midst of relocating from California to Minnesota and part of this move has involved placing my clients in another trusted teacher’s hands. While I have gone through […]
Turning Ordinary Teaching Moments into Magical Ones – by Clare Dunphy
Turning Ordinary Teaching Moments into Magical Ones by Clare Dunphy Have you ever wondered, at the end of the day, what exactly came together in the moment to make you feel like you were a great teacher that day? Something clicked and everything seemed to work; the right cues at […]
Burnt out? Try the Mentorship Cure. By Karena Thek, author of Scolio-Pilates®
Students reviewing standing corrections, together Burnt out? Try the Mentorship Cure. By Karena Thek, author of Scolio-Pilates® Tired of seeing the same type of client over and over again? And teaching the same class over and over again? Feeling like you’ll need to quit if you don’t get a new […]
My Own Personal ‘Return to Life’ – by Allie Greene
My Own Personal ‘Return to Life’ by Allie Greene Return to Life — as Pilates teachers that is what we help people to do. A person may have a serious illness or physical condition and Pilates can play a meaningful role in their recovery. It can also be as simple […]
Perspective – a beginning – by Amy Havens
Perspective – A Beginning by Amy Havens I have one. You have one. Mine is different than yours. I quite like that we each have our own, but sometimes I’d like to share yours and I think, from what I can tell, you’d like to share mine. Am I right? This […]
Did You KNOW You Don’t Have To Belong? – by Sunni Almond
Did You KNOW You Don’t Have To Belong? by Sunni Almond Not to any Pilates organization. You can if you chose too, but it isn’t necessary, and doesn’t get you more clients. Are you shocked?!?!?! I was too when I found that out. You mean I don’t need to empty my pockets of all that hard-earned […]
Five Instructional Secrets by Sarah K. Negara
Get the pdf version by request at newsleter@pilatesintel.com.
Transformational Language – Part 1 by Sarah K. Artha Negara, MFA, PMA®-CPT
Pictured Above: Sarah Artha Negara & Stella Lorvan Transformational Language – Part 1 by Sarah K. Artha Negara, MFA, PMA®-CPT Each Pilates class is a physical and emotional journey for our students I have five transformational secrets that I share with all of my teacher trainers. They help […]
Transformational Language – Part 2 by Sarah K. Artha Negara, MFA, PMA®-CPT
Pictured Above: Sarah Artha Negara with students Amy Malepeai & Jean Garcia Transformational Language – Part 2 by Sarah K. Artha Negara, MFA, PMA®-CPT Each Pilates class is a physical and emotional journey for our students I have five transformational secrets that I share with all of my teacher trainers. […]
The Baby Chair – not a Chair for Babies – by Reiner Grootenhuis
The Baby Chair – not a Chair for Babies by Reiner Grootenhuis My first contact with an Arm Chair was an unusual one. The studio I was trained at had one of these rather huge Balanced Body Avalon Arm Chairs. So I was quite surprised when I saw a video […]
Moving It All Outdoors – by James Crader
Christine Crooks-Nguyen & Tony Nguyen / Nephesh Pilates & TwoPoint4 Dance Theater Moving It All Outdoors James Crader For a moment, close your eyes and think of a few iconic Pilates movement moments involving Joe, the man. Images of a studio may come up, but undoubtedly, for many of us, […]
Homework for Your Clients – by Sunni Almond
Homework for Your Clients by Sunni Almond Homework? If you give it, do you give it to all your clients or just a select few, and what do you give? So, you know that place in the workout where you get to address individual needs in a much more […]
Teaching Pilates with Purpose and Power – by Clare Dunphy
Teaching Pilates with Purpose and Power by Clare Dunphy Purpose: The reason for which something exists or for which it has been done or made; The goal or intended outcome of something; The desire or the resolve necessary to accomplish a goal. Power: The ability, […]
Where is Your Focus? by Anna Schrefl
Where is your focus? An article by Anna Schrefl Here I am, still enjoying the late sunny days in Vienna. This summer was intense but also relaxing and inspiring. My Pilates studio in Vienna got a ten-day-long renovation and refresher treatment and I feel the urge to bring a bit […]
Pilates for Health or for Fitness? – by Marie Whitman
Pilates for Health or for Fitness? Marie Wittman What is Pilates good for? This is a question we have all answered in one form or another. If you have a website, it would be the benefits you list. At a dinner party, it would be the rewards you extol […]
The Legacy of Kathy Grant – by Kathy Corey
The Legacy of Kathy Grant by Kathy Corey Kathleen Stanford Grant was a dancer and first generation Master Pilates Teacher. She was born August 1, 1921 in Boston Massachusetts. “I think I started to dance in my mother’s womb,” Kathy said, “but growing up, there was not much interest in […]
Empowering Bodies with Cancer through Pilates – by Jana Danielson
Empowering Bodies with Cancer through Pilates Jana Danielson Setting the Stage There are times when our bodies feel like they no longer belong to us. For some it might be after an injury or accident where our body no longer “is like it used to be.” For others (like me) […]
For the New Teacher – a Few Thoughts from Auntie Sunni – by Sunni Almond
For the New Teacher – Thoughts from Auntie Sunni by Sunni Almond As I browse the various Pilates forums, I always see questions about how to handle this temperamental client, or what to do about that injury, or the group class pressure to “bring it”, or how to fit […]
Where do your limbs begin and end? Embodied Anatomy by Leo Pappas
Embodied Anatomy Where do your limbs begin and end? I invite you take a moment to consider this question before you read on – this could be very insightful and possibly tell you more than what follows here. There are many ways to answer this question. For example, if I […]
All Roads lead to the Core – by Mareile Paley
All Roads lead to the Core By Mareile Paley When I read Tracy Maurstad’s recent Pilates Intel article on ‘turning classical’, it struck a chord. Someone had written my story – just backwards. And since we know that Pilates Intel readers love to hear multiple angles on any given subject, […]