Revelations from a Pilates Purist – by Clare Dunphy

Issue #384- Wednesday, November 16, 2022 Revelations from a Pilates Purist by Clare Dunphy This article is about taking chances, questioning the status quo, and challenging one’s beliefs.  I’ve always told myself I knew the answers to keeping Pilates alive and well for future generations.  Here’s why I was wrong.  […]

Get Up Off The Floor! – # 4 – by Brett Miller

Issue #375 – Wednesday, October 12, 2022 Get Up Off The Floor! – # 4 Get Up Off The Floor! by Brett Miller As I mentioned in Get Up Off The Floor! PARTS #1 and #2 ,  AND #3, I think that one of the most important skills to have in life is the ability to transition […]

360° Breathing in the “Stack” – by Patricia Medros

Issue #374 – Wednesday, June 29, 2022 360° Breathing in the “Stack” – by Patricia Medros Diploma on the wall, certification passed, you know hundreds of Pilates exercises. You may even have years under your belt. But does that new client gut punch still jolt you when you realize, “There’s so much […]

Pilates: More than Just the Exercises – by Miguel Bengoa

Issue #368 Wednesday May 11, 2022 Pilates: More than Just the Exercises by Miguel Bengoa Before I became a Pilates teacher… I was a language teacher.  A very “learner focussed” teacher one: Students of language were “learners” learning skills, not studying “rules”. We studied what the learners brought in and […]

Lost in Translation, Part II – by Amy Alpers

Issue #363 – Wednesday, March 23, 2022 How the Pilates Method Has Changed Over the Years by Amy Alpers In my last article on this subject, I discussed several key differences between the way Romana taught certain Pilates exercises in the 1980s/90s, versus the way they are shown on archival […]

Some Pilates History and a Pilates Myth

Issue #355 – Wednesday, December 15, 2021 Some Pilates History and a Pilates Myth A myth and some science from Adam McAtee Back when I was a novice Pilates teacher, I came from a belief that Pilates was limited to “the order” and “real teachers” not only knew the order and […]

When GOOD Teaching IS Your Business – by Chantill Lopez

Issue #352 – Wednesday, November 17, 2021 When GOOD Teaching IS Your Business(Whose Business is Bad Teaching? Part 3)Awareness of Other + Context by Chantill Lopez Being a teacher and being a parent are the two most transformative experiences I’ve ever had.   Both force you to be uncomfortable in the […]

In Defense of the Diaphragm – by Karena Thek

Issue #349- Wednesday, October 20, 2021 In Defense of the Diaphragm by Karena Thek So, Brett, you say that focusing on the breath changes how we breathe automatically, sometimes not for the better. Agreed. You also said that focusing on breathing techniques can bring tension to the thoracic, shoulder girdle, […]

Teaching Eccentric Exercises, My 3 ‘goto’s – by Mara Sievers

Issue #342 – August 25, 2021 Teaching Eccentric Exercises, My 3 ‘goto’s by Mara Sievers You’ve probably learned about concentric, isometric and eccentric muscle contraction in your Pilates training. But do you feel confident that you can apply this information to the exercises you teach and how you cue the movement? […]

Sensing, Feeling…and Pilates. Somatics..What’s That? – by Patricia Issit

Issue #337 Wednesday June 2, 2021 Sensing, Feeling…and Pilates. Somatics..What’s That? by Patricia Issit Somatics is a “broad brush” term describing many approaches to embodied movement practices. Put briefly, a somatic approach develops perceptual, kinesthetic and proprioceptive sensitivity with the purpose of developing awareness of soma, the felt body self. […]

Coordination on the Reformer – by Brett Miller

Issue #332 – Wednesday April 21, 2021 Coordination on the Reformer – by Brett Miller by Brett Miller Whereas at first I found ‘Coordination on the Reformer’ to be a rather quirky exercise – even a little stupid, I have come to value it more and more as I have grown to know […]

The Side Way Sitting Stretch – by Reiner Grootenhuis

Issue #325 – Wednesday, February 17, 2021 The Side Way Sitting Stretch by Reiner Grootenhuis   ”The Side Way Sitting Stretch” is the original name used by Carola Trier I first discovered this exercise in the archive pictures of Joseph Pilates‘s student Carola Trier. Shortly afterwards I was taught the […]

Active Opposition!! by Brett Miller

Issue #322 – Wednesday, January 20, 2021 Active Opposition (an exercise I was inspired to create by watching a video from Alycea Ungaro) by Brett Miller Today I am sharing an example of what I call “building block exercises”. These are simple, but by no means trivial, exercises that if […]

Position, Posture and Alignment – by Carol Robbins

Issue #308 – Wednesday, August 19, 2020 Position, Posture and Alignment by Carol Robbins Semantics is the branch of linguistics concerned with meaning. When we have a discussion with another person, it’s important that the words you use have a meaning that is agreed upon by both people or confusion […]

Motivation – A Critical Factor for Success by Adam McAtee

Issue #302 – Wednesday May 27, 2020 Motivation – A Critical Factor for Success by Adam McAtee   The work of Pilates is vast; as time progresses, it may have a significant impact on one’s physical and mental fitness. However, one could argue that we only receive as much benefit […]

Engage Deeper into your Teaching – by Clare Dunphy Hemani

March 12, 2020 Engage Deeper into your Teaching by Clare Dunphy-Hemani I think most Pilates teachers today share the belief that our lineage has value because the connection back to Joe, either directly or through one of his students (our elders), helps keep the tradition alive.  It wasn’t that long […]

Airplane on the Cadillac – by Reiner Grootenhuis

November 6, 2019 Airplane on the Cadillac by Reiner Grootenhuis Setup: Attach traditional leg springs at a height of 80 – 85 cm / 31.5 – 33.5 inches. The higher the spring attachment, the easier raising the body into the diagonal becomes. Supine position with the head pointing toward the […]

The Amazing Chest Expansion – by Clare Dunphy-Hemani

October 9, 2019 The Amazing Chest Expansion by Clare Dunphy-Hemani I guess if I had to pick one universally effective, versatile Pilates exercise (which in my opinion, should be taught in every session and for nearly every person), it would be Chest Expansion. It includes all the essentials of total […]

Forget That Cue! – by Mara Sievers

Forget That Cue! – Three Wrong Cues for the Shoulder Girdle by Mara Sievers August 21, 2019 Guiding your student with your words is a combination of skill and art. Sometimes we overuse cues or apply certain cues to a movement where it’s not appropriate. You might or might not […]

Why Use Directed Imagery? by Julia Wyncoll

Why Use Directed Imagery? by Julia Wyncoll August 14, 2019 I recently had a fellow Pilates teacher tell me, “Some of my clients don’t like images, so we don’t use them.” Well, I’m here today to challenge this idea, because it’s my belief that we are all using images all […]

A New Twist On Snake/Twist – by ‘Swami’ Doug Bentz

A New Twist On Snake/Twist’ On Snake/Twist! by Swami Doug Bentz June 20, 2019   Seeing as it is nearly summer and everything is blossoming and glowing with a sense of new life, why not bring some “newness” into your Pilates practice and to your clients? My intent with this […]

“Fixing” My Rib Flare – by Nikki Naab-Levy

March 20, 2019 Fixing My Rib Flare By Nikki Naab-Levy As Pilates teachers, there are areas of the body that we are very aware of – in ourselves as well as in our clients. One of these of areas seems to be the ribs, or more specifically the rib flare […]

The Order – Learning from Romana By Tricia Dean O’Donnell

November 21, 2018 The Order – Learning from Romana By Tricia Dean O’Donnell In 1997, none of us realized we were observing history, while undergoing our teacher certification for The Pilates Method of Body Conditioning under the supervision of Romana Kryzanowska and Bob Liekens. There were many apprentices, sometimes nearly […]

The Art of Asking Questions – by Chantill Lopez

September 26, 2018 The Art of Asking Questions Why some questions aren’t worth asking and the right questions change EVERYTHING By Chantill Lopez   “That feels great, right?” (Teacher as all knowing — You feel what I think you feel, right?)   “Can you feel/find that?” (Teacher as mildly and […]