Here are two guys that I can guess many of you are aware of, they being Michael Fritzke and Ton Voogt. For those of you who don’t know them, they are both classically trained in the Pilates method and creators of the TRIADBALLTM. They spend an estimated 75% of their […]
An Interview with the Passionate and Lovely Jennifer Kries
Not long ago I had the great pleasure of meeting the intelligent and enthusiastic Jennifer Kries via a Skype date. Despite it not being in-person, it was one of those rare pleasures where one experiences a true meeting of the minds, but we’ll go into greater detail about that a […]
The Dark Side of Scapula Isolation Cues – by Joanne Elphinston
The scapular region can be a particularly challenging area to work with. It must be simultaneously stable and mobile, a tricky balance to strike when so many people have very little sense of connection to this area. A very specific biomechanical misunderstanding about function in this area has led to […]
Drinking the Kool Aide…….Or My Journey to Classical Pilates – by Sunni Almond
It’s funny how things can be so much the exact same AND completely different all at the same time. I’ve totally tasted the Kool Aide now, and while I can’t say that my mantra is Trust The Method, I am getting a completely different workout. It takes less to do […]
Rotation Of The Spine – ©2013 Michael Fritzke & Ton Voogt
“If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30 you are old; if it is completely flexible at 60, you are young” – Joseph Pilates. The point Joe was making is clear, the flexibility of your spine determines your age more than the number of birthdays you’ve had. Keeping your spine […]
Scolio-Pilates: Working in 3 Dimensions to Manage Scoliosis – by Karena Thek Lineback
1) Move the spine towards neutral 2) Add length to the spine 3) Add strengthening techniques. At it’s core, it’s really that simple. Getting Started You cannot continue to train muscles in the same-old posture if you want to create change. You know that’s true for postures like […]
Swans, Frogs, Seals and Grasshoppers, Oh My! – by Sunni Almond
About me: (nutshell version, you can thank me later) I’ve been an artist, comic, actress, dancer (not the long lithe willowy ballerina type- think more the shorter athletic gymnastic jazz type) and of all things (don’t laugh, I’m old) mime. I am still a hairdresser, was a mortgage loan officer, […]
Remembering Julian Littleford
Remembering Julian Littleford – by Lolita San Miguel Dance, New York City, Pilates, Carola Trier. This quartet of common experience was the medium that first joined Julian and me. Both of us had been professional dancers in New York City, Julian having been a principal dancer with the famous Martha […]
The Mind/Body Connection in Exercise, an Interview with Anne Bishop – by Maria Bardet
What role does the mind play when you exercise? Heard the phrase, “get out of your head, and get into your body?” Thought about how to actually do that and why you would even want to? I heard that phrase many times, but never really gave it serious thought. That is, until […]
A Memorial to Romana
The Keeper of the Flame – by Jennifer Kries Powerhouse. Force of nature. Magician. Mischievous Flirt. Star. Healer. The Keeper of the Flame. Romana was all of these things, and more. Romana was bigger than any space she occupied. Her being could not be contained by any four […]
Work/Life Balance – by Jehane Lindley
If you look up ‘work/life balance’ you get a stream of hits including the words, ‘beat burnout’, ‘reclaim control’, ‘family’ and ‘income equality’ in the header. It would seem this is a subject that has been looked into, you might even say researched and a lot. If you consider that […]
A Short Discussion on Breathing – by Brett Miller
So today I would like to take up breathing, a subject as we all know that is central the Pilates technique. Joseph Pilates himself wrote extensively about posterior lateral breathing, taking the air into the lower back part of the lungs, with the idea to widen the chest area in […]
Breathing New Life into the Body – by Andrea Maida
In Return to Life, Joe Pilates touts the benefits of a full deep breath. He maintains that shallow, lazy breathing deprives the body of the amount of oxygen necessary to fuel the blood. Indefatigably and conscientiously practice breathing until the art of correct breathing becomes habitual, automatic and subconscious, which accomplishment will result […]
Masterminding a Pilates Workshop – by Tracy Maurstad
“First you jump off the cliff and you build your wings on the way down” ~Ray Bradbury When I needed some guidance with my first scoliosis client, I went to Twitter for help (in case you didn’t know, Twitter has a great Pilates community of generous teachers communicating 140 characters […]
“A Movement of Movement” – a film review by Tracy Maurstad
“A Movement of Movement” is a beautiful new documentary by Mark Pedri about Pilates, both the man and his method. Interviews with Pilates teachers and students, archival footage of Joseph Pilates, and gorgeous scenes of people doing Pilates are combined with images of things like cats, war, a kite surfer, […]
Impressions of My First PAA Conference – by Joshua Freedman
My dreams were not formed the weekend that lasted from Thursday 5th September to the night of Sunday 8th September, but rather, my dreams were reinforced and reignited! Flying up to Sydney from Melbourne as a Pilates instructor (or as I prefer, Pilates Teacher) I experienced both excitement and anticipation the same time. […]
A Classical Discussion (I) – by Brett Miller and Lesley McPherson
You may remember we published an upbeat article about Michael King in July, highlighting his positive approach and the depth of his experience in the field. Towards the end of the article Michael said, “I have the deepest respect for Classical Pilates and know it and teach it when I can but […]
Eme Cole Revisited – by Brett Miller
Now here is a lady that is not new to Pilates Intel, in fact she was one of the first persons that allowed me to have an article about her way back when we started up. And that person is Eme Cole, author and owner of Pilates Plus studio in Chicago. […]
How You Move Matters – Alexander Technique, as it applies to Pilates, as it applies to life – by Julie Rothschild
Recently, I was watching television with my son and an infomercial came on and said something like this: It’s not how you sit, it’s the cushion you sit on that causes back pain. Oh dear – even my 15 year old son knew that wasn’t true. It’s not how we […]
Check your ego at the door, thank you….. – By Brett Miller
At the Pilates studio where I work, there each Saturday morning scheduled 2 back-to-back reformer classes, and this particular December Saturday I had the good fortune of instructing both. I was relaxed and strong at the going into class, as I was a good boy the night before in going […]
A Ten Year Resume – by Natascha Eyber
Just like many other Pilates Teachers, I come from a professional dance background. I had been teaching ballet to students, professionals, adults and children for a long time before I started my Pilates journey. It was in 2003 that I took the BASI(r) Pilates Teacher Training Course with Rael Isacowitz, […]
We ‘Can Exercise’ – by Michael King
This years Zest Convention in London September 21/22 brings again International Presenters from different schools of Pilates in a weekend of Pilates and Dance Sessions and workshop’s, with the purpose to inspire instructors to develop their methods of teaching. Michael King the organiser of the event explains, “ I think […]
Erin Mohr at Pilates Privé in Paris – by Brett Miller
Some of you may remember that I spent some time in Paris this summer. And while there I had the opportunity to have a session at Pilates Prive, owned and operated by Erin Mohr. I was taught by the boss herself, and not only did […]
The Spine Corrector – by Kathy Corey
I am always surprised when I visit a new studio that is fully equipped with the latest Pilates apparatus but does not have any Spine Correctors. I am also rather shocked when I have been invited to teach a Spine Corrector class, only to discover that I am teaching on […]
A Conversation with Lolita San Miguel – by Brett Miller
What a pleasure I have had today to have a lovely conversation with the charming and outspoken Lolita San Miguel. And I hope it will be a pleasure for you when I relate to you a little about our conversation. Lolita is of course well known so no in depth […]
Katharina of Moving Pilates and her Must-See Video – by Jehane Lindley
It’s often said that what cannot be said in words can be captured in images, but in this case neither would do when it came to expressing the complexities of movement. Movement is best experienced in movement itself and it is for this reason that Katharina Leitheiser made a film […]
Brett Meets Bob in Paris – by Brett Miller
Hello everybody, I am freshly back from my jaunt to Paris and my visit with the Mr Robert Wernick. There have been many new subscribers in the last few weeks, (very welcome, by the way, and thank you for subscribing), and in case you missed the fine article by Bob, […]
Patricia and Suncoast Pilates – by Patricia Massey Welter
What is Pilates? What does it mean to you?. These are two questions people sometimes ask me. An accurate short answer would be that it´s my job and my second career, but at a deeper level, it is a life changer. The truth is that it is a combination of […]
Joe Pilates – Learning to be an Animal
There is a happy band of people, of which I am an aspirant member, who are distinguishable anywhere by their springy step and “saved” look from the mass of their contemporaries who shuffle and shamble in untidy corpulence around us. We know that we are saved because we faithfully attend […]
Article for Pilates Intel – by Andrea Maida
I recently taught a client at Vintage Pilates who asked what had initially brought me to Pilates. After telling him my story he agreed it is the same reason many of us come to Pilates: pain and embarrassment. Spot on. My formal education is in the theatre and I also […]
Is Position Enough – by Brett Miller
One fine May morning I was lazily scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed when this comment grabbed my attention, “When we do the exercise correctly and the body is in its correct position, its true alignment- there is not thought nor need to fire the correct muscles that need to work, […]
A Peek at Michael King’s World – by Brett Miller
Michael Alan King Having spent the first 35 years of my life basically living everywhere, in the last 10 years I have been a one-city-kind-of-guy. Trained and certified in Stockholm it’s been great, though one drawback is that I have not been aware of the bigger world of Pilates. In […]
Master Teacher Kathy Corey Joins Pilates Intel
Hello dear readers, do I have BIG news for you today. So big, that once I again I am sending out a SPECIAL EDITION of Pilates Intel. It will be short and sweet, and exciting. I want to announce that the intelligent, vibrant and ever giving Kathy Corey is joining […]
A Review of Benjamin’s Workshop in Stockholm – by Brett Miller
Benjamin Degenardt was here in Stockholm early in June, and I was able to attend a workshop that he held at the beautiful and classical Pilates Scandinavia studio in Östermalm. It was a very rewarding experience and I thought I’d present a review of the day for Pilates Intel. The […]
The Pilates Mistress
As administrator of Pilates Intel, I am notified each time we get a new subscriber, with information of their name and email address. Out of interest, and if time permits, I Google the new subscriber to see if I can’t learn more about who they are, and what they do. […]
An Osteopath’s Approach To Pilates – by Jon Hawkins
Probably much like a non osteopath’s approach to Pilates I am constantly energised by how deepening my knowledge and experience constantly evolves how I practice. I initially started learning to be a Pilates instructor to fill a gap in my knowledge about safe and effective exercise for my clients, really […]
5 Pressing Reasons to Continue your Pilates Education – Andrea Maida
Romana’s Pilates Continuing Professional Education Seminar with Cynthia Lochard Garland Studios, Sherman Oaks, CA Post-workshop on Saturday afternoon, 5pm-ish…driving south towards I-5 after first procuring a treat for the trip back to San Diego. It’s been nearly 7 hours of Pilates, friends… Someone needs a cookie. The left side […]
From Sceptic To Convert – by Jehane Lindley
A new client walks in, they have been referred and this will be their first experience of Pilates. Unsure of what to expect but not believing it will be much, they sit wide-eyed, waiting. Recognising this ‘first-timer expression’ you approach them to do the meet and greet. For the most […]
Personal Profile – Jon the Osteopath
I guess you have noticed, we usually like to have an article about a person in the Pilates community in each edition. Today is no different. Want to introduce you to a sensitive and dedicated fellow who joined Pilates Intel a few weeks back, an Osteopath based in London, Jon […]
9 Myths and Misconceptions about Pilates – by Kathy Corey
When I tell people that I’m a master Pilates trainer, I get a lot of interesting reactions. People who practice and love Pilates are quick to ask their burning questions or express their envy at my “dream” job. But many people who are less familiar with the popular form of […]