Issue #357 – Wednesday, January 26, 2022 Twist Kneeling on the Reformer (an exercise I created) by Brett Miller In case you did not get the info from the title of this article, this is one of the exercises I use to get a person ready for doing a full […]
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 […]
Eugen Sandow and ‘Life is Movement’ – by Jonathan Grubb
Issue #354 – Wednesday, December 8, 2021 Eugen Sandow and ‘Life is Movement’ by Jonathan Grubb Life is Movement! They could be words from a page of one of Joseph Pilates’ books. In fact these words are the title of a book by Eugen Sandow which was first published in 1919. […]
Pilates: The Past in the Present (and Future) – The Making of a Documentary Series on 1st and 2nd Generation Teachers – by Marion Kessel
Issue #353 – Wednesday, December 1, 2021 Pilates: The Past in the Present (and Future) The Making of a Documentary Series on 1st and 2nd Generation Teachers by Marion Kessel The idea of doing a film on the Legacy of Pilates and those who inherited ideas and practices from Joseph Pilates […]
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 […]
Lost in Translation – How the Pilates Method Has Changed Over the Years – by Amy Alpers
Issue #351 – Wednesday, November 10, 2021 Lost in Translation How the Pilates Method Has Changed Over the Years by Amy Alpers When my sister and I first opened our studio, The Pilates Center (in Boulder, CO, back in 1990), and launched our teacher training program, we had basically one […]
Let’s Talk Springs – by Reiner Grootenhuis
Issue #350 – Wednesday, November 3, 2021 Let’s Talk Springs by Reiner Grootenhuis For us Pilates apparatus fans, springs are an essential part of the method. For each exercise and client, we try to choose the best spring setting for the body in front of us. Depending on the apparatus, […]
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, […]
Mind The Gap! – by Clare Dunphy
Issue #348- Wednesday, October 13, 2021 Mind The Gap! by Clare Dunphy I’m really excited about how technology is connecting us and making it possible to share the work of Joe and Clara Pilates with each other across the globe. I’m grateful for the imaginative ways our community has found […]
Teasers For Tatas
Issue #347- Wednesday, October 6, 2021 Teasers For Tatas by Melissa Miles October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, when dedicated organizations across the globe drape themselves in pink and remind women everywhere to screen via self-exams and mammograms since early detection is closely correlated with long term survivorship. It’s a time […]
The Wunda Chair – by Christina Maria Gadar
Issue #346- Wednesday, September 22, 2021 The Wunda Chair by Christina Maria Gadar Joseph Pilates described his method of exercise as the science of controlling the body, mind, and spirit, and coordinating all three. But in addition to being the genius who developed Contrology, he was also a furniture builder who […]
Getting ‘Hands-On’ with Your Clients and/or Loved Ones – by Gail Giovanniello
Issue #345 – September 15, 2021 Getting ‘Hands-On’ with Your Clients and/or Loved Ones by Gail Giovanniello One of the things I missed the most during lock/shutdowns was human connection and touch. I am an experienced hands-on instructor, and my hope is that this article will prep you with some […]
My Prep for “Teaser on the Reformer” – by Brett Miller
Issue #344 – September 8, 2021 My Prep for “Teaser on the Reformer” by Brett Miller In case you did not get the info from the title of this article, this is one of the exercises I use to get a person ready for doing a full Teaser on the Reformer. […]
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? […]
Hips don’t lie: Moving Through a Post-surgery Pilates Challenge with a Senior Client – by Ivan Zagorsky
Issue #342 – August 18, 2021 Hips don’t lie: Moving Through a Post-surgery Pilates Challenge with a Senior Client by Ivan Zagorsky When learning Pilates, you hear mentors go on about “precautions” and “modifications” for things like osteoporosis, spondylolisthesis, stenosis, and hip replacement. After teaching some generic group classes where clients […]
The Incredible Tale of the Incredible Sea Squirt (and what it means for us) – by Maureen Marcus
Issue #340 Wednesday August 11, 2021 The Incredible Tale of the Incredible Sea Squirt (and what it means for us) by Maureen Marcus Like all of you, I’m always looking/listening/scouting for information and stories to inspire my clients, and, truth be told, to inspire myself – to keep myself alive […]
Taking Off the Blinkers…without throwing the baby out with the bathwater! by Miguel Bengoa
Issue #339 Wednesday June 23, 2021 Taking Off the Blinkers …without throwing the baby out with the bathwater! by Miguel Bengoa So, what are “blinkers”? Blinkers are an eye covering that some people put on horses to prevent them from looking anywhere but straight ahead. There are teacher training organisations […]
Pilates, No Matter What! – by Mia LaMarca
Issue #338 Wednesday June 16, 2021 Pilates, No Matter What! by Mia LaMarca I LOVE exercise and, lucky for me, I also teach it. If you are an instructor and you identify with that sentence, then you know where I’m coming from when I say that though I don’t earn […]
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. […]
Extending or Extension: What are They and Do They Make a Difference? – by Suzanne Martin
Issue #336 Wednesday May 26, 2021 Extending or Extension: What are They and Do They Make a Difference? by Suzanne Martin Spinal extension makes us vertical people. Pilates sometimes gets a bad rap because its exercises seem too heavily swayed toward spinal flexion. Or are they? Joe Pilates did say, […]
The Heart and Soul of Pilates – the Mat Work – by Ana Caban
Issue #335 – May 19, 2021 The Heart and Soul of Pilates – the Mat Work by Ana Caban “No man – No machine can correct or create vitality, power, or health for you; everything comes from within; you have to unfold it.” -Joseph H Pilates I still remember the […]
Every Breath You Take…Pilates Paradigm Shifts and Going Against the Grain – by Ivan Zagorsky
Issue #334 – May 5, 2021 Every Breath You Take…Pilates Paradigm Shifts and Going Against the Grain by Ivan Zagorsky I find that Pilates is similar to Kung Fu – every school teaches their own style, even though the basic movements look similar on the surface and humans with the […]
My 22-Year ‘Hand-in-Hand Relationship with Pilates – by Mona Stedenfeldt
Issue #333 – April 28, 2021 My 22-Year ‘Hand-in-Hand Relationship with Pilates by Mona Stedenfeldt It’s Fall 1999 and a physical therapy colleague at Colorado State University announced that there was a Pilates course for physical therapists in Denver. Did I want to attend? Oh, did I ever! Pilates had […]
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 […]
Golden Gals – by Penelope Wasserman
Issue #331 – Wednesday April 7, 2021 Golden Gals by Penelope Wasserman My personal Pilates practice began in 1999 and it soon became clear to me that this was not like any gym or dance studio experience I had ever known. Although I never considered myself athletic – I had no interest in […]
3 Tips To Make Your Verbal Cueing More Effective Immediately – by Mara Sievers
Issue #330 – Wednesday March 31, 2021 3 Tips To Make Your Verbal Cueing More Effective Immediately by Mara Sievers Now that most of us are teaching virtually, verbal cueing has become the single most important teaching skill for Pilates teachers. Here are three tips you can implement immediately to better communicate […]
Is Pilates an Embodied Practice? by Joanne Elphinston
Issue #329 – Wednesday, March 24, 2021 Is Pilates an Embodied Practice? by Joanne Elphinston The term “embodiment” is trending widely through the movement, psychology and emotional wellbeing fields at present; movement professionals in multiple professions have been quick to claim it as a benefit of their practice. Often promoted as […]
The True Masters of Movement: Animals – by Christina Maria Gadar
Issue #328- Wednesday, March 10, 2021 The True Masters of Movement: Animals by Christina Maria Gadar I grew up in a household full of pets. At one point, we had a total of twenty cats (in addition to dogs, rabbits, chinchillas, guinea pigs, hamsters, gerbils, mice, gecko lizards, a rescued […]
Whose Business is Bad Teaching? Part 2 – Awareness of Self By Chantill Lopez
Issue #326 – Wednesday, February 24, 2021 Whose Business is Bad Teaching? Part II by Chantill Lopez “When teachers become aware of how aspects of their self affect their view of students, they are in a better position to process the multiple variables that contribute to a successful teacher-learner interaction.” […]
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 […]
Whose Business is Bad Teaching? Part I – by Chantill Lopez
Issue #324 – Wednesday, February 3, 2021 Whose Business is Bad Teaching? Part I by Chantill Lopez Teaching is human. To teach is instinctual, even if in the smallest, most unrecognizable form. I teach my daughter how to fold her clothes, put away the dishes, scoop the poop from the […]
How to Create a Scoliosis Diagram – by Erin Myers
Issue #323 – Wednesday, January 27, 2021 How to Create a Scoliosis Diagram by Erin Myers This post is the second in a series of how to assess a client with scoliosis so you can work them out safely. Scoliosis can present very differently from client to client, and my hope […]
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 […]
Hands-on Scoliosis Assessment – by Erin Myers
Issue #320 – December 9, 2020 Hands-on Scoliosis Assessment by Erin Myers Did you know there are millions of people living with scoliosis around the world? You may think it’s unlikely, but odds are one will walk into your studio someday. Are you prepared to work with them? I ask […]
What is Circular Pilates™ ? by Patti Kreiner NCPT
Issue #319 – December 2, 2020 What is Circular Pilates™ ? by Patti Kreiner NCPT Circular Pilates™ is a choreographed workout incorporating visually simple, but physically intensive, seated and standing exercises. The flowing, circular movements, combined with a certain symmetry and familiarity fueled by the breath, will free the body, […]
We’re Transitioning! – by Clare Dunphy Hemani
Issue #317 – Wednesday, November 11, 2020 We’re Transitioning! by Clare Dunphy Hemani It took me awhile to appreciate how powerfully transitions impact the work of Pilates. Their purpose and importance in our development as practitioners and teachers cannot be overstated. Let’s break it down and look closer at the […]
Review of Caged Lion – by Reiner Grootenhuis
Pic: Author John Steele with Joe and Clara Issue #316 – Wednesday, November 4, 2020 Review of Caged Lion by Reiner Grootenhuis As a Pilates Intel regular, you probably read the excerpt from John Howard Steel’s recently published “Caged Lion” here a few weeks ago. Time for a review and […]
Diving Deeper into the Pilates Matwork to Keep It Fresh – by Amy Taylor Alpers
Issue #315 – Wednesday, October 21, 2020 Diving Deeper into the Pilates Matwork to Keep It Fresh by Amy Taylor Alpers Pilates teachers often ask me, “How can I keep my Mat classes interesting – both for my clients and for myself? It’s so repetitive.” It’s basically the same […]
Pandemic Pilates! – by Teri Lee Steele
Issue #312 – Wednesday, October 14, 2020 Pandemic Pilates! by Teri Lee Steele On March 16th of this year, my husband and I packed our kids, pets and enough clothes for 2 weeks into our car and headed upstate to our house in the Catskills. We purchased […]
5 Common Mistakes in Choosing Exercise for Scoliosis – by Karena Thek
Issue #313 – Wednesday, October 7, 2020 5 Common Mistakes in Choosing Exercise for Scoliosis by Karena Thek You have a new client with scoliosis, and now you are researching the heck out of exercise for scoliosis. I get it. You are afraid of doing the wrong thing, choosing […]