Pilates Intel Online Newsletter for the Pilates Teaching Community

  (The second of an article series) For the sake of our Pilates for Athletes discussion I thought it would be interesting to teach two young athletes who’d never experienced Pilates and then interview them before and after their first Pilates session. C.S. is a 6’9” freshmen basketball player (center […]

  Reiner and the pilates-contrology-forum by Brett Miller With over 5300 participants, the pilates-contrology-forum on Facebook is the largest and most popular forum in the Pilates Industry.  With only certified Pilates teachers admitted to the group, the forum provides a place of connection, continual learning and a sounding board for […]

                 1.   Spiraldynamik®  – the architecture of movement   At one point in our history we decided to get up. We started to walk and run on two legs. In doing so, we have also chosen a certain way of locomotion.   Yes, we also could […]

  Having two careers is something I’ve always done.  Sometimes I can’t even imagine what it would be like to be able to come home from one job and have nothing else to do.  It started off 15 years ago with me being an aspiring Dancer and Accountant. Then I […]

  I was inspired to develop Rhythm Pilates after presenting at the Asian Fitness Education Expo, Hong Kong in 2008. The presenters that incorporated music to their classes were more fun and wildly popular.   There is an undeniable excitement and energy when uplifting music is incorporated to a Pilates […]

Here you stand (or sit perhaps), a well-educated Pilates instructor. You attended a respected teacher-training program. You observed and practiced under the guidance of one or more highly regarded Pilates mentors. And now you are a talented teacher, passionately working with clients every day and teaching them what you know. […]

 Well, for the record, Pull Straps and T (also called Arms Pulling Straps) have been high on my list of most loathed exercises for the majority of my Pilates career. Slowly over the last couple of years we have become better friends and I suspect one day I may even […]

Let us talk about arms-pulling-straps, a very well-known exercise on preformed on the Reformer, using the long box.  Arms-pulling-straps can easily be mistaken for an arm and shoulder exercise, but in fact it is an activity for the whole body.   It is important to remember that while the arms are […]

I never really meant to play golf. I grew up understanding that Golfstands for “Gentlemen Only Ladies Forbidden”. And then completely by accident, or a wrong turn at Albuquerque, I found myself trying to survive the scariest place on earth: a golf course. I am spending a lot of time as a […]

Hang on folks. I’m going to make a few generalizations here. No offense intended to anyone. My intention is to get you thinking and to elevate our industry so if you don’t mind, follow me down the rabbit hole please. A few years back in the US, boutique studios became […]

I am taking a deep breath (diaphragmatic breath… as I am not doing Pilates right now, only writing about it…) and thinking- where should I start my reply to Brett’s lovely article. I must start with the cat story because despite the smile it brought to my face I have […]

We are back at it again today with an online debate about a popular Pilates topic, breathing techniques, and my esteemed “debatteur du jour” is Amit Younger of pilatesod.com. I find breathing techniques useless and counterproductive, and in extreme cases life threatening.  On the other hand, Amit loves them.  Amit […]

I am always shocked when I teach at a conference or hear people talking about the history of Joseph Pilates.  There is still so much misinformation about the man and his life.  The Internet promotes these falsehoods with many articles that have not been updated.  In fact, while writing this […]

Pilates is a funny business to be in. A man created a program of exercise about a hundred years ago, and opened a studio space to teach it in NYC. But from what I’ve read over the years, it sounds like Joseph Pilates was generally more focused on the creating, […]

We Pilates instructors are skilled educators and motivators, who inspire people to engage in healthy lifestyle choices. We want all of our classes and sessions to flow from one movement to the next, and make everyone feel better and more energized by the end. So what do we Pilates teachers […]

When I was nominated to the position of committee head for the Authentic Pilates Union’s (APU) Charity Committee in autumn 2013 I felt as though my long time interest in Pilates and philanthropy had come seeking me. For many years I have felt that Pilates has a lot to offer […]

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 […]

We Pilates practitioners have certainly heard about that camp, that finds that using Gratz original equipment is superior, and even necessary to do Pilates correctly. Anyone subscribed for some time knows that I always welcome a difference in opinion.  As for me, I do not agree with this point of […]

We’re running a sale! Save 10% off. No, 20% off! Or how about $15 off? Check out our June specials. We’re sending you a come-back-to-us offer. We’re offering a special deal. And your first class is free! Discounts. They can be a valuable marketing tool or a destructive disaster. It […]

This piece is about my website Pilates On Demand (PilatesOD.com), but I equally want it to be a platform for discussion on the question of home practice as well as a few other topics the relate to our profession. I very much invite you all to comment on the below […]

Another fine article published at Pilates Intel. Teaching the Subtleties of Body Awareness & the Brain by Anne Bishop Body awareness is the ability to pay attention to and maintain perception of your body. It is the capacity to feel your body in movement and in stillness. Focusing on the […]

“It is the mind which shapes the body”. Friedrich von Schiller I had the pleasure of being invited to teach in Germany some years back. On my last day at work in New York City before departing, I asked a German Pilates instructor on my team how to translate a word I […]

It has been said that a business is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Although you may vividly remember the struggles of building and sustaining a successful business, your buyer may only see what appears to be some used equipment and a simplistic business model. It […]

Karena Thek is the author of OsteoPilates, Increase Bone Density, Reduce Fracture Risk, Look and Feel Great! (2003, Career Press) Is Pilates safe for osteoporosis?  It can be.  If taught with appropriate modifications, Pilates is safe for those with low bone density. In fact, not only is Pilates safe, but […]

We live in a lop-sided world.  The way we carry our bags, our books and our babies creates muscle imbalances and a dominant side of the body.  Add to that, one-sided sports like tennis, golf or baseball and we have intensified these misalignments and created asymmetrical patterns that affect all […]

I want to start by sharing a lovely compliment I received from a Facebook post by Joanne Elphinston. “We are so pleased to meet Brett, an insightful Pilates teacher based in Stockholm. One of his aims for Pilates Intel is to question and challenge the teaching and practice of Pilates […]

A short while back I had the good fortune of visiting the workshop of Fredrik and Elisabet Prag in their rural home outside of Stockholm.  Fredrik and Elisabet are both Pilates instructors, passionate about the classical technique.  They are also craftspersons; they design and build Pilates apparatus.  The purpose of my visit was to […]

As far back as I can remember, I hated the idea of selling. Having to convince someone to buy something? No thanks. It seemed so unpleasant. It didn’t look like a particularly noble profession, and it definitely wasn’t anything I wanted to do. Growing up, anything that involved a sales […]

Hi to Pilates Intel readers! Brett has kindly asked me to share a little about myself, and some of my experiences working with Pilates teachers. I’d be delighted – I really enjoy working with Pilates teachers, who I have found to be dedicatedly working to improve people’s lives from a […]

Right around now is the time I like the least in my business. In fact, I dread it… Good guess, but no, it’s not the tax season (even though that’s a whole other chapter). No, right now, I am about 5 weeks away from my next retreat and one week […]