Issue #459 – Wednesday, April 30, 2025
Poking the Classical Pilates Bear
by Brett Miller
Longtime readers of Pilates Intel know that I deeply appreciate the “classical” method of Pilates—by that, I mean the approach passed down through Romana’s lineage.
My original training was in Stott Pilates, a contemporary style that gave me an excellent foundation to continue my exploration of the method. But even then, something bothered me. We were trained to be so cautious, so protective, that all the vitality and spirit of Pilates felt drained away. One understood that Joe’s original method was “wonderful but unsafe.” As a result, we were encouraged to use endless pads and props, even for basic movements like toe taps.
B – O – R – I – N – G!
So when I visited Siri Galliano for my first real taste of classical Pilates—straight from the Romana lineage—I felt a shift. Her teaching introduced me to the concepts of opposition and two-way stretch. I was immediately hooked. This was the start of my classical journey, which continues to this day.
Yet, I never bridged over to become a classical teacher.
Why? Because, like any group bound by tradition, the classical Pilates world contains a certain degree of fanaticism—one rooted in fear and blind adherence. This can lead to irrational defensiveness and hostility toward any new ideas. Rules get treated as gospel, while the depth and beauty of the method are often lost in the shuffle. All of this in the name of ‘being true to Pilates’.
(Side note: I fully expect both praise and criticism in response to this piece. And yes, it does take courage to speak honestly in the Pilates community. That’s a sad reflection of how fear, not confidence, so often dominates our industry.)
Here are three examples that highlight my concerns.
Reformer and Mat Transitions: Sacred or Sensible?
One of the most common refrains from classical die-hards is:
“The transitions are JUST AS IMPORTANT as the exercises.”
Really? According to whom?
Now, don’t get me wrong. Transitions can be great. They add fluidity, challenge, and beauty. But to claim they hold equal weight to the exercises themselves? That’s simply not true.
Take this example: You mount the Reformer any old way you want (not standing to sitting with your arms crossed) and execute an Overhead with great precision, your spine drinking in the movement. Then you skip the formal transition (AND the ‘holy’ order) and sit up to do Back Rowing, delving deep into opposition and two-way stretch. With those insights fresh in your body, you lie down again and repeat Overhead. Boom—new awareness, new depth, a greater understanding of Pilates.
That kind of detour? It can be life-changing.
And if you need external validation, watch this video of Joe Pilates working with Eve Gentry on the Reformer. Guess what’s missing? Transitions.
Spring Changing: Kindness or Heresy?
Another hallmark of classical rigidity is the idea that on the Reformer, clients should always change their own springs and straps. I’ve heard presenters passionately insist: “Never assist!”
Sorry, but they’re wrong.
Sure, it’s important for students to understand the equipment, and infusing that growth in understanding into your teaching is wonderful and necessary. But refusing to help when doing so might enhance their experience? That’s not teaching—that’s dogma.
Helping your client isn’t a betrayal of the method. It’s an act of kindness. Once again, Joe shows us the way. In the same video, he changes Eve Gentry’s springs and adjusts her straps.
So if you insist it’s wrong, are you willing to criticize Joe himself? Let’s hear it.
“On the Mat, only Light Weights and a Magic Circle”?
Sometime back, a popular Pilates blog tried to define the method for the public. It said:
“If you have a Pilates mat practice only, there is no equipment sanctioned by Pilates people other than a Mat, light weights, and a Magic Circle. Additional props like balls, bands, and foam rollers are not Pilates, and never have been.”
To which I say: Who exactly are these “Pilates people”?
Used well, additional props can absolutely enhance a Pilates practice. That statement ignores creativity, teaching strategy, and student progress. And it smacks of elitism.
Let me offer a concrete example.
Rolling Like a Ball is notoriously tricky to teach. I often struggle to convey the active, continuous “in and up” support of the power house during the roll—not just before and after. Many students collapse into the roll, losing the deep C-curve and crashing down with a dramatic splat.
Enter the flex band.
So is that not Pilates?
Let’s hear from Deborah Lessen:
“If you are working with a Pilates concept and you translate that onto an auxiliary piece of equipment—or no equipment—of course it is Pilates.”
Exactly.
I could certainly find many more examples of religiosity I have come across in the ‘classical’ Pilates world. They include:
You should never demonstrate for your students—your words alone should be enough. Because obviously, in a movement-based method, actually showing the movement would be cheating, right?
WRONG – if your student would benefit from a demo and you’re refusing out of allegiance to some unwritten rule, that’s not principled—it’s just bad teaching.
In Pull Straps on the Reformer, only one spring should be used, no matter the student’s size, strength, skill level, or how they’re feeling that day. Because sure—when in doubt, apply a one-size-fits-all rule to a method built on precision and personalization. Brilliant.
WRONG – adjusting the springs is thoughtful, intelligent, and exactly what good teaching looks like.
Doing a Reformer workout of 70+ exercises in 45 minutes is a GOOD thing—because nothing says “mindful movement” like flying through the work at breakneck speed, right?
WRONG – if that’s your idea of honoring the method, you’re not practicing Pilates… you’re blazing exercises and ticking boxes, not deepening the into work.
Final Thoughts
Let’s close with a quote from Pilates Elder Eve Gentry:
“Pilates is a concept… You can learn every exercise on every piece of equipment and still not know Pilates.”
If you insist that:
Transitions are just as important as the exercises,
helping a client with springs is wrong, and that the equipment on the mat, is limited to magic circles and light weights…..
…then even if you know all the exercises—you just don’t get Pilates.
The spirit of Pilates is not buried in rules. Let’s have the courage to drop all the rules while staying curious, open, and rigorous, In so doing then the good in the dogma will remain, and more depth and beauty in your work will be the result.
Brett Miller is the founder of Pilates Intel, he started his professional life in the world of ballet, working with various companies in the US. Later on he moved to New York and branched out into modern along with the ballet. Since then, he has lived in Finland and now in Stockholm Sweden.
Brett became a Pilates instructor in 2005 and has been teaching ever since. The intelligent technique that Pilates is, and the chance to continue to be physical, attracted him to this field after being so long in the dance world. Along with teaching Pilates and publishing Pilates Intel, Brett is a software developer for Ericsson.