Evolutions of a Pilates Practice by Tricia Whitlock

Issue #393 – Wednesday, November 22, 2023 Evolutions of a Pilates Practice by Tricia Whitlock As a Pilates teacher, I always remain a student. I am insatiably curious and forever inquiring about the mysteries, dualities, and resistances within myself. I desire to unfold and embrace them and foster this ability […]

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 […]

Living with Paradox – by Lauren Thompson

Issue #380 – Wednesday, October 5, 2022 Living with Paradox by Lauren Thompson  Paradox has become an increasingly apparent dynamic in our lives. Most of us have been feeling a persistent level of tension buzzing in our atmosphere from living between polarities. Learning to live with paradox has been a focus […]

Pat Guyton Remembers Bruce King

Issue #373 – Wednesday, June 22, 2022 Pat Guyton Remembers Bruce King “Movement in correct alignment produces correct muscular development.” Bruce King  As students we meet our teachers at one point in their teaching life. We are influenced by our teachers and by their practice of Pilates. Each of our teachers […]

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 […]

An Embodied Approach to Pilates – by Allie Greene

Issue #365 Wednesday, April 13, 2022 An Embodied Approach to Pilates by Allie Greene Allie, what is an embodied approach to movement? An embodied approach is from the “first person” perspective. This is our personal sensations, feelings, thoughts and how we experience the world – what it is like to be […]

Keep on Moving – A Family Affair – by Joanna Fergusson

Issue #362 – Wednesday, March 16, 2022 Keep on Moving – A Family Affair by Joanna Fergusson My mother has always been very active but alas, not so much recently. Four years ago, she underwent treatment for cancer. She already had osteoarthritis that was just about manageable, but the treatment aggravated […]

Pilates History – Pehr Ling and Knockaloe Camp – by Jonathan Grubb

Issue #361 – Wednesday, March 2, 2022 Pilates History – Pehr Ling and Knockaloe Camp by Jonathan Grubb There are many references in Knockaloe Camp newspapers to ‘free exercises’ being performed at the Camp and usually these references describe parts of gymnastic festivals which were held there. Free exercises are more […]

Pilates for Clients with Memory Loss – by Eme Cole

Issue #358 – February 2, 2022 Pilates for Clients with Memory Loss by Eme Cole I feel certain that if you’re subscribed to this newsletter, you understand that Pilates has many incredible benefits. I think that the ability to do Pilates for your entire life might very well be at the […]

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, […]

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 […]

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? […]

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. […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Pre-Pilates and Beyond – by Christina Maria Gadar

Issue #312 – Wednesday, September 23, 2020 Pre-Pilates and Beyond by Christina Maria Gadar   “I give people homework, like exercises to do in bed before you even put your feet on the floor in the morning. We don’t pop ‘em into a class and command them to do a […]