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.” […]
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 […]
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, […]
Pilates Wisdom from Jay Grimes – by Ana Caban
Issue #318 – November 18, 2020 Pilates Wisdom from Jay Grimes by Ana Caban When I sat down in Balanced Body Headquarters over 2 ½ years ago, I had no idea what an amazing and historical ride I was in for. I entered a conference room with managers of several […]
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 […]
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 […]
Position, Posture and Alignment – by Carol Robbins
Issue #308 – Wednesday, August 19, 2020 Position, Posture and Alignment by Carol Robbins Semantics is the branch of linguistics concerned with meaning. When we have a discussion with another person, it’s important that the words you use have a meaning that is agreed upon by both people or confusion […]
Ingredients of a Perfect Pilates Practice – by Mara Sievers
Issue #304 – Wednesday June 10, 2020 Ingredients of a Perfect Pilates Practice by Mara Sievers What comes to mind when you think of having a perfect Pilates practice? What’s the epitome of Pilates for you? Go ahead, close your eyes for a few seconds, and think of the first […]
Pilates for the Ageing Population – the Power of the Feet – by Amy Alpers
Issue #303 – Wednesday June 3, 2020 Pilates for the Ageing Population – the Power of the Feet by Amy Alpers I’ve been teaching Pilates for 30+ years now, and some of my clients have been with me nearly as long. Consequently, some are now in the “senior” classification. And […]
Motivation – A Critical Factor for Success by Adam McAtee
Issue #302 – Wednesday May 27, 2020 Motivation – A Critical Factor for Success by Adam McAtee The work of Pilates is vast; as time progresses, it may have a significant impact on one’s physical and mental fitness. However, one could argue that we only receive as much benefit […]
Joe’s Breaststroke by Reiner Grootenhuis
Issue #301 – Wednesday May 20, 2020 Joe’s Breaststroke by Reiner Grootenhuis There are certain exercises in our Pilates system which seem to be difficult when you do them for the first time … and they often stay difficult even when you keep on practicing them. For many of us, […]
Go Back To Your Studio – Your Clients are Waiting by Karena Thek (during Covid-19 Crisis)
From left to right: Forcius Marchus, Coiffus Perfectus, Antagonista Maxima with Whinius Caninus Issue #298 – Wednesday, April 22, 2020 Go Back To Your Studio – Your Clients are Waiting By Karena Thek (during Covid-19 Crisis) So. Here we are. A third of the planet on lockdown. And we’re only […]
Shifting Stances – by Penelope Shure
Wednesday, April 1, 2020 Shifting Stances by Penelope Shure Pilates stance was the first position I learned in the first Pilates session I ever took, 20 years ago. Footwork on the reformer, heels together, toes apart but not too far apart like ballet first position as I automatically went into. […]
Engage Deeper into your Teaching – by Clare Dunphy Hemani
March 12, 2020 Engage Deeper into your Teaching by Clare Dunphy-Hemani I think most Pilates teachers today share the belief that our lineage has value because the connection back to Joe, either directly or through one of his students (our elders), helps keep the tradition alive. It wasn’t that long […]
Is Demonstration of Exercises Beneficial to Learning a Motor Skill? by Chelsea Corley
March 4, 2020 Is demonstration of exercises beneficial to learning a motor skill? By Chelsea Corley We have all heard the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words.” As a Pilates instructor, when we demonstrate an exercise to a client, we are trying to give our clients a picture […]
Simulating Symmetry with A Roller on the Pilates Reformer Exercises – by Stephanie Herman
Feb 19, 2020 Simulating Symmetry with A Roller on the Pilates Reformer Exercises by Stephanie Herman Asymmetry in our bodies can have a variety of causes. It can be caused by compensation patterns, leg length discrepancy, scoliosis, accidents, cartilage deterioration, or many other reasons. Whatever the reason, there are methods […]
To Be or Not To Be a Teacher – by Kaisa Marran
Issue #289 – Wednesday, February 5, 2020 To Be or Not To Be a Teacher by Kaisa Marran Pilates teachers rock, they change people’s lives! Joseph Pilates may not have been a great teacher, but he was a genius, no doubt. He had an obsession where nothing stopped him working […]
Exploring Shoulder Differentiation – by Teri Lee Steele
December 11, 2019 Exploring Shoulder Differentiation by Teri Lee Steele As a student of movement, I always try to find ways to incorporate new ideas and information that I learn from Pilates into every other area of my life – from dancing in rehearsal to something as simple as walking […]
Only Time Will Tell – The Story of A Pilates Teacher without a Comprehensive Certification – by Genevieve Malcolm
December 4, 2019 Only Time Will Tell The Story of A Pilates Teacher without a Comprehensive Certification by Genevieve Malcolm The day I started Pilates is the day I learned that taking care of myself was perhaps the most crucial aspect of motherhood; if I wasn’t well in myself, others […]
Airplane on the Cadillac – by Reiner Grootenhuis
November 6, 2019 Airplane on the Cadillac by Reiner Grootenhuis Setup: Attach traditional leg springs at a height of 80 – 85 cm / 31.5 – 33.5 inches. The higher the spring attachment, the easier raising the body into the diagonal becomes. Supine position with the head pointing toward the […]
The Amazing Chest Expansion – by Clare Dunphy-Hemani
October 9, 2019 The Amazing Chest Expansion by Clare Dunphy-Hemani I guess if I had to pick one universally effective, versatile Pilates exercise (which in my opinion, should be taught in every session and for nearly every person), it would be Chest Expansion. It includes all the essentials of total […]
Forget That Cue! – by Mara Sievers
Forget That Cue! – Three Wrong Cues for the Shoulder Girdle by Mara Sievers August 21, 2019 Guiding your student with your words is a combination of skill and art. Sometimes we overuse cues or apply certain cues to a movement where it’s not appropriate. You might or might not […]
Why Use Directed Imagery? by Julia Wyncoll
Why Use Directed Imagery? by Julia Wyncoll August 14, 2019 I recently had a fellow Pilates teacher tell me, “Some of my clients don’t like images, so we don’t use them.” Well, I’m here today to challenge this idea, because it’s my belief that we are all using images all […]
“Does A Piece of Paper Make You A Teacher?” By Carol Monaco
Ron Fletcher Studio from the mid-eighties Top left to right Michael Podwal and Ron Fletcher Bottom left to right Diane Severino and Carol Monaco Issue #266 – Wednesday, May 22, 2019 “Does A Piece of Paper Make You A Teacher?” By Carol Monaco In 1973, Ron Fletcher opened his studio […]
It Does Matter – by Sabrina Ellen Svard
Issue #264 & #265- Wednesday, May 8 – 15, 2019 IT DOES MATTER! By Sabrina Svard I couldn’t figure out what was wrong. How did I get so weak so fast? None of this made any sense. I tried everything. I moved forward on the box. I moved backward on […]
“Fixing” My Rib Flare – by Nikki Naab-Levy
March 20, 2019 Fixing My Rib Flare By Nikki Naab-Levy As Pilates teachers, there are areas of the body that we are very aware of – in ourselves as well as in our clients. One of these of areas seems to be the ribs, or more specifically the rib flare […]
Love for the Baby Chair from Sunni A and Laura C
Feb 20, 2019 Laura Meets Baby (Chair) By Laura Cotler “The Arm Chair informs the rest of the workout,” said Andrea Maida, at her Solana Beach studio. The Arm Chair, also known fondly as the “Baby Chair,” or “Old Lady Chair,” wasn’t included as part of my contemporary Pilates trainings […]
The Art of Asking Questions – by Chantill Lopez
September 26, 2018 The Art of Asking Questions Why some questions aren’t worth asking and the right questions change EVERYTHING By Chantill Lopez “That feels great, right?” (Teacher as all knowing — You feel what I think you feel, right?) “Can you feel/find that?” (Teacher as mildly and […]
You Should Thank your Clients for Asking This Motivating Question by Holly Furgason
August 29, 2018 You Should Thank your Clients for Asking This Motivating Question by Holly Furgason I want to share with you the most important question my clients ask me. It’s a question that I’ve spent my career trying to answer. It’s a question that motivates me to improve my […]
Changes Romana Made to Pilates: Brett Interviews the Bob Liekens
August 22, 2018 Changes Romana Made to Pilates: Brett Interviews the ‘Great’ Bob Liekens Interview with Bob Brett: You know Bob, since I started taking your LEAP program, I have been impressed by how much you talk about how Romana changed and adapted things, allowing her to teach Pilates as she […]
The Short Box Series Deconstructed – by Clare Dunphy Hemani
The Short Box Series Deconstructed by Clare Dunphy Hemani Feb 28, 2018 “You are only as old as your spine is flexible” captures a key feature of the Pilates Method, speaking to the importance of a mobile spine as we get older. In our current work culture many people spend […]
Growing as a Pilates Instructor – Advice from Three Experts by Holly Nava
Growing as a Pilates Instructor – Advice from Three Experts by Holly Nava Feb 7, 2018 In January 2017, I made a big change. I quit my career of 15 years to become a Pilates teacher. I’d been feeling like my soul was slowly dying as I sat behind my […]
You’re the Expert: Be Brilliant Every Day! – by Clare Dunphy Hemani
October 18, 2017 You’re the Expert: Be Brilliant Every Day! By Clare Dunphy Hemani In every profession, Pilates included, the most effective teachers are the ones who can communicate in simple terms, so the subject matter easy to understand, appropriate to the level of the learner. Elegant simplicity is an […]
The Challenges of Teaching with Clear Intent by Peter Roël
Oct 4, 2017 The Challenges of Teaching with Clear Intent By Peter Roël CAN YOU MAKE MAYONNAISE? 3 egg yolks 3 – 5 tablespoons wine vinegar or lemon juice 1 ½ – 2 ¼ cups olive oil or salad oil or a mixture of each oil ½ teaspoon salt […]
Help Your Clients To Help Themselves – by Stephanie Behrendt PMA-CPT and Theo St. Francis
September 13, 2017 Help Your Clients To Help Themselves Sharing Session Responsibility with Spinal Cord Injury Clients This post is a collaboration by a trainer, Stephanie Behrendt, and a client, Theo St. Francis. In Pilates Intel style, we thought we’d shed some light on an aspect of training that […]
Continuing Education: Fast Track or Transformational Track? – by Madeline Black
Continuing Education: Fast Track or Transformational Track? by Madeline Black August 2, 2017 Every year, we all participate in workshops to elevate our work to better serve our clients, to be inspired, and (hopefully) to increase our value. Continuing our education brings us up to date on new research and […]
Mirror, Mirror, On The Wall?
Mirror, Mirror, Off The Wall by Carrie Pages Mirrors and movement disciplines have always gone hand in hand. I was a dancer and, for dancers, mirrors are intended to help perfect form and improve technique. I, however, used them to focus on every little imperfection I observed, which ultimately led […]