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 […]

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 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 […]

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, […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

Mary Pilates – by Bonnie Hubscher

Issue #310 – Wednesday, September 9, 2020 Mary Pilates by Bonnie Hubscher Early in my Pilates career, and full of enthusiasm to share it, I held workshops to bring Pilates to people’s attention. Mary Pilates LeRiche was invited to be our honored guest speaker at one of these workshops and […]

Pilates at School A Dream Has Come True! by Eva Obenaus

Issue #309 – Wednesday, August 26, 2020 Pilates at School A Dream Has Come True! by Eva Obenaus I was a teacher of physical education and history at a Commercial High School in Austria from 1978 until 2017. In 2004, I started my Pilates education with Juliana Afram in Hamburg, […]

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 […]

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, […]

Coming into the Zone with Pilates – by Suzanne Martin

Issue #300 Wednesday May 5, 2020 Coming into the Zone with Pilates by Suzanne Martin Breathing is a major principle in our Pilates tradition. Mr. Pilates continually emphasizes breathing in Return to Life. I believe we can all agree that all movement starts with a breath as movement emanates from […]

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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

A New Twist On Snake/Twist – by ‘Swami’ Doug Bentz

A New Twist On Snake/Twist’ On Snake/Twist! by Swami Doug Bentz June 20, 2019   Seeing as it is nearly summer and everything is blossoming and glowing with a sense of new life, why not bring some “newness” into your Pilates practice and to your clients? My intent with this […]

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 Order – Learning from Romana By Tricia Dean O’Donnell

November 21, 2018 The Order – Learning from Romana By Tricia Dean O’Donnell In 1997, none of us realized we were observing history, while undergoing our teacher certification for The Pilates Method of Body Conditioning under the supervision of Romana Kryzanowska and Bob Liekens. There were many apprentices, sometimes nearly […]

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 […]