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 […]
Breathing Techniques – Are They Really Good? By Brett Miller
Breathing Techniques – Are They Really Good? By Brett Miller May 9, 2018 The aim of breathing techniques is to increase breathing efficiency. Efficient breathing depends on the efficient functioning of the anatomical parts that are involved in breathing. And the efficiency of each of these breathing parts is, in […]
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 […]
Romana Kryzanowska – Maintaining the Integrity and Spirit of Pilates – by Amy Taylor Alpers
Romana Kryzanowska (1923 – 2013) Maintaining the Integrity and Spirit of Pilates by Amy Taylor Alpers Romana Kryzanowska loved life, and she lived a full, rich, colorful, satisfying, adventurous one, always surrounded by family, friends and students. She was part “American Annie Oakley”, part “Russian prima ballerina”, part “Peruvian shepherdess”, […]
Teaching More Than Mass – Quantum Science Made Easy-er ~ James Crader
Teaching More Than Mass Quantum Science Made Easy-er ~ James Crader I remember sitting in a Humanities Class, day one, and the professor writing the words “Homo Religioso” on the board and stating that’s what we are. Comparative Religion was my college minor. He went on to say that the […]
Pilates Breathing and “The Hundred” as Taught to Francene Perel By Mary Pilates
Pilates Breathing and “The Hundred” as Taught to Francene Perel By Mary Pilates I am so fortunate to have been taught by Mary Pilates, niece of Joseph Pilates. Mary was very emphatic about breathing as one of the fundamentals of the Pilates Method. I recorded Mary speaking and one of […]
Did You KNOW You Don’t Have To Belong? – by Sunni Almond
Did You KNOW You Don’t Have To Belong? by Sunni Almond Not to any Pilates organization. You can if you chose too, but it isn’t necessary, and doesn’t get you more clients. Are you shocked?!?!?! I was too when I found that out. You mean I don’t need to empty my pockets of all that hard-earned […]
Five Instructional Secrets by Sarah K. Negara
Get the pdf version by request at newsleter@pilatesintel.com.
Where do your limbs begin and end? Embodied Anatomy by Leo Pappas
Embodied Anatomy Where do your limbs begin and end? I invite you take a moment to consider this question before you read on – this could be very insightful and possibly tell you more than what follows here. There are many ways to answer this question. For example, if I […]
On Becoming Great – A Work in Progress – by Colleen Wenrich
On Becoming Great – A Work in Progress by Colleen Wenrich I’ve been doing this a long time. Recently, I calculated that I’ve provided more than 17,000 hours of teaching. The book says that makes me an “Outlier”. Still, I know I’m not yet “perfect” in the kind of […]
Building My Bridge – by Tracy Maurstad
Building My Bridge – by Tracy Maurstad Like a lot of teachers, I picked my initial training program the same way many clients pick a Pilates studio – mostly because it was conveniently located. In 2007, BASI offered its first training in Las Vegas. They had a good reputation, I […]
Some Science on Pilates and Depression – by Laurette Ryan
The Truth about Pilates and Depression – by Laurette Ryan Each day I am thankful for Pilates, for myself and countless others I know, for whom Pilates is a lifeline. I am a teacher of wellness and health – a Pilates teacher. 1 in 4 people can say “I have […]
About Pilates, Ribs and Spirals by Anna Schrefl
About Pilates, Ribs and Spirals by Anna Schrefl When we walk and run, turn, twist, bend forward or to the side, our spine needs to be flexible in order to allow these movements. In addition to the spine, our ribs need to have mobility as well. In our Pilates training, […]
Pilates Stopped Working For Me – by Karena Thek
Pic of Karena in the water – I had a great team to get me back in the ocean: Surgeon, physical therapists and Pilates Instructors! Pilates Stopped Working For Me by Karena Thek I’m one of those people. You know those people who credit Pilates with giving them back their lives, their […]
The Art of Breathing – by Kathy Corey
(Kathy Corey holding an original Pinwheel made by Joseph Pilates. Photo courtesy of Pilates Anytime) The Art of Breathing – by Kathy Corey In Return to Life (1945), Joseph Pilates wrote, “Breathing is the first act of life, and the last. Our very life depends on it.” Breath fuels our cells […]
Pilates & ADHD – by Laura Browning Grant
Pilates & ADHD – by Laura Browning Grant Background Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) was first classified in the 1920’s and was believed to be caused by a brain injury suffered at an early age. Though this theory has since been disproved, my personal research, observation and interaction with others […]
Balanced Body – A Game Changer – by Jana Danielsson
I started taking Pilates in the late 1990’s after seeing Madonna on the cover of Shape magazine – below her picture was the word ‘Pilates’. Being heavily influenced by pop culture – I needed to find out what this form of exercise was. I register for a mat class that […]
Getting Real with Deborah Lessen
Deborah Lessen has been around for a long, long time, and she is to me a cult figure in the Pilates world. I see her as the unofficial grand ‘teacher of teachers’ because she is sought after by many ‘big Pilates names’. I met Deborah last year at the PMA […]
The Pilates Wunda Chair™ – By Kathy Corey
Originally designed as the first piece of Pilates home exercise equipment and a living room chair for small New York apartments, the Wunda Chair is certainly one of the most challenging and effective pieces of Pilates equipment. Because Mr. Pilates wanted his program to be accessible to everyone, he created […]
My View of the Pilates Learning Process – by Christina Maria Gadar
When I was about fifteen years old my ballet school started to offer Pilates mat classes. This sounds great to me now, but back then I was a bunhead that only had time for ballet. I remember cutting many of those Pilates mat classes to practice my pointe work in […]
The Pedi Pole – by Kathy Corey
When I first started Pilates over 36 years ago, my back was in terrible shape. Due to a 30-degree scoliosis, one side of my back was overdeveloped and rigid while the other side was hyper-flexible. Coming from a dance background, I compensated by cheating my way through the movements which […]
Where Pilates Ends Garuda Begins – Brett Interviews James D’Silva
James D’Silva is the creator of the Garuda Method of exercise. The Garuda is known in Indian mythology to be a large sacred bird that changes its form according to its function. With a thriving studio based in London former dancer James D’Silva found ‘Garuda’ to be a fitting name […]
Q&A with Siri
Dear Siri, Can you give me advice on how to deal with clients who want to be “beaten up”? I sometimes get clients coming from a fitness background (these tend to be women, but can also be men) who don’t quite understand the depth of Pilates and the fact that […]
Masterminding a Pilates Workshop – by Tracy Maurstad
“First you jump off the cliff and you build your wings on the way down” ~Ray Bradbury When I needed some guidance with my first scoliosis client, I went to Twitter for help (in case you didn’t know, Twitter has a great Pilates community of generous teachers communicating 140 characters […]
Article for Pilates Intel – by Andrea Maida
I recently taught a client at Vintage Pilates who asked what had initially brought me to Pilates. After telling him my story he agreed it is the same reason many of us come to Pilates: pain and embarrassment. Spot on. My formal education is in the theatre and I also […]
Is Position Enough – by Brett Miller
One fine May morning I was lazily scrolling through my Facebook newsfeed when this comment grabbed my attention, “When we do the exercise correctly and the body is in its correct position, its true alignment- there is not thought nor need to fire the correct muscles that need to work, […]
Master Teacher Kathy Corey Joins Pilates Intel
Hello dear readers, do I have BIG news for you today. So big, that once I again I am sending out a SPECIAL EDITION of Pilates Intel. It will be short and sweet, and exciting. I want to announce that the intelligent, vibrant and ever giving Kathy Corey is joining […]
A Review of Benjamin’s Workshop in Stockholm – by Brett Miller
Benjamin Degenardt was here in Stockholm early in June, and I was able to attend a workshop that he held at the beautiful and classical Pilates Scandinavia studio in Östermalm. It was a very rewarding experience and I thought I’d present a review of the day for Pilates Intel. The […]
An Osteopath’s Approach To Pilates – by Jon Hawkins
Probably much like a non osteopath’s approach to Pilates I am constantly energised by how deepening my knowledge and experience constantly evolves how I practice. I initially started learning to be a Pilates instructor to fill a gap in my knowledge about safe and effective exercise for my clients, really […]
5 Pressing Reasons to Continue your Pilates Education – Andrea Maida
Romana’s Pilates Continuing Professional Education Seminar with Cynthia Lochard Garland Studios, Sherman Oaks, CA Post-workshop on Saturday afternoon, 5pm-ish…driving south towards I-5 after first procuring a treat for the trip back to San Diego. It’s been nearly 7 hours of Pilates, friends… Someone needs a cookie. The left side […]
How I fell into the Pilates retreat business – by Mareile Paley
Some years back, while living and working in Hong Kong, I got an unexpected and exciting request from the editor-in-chief of AsiaSpa Magazine: To go on (and subsequently write an article about) a Pilates retreat in Asia. “We are yoga’d out”, she said, “we need something fresh and different.” Full […]
From Sceptic To Convert – by Jehane Lindley
A new client walks in, they have been referred and this will be their first experience of Pilates. Unsure of what to expect but not believing it will be much, they sit wide-eyed, waiting. Recognising this ‘first-timer expression’ you approach them to do the meet and greet. For the most […]
Personal Profile – Jon the Osteopath
I guess you have noticed, we usually like to have an article about a person in the Pilates community in each edition. Today is no different. Want to introduce you to a sensitive and dedicated fellow who joined Pilates Intel a few weeks back, an Osteopath based in London, Jon […]
9 Myths and Misconceptions about Pilates – by Kathy Corey
When I tell people that I’m a master Pilates trainer, I get a lot of interesting reactions. People who practice and love Pilates are quick to ask their burning questions or express their envy at my “dream” job. But many people who are less familiar with the popular form of […]