Pilates Tips from the Pros | FusionPilatesEDU.com

Neck Points

Having many varied exercises to give your clients as a way to warm up before class and as homework is essential. If they are practicing specific exercises and releases on a daily basis for just a few minutes a day, they will start to see and feel a big impact long term. Releasing the trigger […]…

The Pilates Show Mondays! – Kitchen Body Mechanics #1

In this episode, Jen brings Pilates into some every day tasks in the kitchen. …

Stability Exercises to Prevent and Heal Lower Back Pain

Our Core Muscles (those that literally hug the bones of our spine) stabilize and protect the spine, but the outer Global Muscles create the actual movement, such as an abdominal curl or rotation. (For more info on the Global Muscles, see the entry “Pilates Foundations: Core Activation.”) The Core and Global systems have to marry […]…

Call & Response: Leg Springs

The first step to detailed cueing is seeing where the imbalances are in the body. The second is to put that into words, images, and touch that will help the client to become aware and transform. Call and Response cueing is a powerful tool. We ask for a shift and the client tries to respond […]…

The Pilates Dork! “Sitting Bones”

Click the Alert icon above to get an email whenever a new comic has posted! …

The Pilates Show! – Your Inner Ninja and Wall Bouncing

In this episode, Jen is going to get all Ninja on your ass – and will answer a question about pre-tensioning of the fascia! SHOW NOTES: Find other posts about Fascial Fitness HERE. See the Preparatory Counter Movement and Elastic Recoil Post HERE. Check out these online workshops on Fascia HERE. Add your thoughts about […]…

Pilates and Rotation

When rotating our torsos, most of us find that we must retract the shoulders and/or shift our hips to turn our bodies. Moving in this way prevents us from accessing the many joints in our spine. Each vertebra has one joint on each side. There are seven cervical vertebra, twelve thoracic, and five lumbar. With […]…

The Pilates Show Mondays! – Morning Upgrade

In this episode, Casey shares her morning Joe ritual!…

The Pilates Dork! “Intake”

Click the Alert icon above to get an email whenever a new comic has posted! …

The Pilates Show! – Hanging Out with the Shoulder Girdle

In this episode, Casey is going to deal with Shoulder Girdle and will answer a question about men and the pelvic floor. SHOW NOTES: Find other posts about Anatomy HERE. Check out Lesley Powell’s Scapula Revolution workshop HERE. Add your thoughts about Margherita’s question at the FORUM! You can find some of the props used […]…

The Pilates Show Mondays! – Get On the Floor

Welcome to The Pilates Show! The Pilates Show Mondays are short episodes where we get the heck out of the studio and explore our Pilates Lifestyle. The main show is on Wednesdays where we’ll cover Pilates Tips and Techniques and answer viewer questions. On Fridays, enjoy our comic strip, “The Pilates Dork”. Join us every […]…

Fascial Anatomy

Ok, get ready. There is some mind numbing anatomy later in this post. But I want to tell you that it is all going to end up at a place where we can make sense of it. Of course for that to happen you might have to pull out 2 or 3 anatomy books. But […]…

Glute Strengthening in the Side Lying Position

Many of us have trouble toning and sculpting the sides of the glutes and upper leg. We often hear this area referred to as the saddlebags. As we learned in our last post, the gluteus medius serves to abduct the leg (moving the leg away from the center line of the body). This is the […]…

Good Postures for Labor

Arming your pregnant clients with as much information and skills as possible for an easy labor and delivery is essential as you are guiding them through this extraordinary time in their life. By practicing postures for labor, as well as breath patterns that go with them, your clients will be able to go into these […]…

Mat Leg Circles

Mat Leg Circles is a very important part of the Pilates repertoire. This exercise teaches so many beautiful skills for the clients to master such as lumbo/pelvic stability as well as differentiation of movement between the leg and the pelvis. The goal of the exercise is not that you complete the circles in their prescribed […]…

Back Lengthening & Opening with the Foam Roller

Here are some incredible self-massage techniques with the foam roller. This set of gentle back openings takes only five to ten minutes (depending on how long you have to hold them). These are great to do by themselves or before or after a workout to warm up or cool down. As always we want to […]…

Deep Hip Openings with the Stability Ball

We’ve explored some leg and hip openings using the stability ball. Today we are going to delve into the hips a bit deeper. You want to be warm before going into these, so take a brisk walk, for example, and start with some of the lighter stretches from the last article: hamstring, inner thigh, and […]…

Initiation of the Long Box Arms

Training the shoulder girdle can be a daunting task with clients. There is so much room for error when working with the arms due to their extreme mobility or lack thereof. Fine tuning and attention to detail is primary when working with this area of the body. The slightest rotation of the humerus can change […]…

Lateral Rib Cage Breathing

Building better breathers is a primary concern for Pilates teachers. If we can arm our clients with one thing, it is the power to cue into and work on their breath. This skill building is something that they can take with them in all facets of their life. We are primarily concerned with the breath […]…

Toning the Inner & Outer Thigh with Magic Circle

As we already know, the Magic Circle is an easy, inexpensive, and effective tool that will help you achieve your Pilates body. Try to find just twenty to thirty minutes a day to use your Circle to tone and lengthen. If you’re consistent you will start to feel and see the results within the month! […]…