Pilates Tips from the Pros | FusionPilatesEDU.com

How to Care for Your Chair

A part of running a successful studio is taking care of your investment in your equipment. This not only makes sense fiscally, but also in terms of your client’s overall experience. It is crucial that your studio is a clean, safe, welcoming environment for your clients to walk into. It should also be cause for […]…

Carola Trier

Again today we are looking at where the origins of the Pilates work began. To understand the metamorphosis and the progression that this work has endured, we need to understand the people behind it. As Contrology got passed down exercise by exercise and then got translated into certification form, those creative souls that regard […]…

Why Does the Classical Repertoire Start with the 100s?

The Hundred exercise is the perfect blend of the breath work in conjunction with spinal flexion, abdominal strength, and shoulder girdle movement. Now these movement principles need to be warmed up to and honed separately before they can be put together within one exercise. So although in theory The Hundred is the perfect kick start […]…

Pilates Foundations: Core Activation

In this article, we will link all that we have learned about the Breath to our Core musculature. This is the golden key to working from the inside out! What it is: We hear so much in the gym and media about our Core Muscles and core stabilization, but not many of us know exactly […]…

Saw with Blankets and an Overball

The mat Pilates repertoire is brilliant in its entirety. The exercises flow into one another with seamless transitions. Each exercise is a preparation for the the one after it. But what happens when you cannot do all of the exercises the way that they were designed? How can we get the work to translate to […]…

A Brief Animated History of Pilates

We wanted to share our short history of Pilates video. This video is part of our Course Prep Program. We had a lot of fun making it. What do you think?!…

Leg Lengthening and Opening with the Foam Roller

In this economy, a massage therapy session is sometimes out of the question. Try these leg openings as your substitute for your therapist. These opening exercises will help to break up all those tight connections between the muscles, making you feel looser, freer, and more mobile. If you hit a spot on the legs or […]…

Spine Stretch on the Cadillac

Spine Stretch on the Cadillac can be done in a number of different, creative ways. Many ways are available to modify this exercise, from propping the sitz bones on a blanket to bending the knees to shortening the range of motion. Our end goal is to always find easier and more fluid articulation between the […]…

Stability Ball Exercises to Lengthen Legs & Open Hips

With its pliability, roundness, and fluidity of movement, the stability ball lends itself perfectly to supporting and encouraging stretching and opening poses. The next few exercises help to bring awareness and suppleness to our legs and hips that are often over used and in need of this much deserved TLC! Remember these following precautions when […]…

Upper Back Strength & Flexibility with Classical Pilates Exercises

What it is: To create true functionality in our bodies, we must have a balance of stability, strength, fluidity and flexibility. As we have seen in many previous entries, this concept of balancing the muscles and therefore the body is the core of the Pilates system. In Pilates we do not group our exercises […]…

Elephant

Elephant is a classical exercise that is taught often in the studio to work on upper/mid back stability, core strengthening and opening of the back body. By playing with the spring tension you can change the focus and muscle energy of the exercise. Your clients need both ends of this strength spectrum and everything in […]…

Pilates Glute & Hamstring Exercises with Magic Circle

Here are a few classical Pilates exercises with a Magic Circle twist! Adding the Magic Circle into the glute and hamstring exercises helps connect and fully engage the working muscles. There will be a definite learning curve to most of these and you may need to have a friend help you place the Circle the […]…

Side Footwork on the Reformer

Side body work is an important part of staying balanced, aligned, and strong. One of the hardest places to get into proper alignment in side lying is on the Reformer because of the restraints of the shoulder blocks, headrest, and footbar. The video below will show you how to prop the body in side lying […]…

Insurance Issues for Pilates Instructors

Why do you need to carry professional liability insurance? One big reason is that no studio is going to let you teach in its facility without it. And that’s reason enough. But more importantly, you should have the proper insurance to protect yourself. Any studio should have a liability waiver that they have each and […]…

Gladiator Theraband Leg Stretches

To truly lengthen any part of the body, we must have a point of anchoring out of which we can then grow. Ideally we want to have a fluid and systematic journey into lengthening. Unfortunately most people jam into their joint space and aren’t connected with how the breath helps to create elongation. In this […]…

Pre-Pilates Flexibility & Pre-Pilates Exercises

A flexible and limber body that is capable of moving in all directions is much less likely to experience any kind of injury. As we discovered in our last installment on upper back strength, we must have proper posture to work the strength of the upper back. Posture means length which in turn means flexibility. […]…

Wall Squat

Squatting is the golden pose for pregnancy, but many in our culture are no where near comfortable in this position. For most people, the joints of their ankles, knees, and hips must be gently taught and coaxed into the position. Having some kind of support in the squat position is essential. In the next video, […]…

Pilates Stability Exercises to Prevent and Heal Lower Back Pain

It’s rare that a week goes by without a new client walking into the studio explaining that their friend, doctor, or a magazine has told them that Pilates is the cure to low back pain. Well, yes and no. Just like everything else, a Pilates regimen needs to be balanced and tailored to the person […]…

Roll Up

The Roll Up done in its original form adds up to one of the most difficult mat exercises. To execute this exercise successfully, breath control, spinal flexion, core stability, and scapular integrity all need to be well oiled and ready to dance together through the flowing movement. Unfortunately we often see this exercise done with […]…

Diaphragmatic Breathing

To help clients create expansive breath both on the inhale and the exhale, we have to explore many breathing techniques. A brilliant place to focus when trying to balance and strengthen the breath is to work the muscle of the Diaphragm. The Diaphragm after all is our primary breathing muscle. When working to full capacity, […]…