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, […]…

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Glute Strengthening in the All Fours Position

The Gluteus Maximus is one of the largest and strongest muscles of the body. It originates along the top of the pelvic bones in the back and attaches to the rear of the leg bone. Its primary function is to extend the hip (to move the thigh to the rear). This is the first of […]…

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There’s Something About Mary

We were fortunate enough to spend the week with Mary Bowen here at our home studio (laboratory!) in Asheville, NC. The following is a short excerpt from a three-hour interview with Mary in her home studio in Connecticut. We hope to have the rest for you soon. Until then, enjoy! Let us know what you […]…

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How to Clean the Reformer

Your equipment is your co-teacher and you have invested a lot in it, so keeping it in good order and clean is of the utmost importance. Having the right kind of cleaner for the vinyl and the tracks and cleaning them consistently can be the key to keeping your equipment for decades. Keeping everything in […]…

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The Breath

Anything that grows high has deep roots. To understand Pilates, it’s important to start with a solid foundation. In this and the following installments, I’ll take you through the basic building blocks of Pilates that need to be mastered before employing more complicated choreography (the fun stuff!). Today, we’re going to talk about the most […]…

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How to Be Part of a Studio Team

Creating and maintaining a positive, successful, and expansive studio experience is all in the details. And the most important variable in this dynamic is the teachers who are employed there. It is imperative that the studio run like a well-oiled machine. The clients should have no idea of all of the gear turning that happens […]…

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Neutral Alignment

It is always so important to get back to the basics. And there is no better place to start than neutral spine placement. This is quite literally the backbone of the repertoire, so you not only need to know the reasons why we work with it, but also how you can get your clients to […]…

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Upper Back Strength & Flexibility with Classical Pilates Exercises

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 into categories, such as […]…

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How to Get Men to Participate in Pilates

We get this question on a daily basis. At our studio, we have a number of male clients who walk through our doors looking from anything from back pain relief to a better golf swing. The key to getting into the minds of the male clients is to always connect the exercises to real life […]…

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Working Out Versus Working In

This topic is a very important concept to talk about with your clients. For real body metamorphosis to take place, attention to detail, heightened awareness, and a good dose of patience is crucial. And as for you the teacher, you must be able to explain to your clients why you are doing what you are […]…

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Side Kicks on the Mat

Body Braille™ is one of our signature courses that teaches Pilates instructors how to read their client’s bodies in order to formulate a plan for what exercises will best help them reach their goals. In this video we’re going to take a look at how to use this technique during Side Kicks on the Mat. […]…

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Spinal Strength & Mobility

None of us want to move like a robot. We all strive to be graceful in our movement. But many of us find ourselves becoming extremely rigid as an outcome of the work we do in the gym. On the other end of the spectrum are those of us who are too flexible in the […]…

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Interview with Phillip Beach, Author of Muscles & Meridians

We wanted to re-post this interview with Phillip Beach from August to celebrate the launch of his first online workshop! Most of you already have Muscles and Meridians on your bookshelf, so you know what a groundbreaking work it is. Phillip Beach is holding some rare workshops in the United States in the coming months […]…

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Overball Ab Curls

Oh, how we love the Overball! This prop has so many uses! Today we explore how it can be used to facilitate ab curls, a cornerstone of the Pilates repertoire. With the instability and the support of the Overball, it is easier for the clients to access their core musculature while learning to flex their […]…

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Shoulder Strength, Part One: Shoulder Strength Exercises

The shoulder is the most mobile joint in the body. It can also be a very unstable structure because of this extreme mobility and range of motion. Shoulder injury is extremely common, due partly to the fact that the ball (the top of the upper arm) is much larger than the socket it glides within. […]…

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Spine Stretch on the Chair

Spine stretch is a wonderful exercise that can be executed in so many different ways in the Pilates studio. The chair is a great place to work for your more advanced clients. But by adding a simple prop into the exercise, this spinal articulation can be achieved by a more beginner-level client. This is a […]…

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Applying for a Job, Part 3: Offer to Teach a Session

Most studio owners are probably going to ask you to teach them a session as part of their consideration of having you work at their studio. This is the very best way for them to get a good reading on your style of teaching and to get an idea of your skills. My advice is […]…

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Different Attachments on the Cadillac

The Cadillac is such a wonderful piece of equipment, with so many ways to use it! Part of the fun is the fact that by changing the placements of the springs, you get varied types of work within the body. It is so important to cross train your clients with changing spring tensions. Just going […]…

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Advanced Magic Circle for Upper Body Strength

In this post we will look at few famous Pilates exercises: the Leg Pull Down, the Swan, and the Mermaid. Then we will add the challenge of the Magic Circle to the move. The Circle does give a bit more difficulty to the move, but you will probably feel more connection to your mid back, […]…

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Parkinson’s: The Importance of Springs and Bands

Pilates is amazingly useful for your clients with Parkinson’s disease or other neurological disorders.  This is where the Mind/Body connection can really be used to your client’s advantage.  Knowing how to cater to special populations is good for your clients, and for your business! We hope you found this helpful. Tell us your thoughts below!…

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