Category Archives: Beginner Basics

  • The Pilates Show! – Bellows Breathing: Breathing Homework for Beginner Clients

    Click the Alerts icon above for an email reminder when a new episode posts! SHOW NOTES: Have a question you’d like to see addressed? Have a comment? We want to hear from you – POST BELOW! Comment below, on Facebook, Twitter, or at the Forum! Interested in more in depth workshops? Check out our online […]…

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  • The Pilates Show! – Bumpy Belly Roll: Abdominal Awareness for Beginner Clients

    Click the Alerts icon above for an email reminder when a new episode posts! SHOW NOTES: Have a question you’d like to see addressed? Have a comment? We want to hear from you – POST BELOW! Comment below, on Facebook, Twitter, or at the Forum! Interested in more in depth workshops? Check out our online […]…

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  • The Pilates Show! – Monkey See, Monkey Chew

    Click the Alerts icon above for an email reminder when a new episode posts! In this episode, Casey chews over some release work. SHOW NOTES: Add your own thoughts on Jaclyn’s question here. Check out Philip Beach’s Archetypal Movements & the Erectorcises workshop here. You can order the green spikey balls used in this episode […]…

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  • The Pilates Show! – Hip Wellness

    Click the Alerts icon above for an email reminder when a new episode posts! In this episode, Casey hips us to some innovative reformer work. SHOW NOTES: You can comment on Elizabeth G’s question here: Check out great workshops related to Hip Wellness here and here. Get info on the Franklin Method here. Get info […]…

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  • Pre-Pilates Strengtheners

    We are constantly reminded of the toll gravity takes on our bodies and how much strength it takes to fight against it. This is easily demonstrated when we see that sweet elderly woman crossing the street with a hunched back craning her neck so her eyes can find the horizon. To begin fighting against the […]…

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  • The Pilates Show! – Mind the Curve: Scoliosis

    In this episode – Casey speaks from experience on Scoliosis. SHOW NOTES: Find info on SmartSpine™ products HERE. Add your thoughts about AlliS’s question on the forum HERE. Find info on our Release Workshops HERE. Find out about the props used in this workshop HERE & HERE. Have a question you’d like to see addressed? […]…

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  • Differentiation: Arms and Torso

    Learning and paying attention to differentiation skills is an essential building block of the Pilates Method. Realizing where the stability happens and where the movement comes from is a light bulb moment for a lot of clients. The Reformer is one of the best places to hone this skill because of all the feedback you […]…

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  • 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 […]…

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  • 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. […]…

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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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  • Shoulder Flexibility: Pre-Pilates Exercises

    As we have seen in a previous post, our shoulder anatomy is somewhat tricky. In many ways, it is a fragile and weak structure that needs to be very strong and very mobile to perform the many tasks we require of it. Performing too many of the wrong movements and not enough of the correct […]…

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  • Fingertip Abdominals

    “Core work” has become a worldwide workout tagline. And although most people know they need it, few really know what “it” is, or how to achieve it. This quick and easy explanation of how the transverse abdominals work, along with very direct hands-on cueing, starts to unveil what it truly feels like to be connected […]…

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  • Dracula Head Float

    The exercise shown on this video is an essential skill that your clients need to perfect before they move on to any of the exercises that require an ab curl. This movement makes all the difference in the world when it comes to spinal alignment and core activation. Most people’s neck flexors are lax and […]…

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