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 […]…

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 […]…

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 […]…

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. […]…

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 […]…

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 […]…

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 […]…

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 […]…

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!…

Hip Trigger Points

Our bodies have an innate intelligence and will always organize around tightness. This sometimes creates more tightness in the process. When we find a trigger point in a certain area, it can be a complete surprise because we very often have not felt any previous tension or pain in this area. These are hidden puckers […]…

Footwork with Springs on Risers

Watch an innovative way to wake up the back body during footwork. By adding a spring above the knee, we add another way to find contrast inside the exercise. The extra spring also helps decompress the knees, feeds the femur head deeper into the socket, and aids in the rotation of the femur bone in […]…

Plank

You can focus on many areas in the same exercise. Watch a focus on buoyant, easy, neutral scapula placement in Plank on the Reformer. Learn how to create the awareness of easy shoulder blades on the ribcage and to keep that focus during Plank. Just holding the position without the glide out and in of […]…

Yoga Block Foot Work

Most of us have one side of the body and especially one leg that overpowers the other. See a simple exercise that can help balance the strength on both hips, legs, and feet as well as create better joint mobilization. All of this equates to easier, more functional movement! Thanks for watching! Leave us your […]…

Initiation of the Mermaid on the Reformer

The initiation movement of an exercise such as the Mermaid is a coordinated dance of the humerus, scapula, and upper spine. This key movement is essential for the exercise as a whole and it assures that the work is happening in the upper and mid back and not just pushed into the upper traps or […]…

Static vs. Moving Posture Check

Watching clients move when they think no one is looking can tell you so much about why some of their issues remain unresolved. How they stand, sit, get up, or even put on their shoes can give you clues about their habitual movement patterns in a way that not even equipment can tell you. The […]…

FFO Hits the Road! Sylvia Byrd-Leitner Instructor Showcase and Video

One of our biggest missions here at FFO is to foster community. In that spirit, we occasionally load some video gear into the FusionMobile and hit the road to go meet Instructors and Studio Owners in order to get to know them. A few months ago, we did a brief tour of the East Coast […]…

Overball Under the Head

Many of us hold a great amount of tension in our first two cervical vertebrae. The suboccipitals are small deep muscles that connect the occiput, C1, and C2. Watch a simple exercise on the Overball that will help clients to balance these muscles that nod the head forward and back, and rotate the head side […]…

Standing Splits

Learn to use the spring weight to balance your “Up the Mountain” muscles and your “Down the Mountain” muscles, and everything in between. The Reformer is a phenomenal strength and stability builder if used in the right way. See a very simple standing sequence on the Reformer and how just a change of the spring […]…

Lesley Powell from Movements Afoot Studio in NYC

We had a few minutes to chat with the immensely talented Lesley Powell during a break from shooting her new online Posterial Lateral Hip workshop. Take a moment to get a brief overview of her history and work.…

Anna Alvarez from the Pilates Method Alliance

We were thrilled to get a chance to catch up with Anna Alvarez from the Pilates Method Alliance for a brief discussion about what the PMA does. Please check below for more resources and for links to some of the subjects touched on in the video. Thank you to Anna and the PMA! Check below […]…

FFO Hits the Road! Chris Roberts Instructor Showcase and Video

One of our biggest missions here at FFO is to foster community. In that spirit we occasionally load some video gear into the FusionMobile and hit the road to go meet Instructors and Studio Owners in order to get to know them. A few weeks ago we did a brief tour of the East Coast […]…

Foam Roller Hip Openers

The foam roller has become a must in Pilates studios and gyms all over the country for good reason. It is a versatile tool that not only aids in myofascial release but also in balance. So many clients walk into the studio from hours in a sedentary posture, and it is not in their best […]…

Prep to Squat in the Doorway

Many people in our culture have a difficult time with a squat position because the closest we get to the floor is a chair. The squat position is essential to creating balance and ease in our hips and legs. It massages the internal organs to create better circulation. The deep squat position is a birthing […]…

Decompression of the Pelvic Organs on All Fours

Learn how to creatively cue the core structure on all fours. Through the breath, learn how to hug and lift the viscera and myofascia into and up the spine. This draws the leg bones deeper into the pelvis and immediately turns on the core. This is done by immense focus on hearing and integrating the […]…

Overball for Pelvic Clocking

The overball is a wonderful prop because it elevates and highlights the subtleties of pelvic movement. Before we can cue our clients to optimal alignment, we must first teach them how and why their pelvis moves at all. That knowledge then can be used as a powerful tool to change the body, and it is […]…

Spine Stretch in the Reformer Well

This has to be one of our favorite ways to teach the segmental articulation of the spine! Not only is this an incredibly supported posture to work in, but it just feels so wonderful. From the gentle pull of the springs to the contrast that it creates, it allows the clients to slow down and […]…

Footwork

One of the beautiful traits of the reformer is the limitless options it provides you and your clients. The springs play a huge part in this adaptable machine as they allows you to adjust tension and challenge the client as needed, even in the simplest exercises. The contrast between heavy and light springs is valuable […]…

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 […]…

Osteoporosis: Single Leg Work on the Cadillac with a Stability Ball

Coming up with variations and modifications for clients of special populations is an important part of being a successful Pilates instructor. With osteoporosis clients, and their need for limited spinal flexion, you need to think of ways to work the internal and external obliques in a nontraditional way. This exercise speaks to this need and […]…

Supine Leg Slide

Watch this video to learn how to read the body during movement. This exercise involves a very simple slide of the leg out and back in. Listen to the creative cueing to help the client stabilize the pelvis and spine as she moves her leg. Often, clients need very subtle cues to bring them into […]…

Short Box Ab

In this video we turn the classical Short Box on its head. This exercise is often not done very well, and there are good reasons for why. Learn tips to create better flexion and mobility in the lower spine. Your clients will thank you because they will finally be able to access the power of […]…

Marie-José Blom’s “Simply Challenging”

We consider ourselves incredibly lucky to be able to present Pilates legend Marie-José Blom’s first online workshop! If you know her work, then you’ll want to check this out ASAP! If you don’t know her work, please let us introduce you. As Creator & President of the SmartSpine® Wellness System, Marie-José has more than twenty years […]…

Tennis Ball Lower Leg Release

Good function of the foot and ankle is determined by balanced musculature of the lower leg. Watch the video to learn techniques to release the connective tissue between the fibularis and soleus muscles. These are great techniques that your clients can learn to do at home. With consistent massaging the lower leg can balance and […]…

Hug a Tree

Jennifer has a treat in store for you! Learn the proper muscle action and synchronization for exercises like Hug a Tree. See a Theraband wrapping technique that brings you into relationship and connection of the upper and lower core. The Theraband wrapping acts to tactically cue widening the sitting bones, narrowing the top of the […]…

Manual Foot Spiral

The composition of the foot is a myriad of osseous matter intertwining with connective tissue, muscles, and fascia. Our foot is a complex structure that, when aligned properly, is built to propel us through space with grace and ease. Unfortunately, so many people have lost the foot’s innate shape and spiral. It is our job […]…

Toy Soldier with the 1/2 Foam Roller

Scapular stability is a must when performing arm exercises, but often the shoulder girdle is so locked up that it is hard to locate neutral shoulder placement. It is only by exploring the shoulder and surrounding tissues that clients will be able to understand where they are in space, then eventually how to best achieve […]…

Green Spiky Ball Under the Glutes

Here at Fusion we are always looking for ways to make our clients more aware, independent movers. Nowhere is this self awareness more important than in a group class dynamic. While your hands cannot be on every person at once, there are tools you can use to help facilitate balanced movement by the clients. By […]…

Mat Spine Stretch with Thoracic Spine Focus

Spine Stretch is a classical exercise that requires flexibility, range of motion, and differentiation to perform with ease and proficiency. When done correctly, it should not only induce a beautiful thoracic spine articulation, but it should give a wonderful stretch to the spinal fascia and musculature. Just like most of Pilates repertoire, the devil is […]…

Knee Stretch

Pilates equipment is genius in its simplicity and versatility. In this video, see how a classical exercise like Knee Stretch can be turned on its head with a simple change of spring tension. This slight variation opens doors to new, fun choreography and strengthens the body in different ways. We hope you enjoyed this video! […]…

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 […]…

Osteoporosis: Single Leg Foot in Strap on the Reformer

With cases of Osteoporosis on the rise, it is vital that we Pilates teachers know how to handle this growing clientele. With spinal flexion off the table, you must get creative with the exercises to still bring a well-rounded practice to these clients. The equipment is very helpful in this endeavor. And any exercises in […]…

Centering Exercise: Lineup on the Footbar

As Pilates teachers, we need to be able to mirror back the body’s true center during exercises. Our clients rely on us for this. But we can also teach them to learn to find their center themselves. When a client has a hard time feeling where she is in space, a visual cue is quite […]…

Short Spine Massage with Hip Squeeze

There are many ways to teach and experience the short spine massage. Traditionally, it is taught in femoral external rotation. But for those clients who are stuck walking around with that external rotation every day, it is important to experience a more parallel leg positioning. The variation shown here is immensely useful, and it is […]…

Foot Rolling

How we digest gravity through our bones in our walking and running gaits is paramount to alignment and health. There is no better spot to start than the feet! Through these simple exercises with a spiky ball, you can help your client find more ease in the fan of the foot bones. This opening […]…

Prep to Squat on the Chair

The chair is the perfect piece of equipment on which to practice squatting. Instead of loading body weight onto a flexed knee and ankle, the spring and chair paddle move into the body so we can work on strengthening the leg without extra strain on the joints. This is essential for the pregnant body because […]…

Feet in Straps Frog

The Frog with feet in straps is a classic exercise. It can be done on the Reformer as well as the Cadillac and the mat with a theraband. This exercise is meant to strengthen the midline of the body by using a bent and extended leg. A neutral pelvis is key here. You don’t want […]…

Opening and Closing the Feet

The feet are a vital component to the alignment of the whole body. Sadly, most people pay more attention to what shoes they are wearing instead of the condition of the bottom of the foot! The health of the arch is directly dependent on how you move and use the feet. We are constantly exploring […]…

Rowing on the Overball

Rowing on the reformer is a full body exercise, so finding a way to bring that work onto the mat is a wonderful addition to any class. Also, by playing with the weights in the hands as well as shortening the levers of the body (i.e. bending the knees) this challenge is accessible to many […]…

Upper Psoas Release in Bridge

The bridge that is shown in this video is very different from the traditional Pilates bridge on the mat. What we are looking for in this exercise is a keying down of the upper psoas, which is found by releasing the ribcage back down to the mat by the breath, as well as cueing body […]…

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