Madeline Black has distinguished herself as an international leader in movement and exercise education. She is known as the “teacher’s teacher” for over 25 years. Madeline draws from her vast knowledge, continuous study and exploration of the body. She is seen in her field as the synthesizer, integrating movement science, osteopathic theory, manual therapy, and energy work creating an innovative, interdisciplinary approach to Pilates, Yoga and Gyrotonic. She coaches the most advanced teachers, raising the education and quality of instruction in the Pilates industry.
What sets Madeline’s teaching apart is her emphasis on clear instruction. From her lecture demos, to her hands-on work, to her educational and supplemental materials, participants leave her workshops immediately able to integrate her ideas and concepts into sessions with their own clients. Her accessibility, articulateness, commitment to Pilates, and decades of experience, makes her a beloved and sought-after instructor.
Madeline has instigated groups of teachers around the world who are Pilates practitioners following the body-mind set of her comprehensive and integrated approach. She offers in-depth coaching and workshops at Studio A in Berlin every year as well as presenting at major conferences.
A resident of Sonoma, California USA, Madeline’s home studio is Studio M Pilates. You can find info on Madeline's book Centered at www.madelineblack.com.
" I\'ve watched this several times, each time I pick up on something new. Thank you for the all of the details. "
Misty W (Upper Thorax: Vertebromanubrial Region )
" I love Madelines cues...and because they are different from mine they give me a different perspective and also more cues to offer clients "
Terisha T (Feet )
" I really found this workshop fascinating. I hope that I can start to incorporate more of these principles into my private sessions with clients. I especially appreciated Ms. Black\'s emphasis on lateral flexion and how it affects gait. "
Heather S (Functional Pilates through a Gait Focus)
" Thank you for the sharpness of your eye. Your diagnosis never stops stunning me ! This weakness of the TL junction (or unstability) is so overspread, your cues and breathing have helped me already with some of my clients and in my regular routines. Thank you. "
Caroline B (Lower Ribcage)
" Excellent workshop; especially liked seeing Madeline work with a non-dancer client. "
Michele C (Feet )
" Excellent workshop - really brought together the key elements of gait and was incredibly well formulated and articulated throughout. Would certainly recommend this to others. "
Jessie L (Functional Pilates through a Gait Focus)
" I enjoyed this workshop and they way Madeleine uses props for building body awareness,it s really necessary for many clients and relevant to add to teaching. "
ANNA O (Ground, Gravity and Embodiment)
" So wonderful for you to have this workshop available. Having good gait mechanics makes such a profound change is one\'s life. I like how the workshop addressed the body from the feet up through the thorax and manubrium, it felt complete. "
Cassidy M (Functional Pilates through a Gait Focus)
" Like always with MBM: precise, clear, easy to understand what to look for and how to proceed to reach to goal.Very useful "
Claude Chantal B (Functional Pilates through a Gait Focus)
" While this workshop is a little \"over my head\" in regards to assessment and treatment of a particular gait, I found it very fascinating and interesting. I will have to see it several more times for me to feel comfortable to actually use some of this in my work with clients. Thank you! "
Alexandra W (Functional Pilates through a Gait Focus)
" I have played with gravity and feeling grounded. This is a good reinforcement of that. The breath facilitating the bones relaxing into the ground to make movement more efficient is a concept I love and try to get my clients to experience. I enjoyed this workshop. "
Anna M (Ground, Gravity and Embodiment)
" Madeline Black is such a knowledgeable and lovely movement educator. Don’t miss out on this insightful workshop. You learn so much from watching her hands on and cuing. Just fantastic! "
Zoe F (Lower Ribcage)
" I really enjoyed this training on the rib cage... it gave me a better understanding about how the evaluate and help correct rib cage issues... Thank you! "
Gerolyn W (Lower Ribcage)
" It was very helpful information how to actually see a correct alignment of feet and hands on the exercises. Not only pay attentions to the feet but also looking at the pelvis to see how it effect the movement was very interested and learned lot to improve my teaching eyes to clients. Thank you so much for your wonderful workshop as always! Love to learn from you always. "
Aika M (Feet )
" Great cues! I had never been introduced to the idea of the aligning multiple diaphragms. It\'s a brilliant way of explaining alignment. I will certainly try to implement these ideas in my practice and my teaching. "
Lauren G (Mat Strengthening )
" Wonderful! I wasn\'t over-excited about the topic of feet and hands, but knew if Madeline was doing it, it would be worth it. It was so much more than that! The placement and movement of our hands and feet can change the way the rest of the body moves, the muscles we activate and can help to activate muscles we should be engaging but typically do not. I will use everything I learned from this workshop in every session I teach "
Kris B (Feet )
" I now look at the psoas in a completely different light. Along with gaining insight into the importance of the psoas in core integration, I gained valuable knowledge about engaging the entire core for stability and strength. "
Kris B (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" Loved it! The broken down explanation of the gait was informative and easy to understand. I have a better understanding of the relationship of the pelvis to the sacrum and the spine. "
Kris B (Pelvis in Motion)
" Once again, Madeline has outdone herself. Amazing workshop. I will be able to use so much information from the workshop and apply it to use in my teaching. "
Kris B (Upper Thorax: Vertebromanubrial Region )
" Fabulous! The knowledge I gained watching Madeline work on neck positioning will change the lives of so many of my clients. Stacking the diaphragms is a new way for me to look at my clients and make sure they are in optimal alignment. There is too much too comment on. The over working of the obliques and less engagement of the lower abdominals leading to thoracic flexion. The hips, rotation, reaching the scapula in rotation, extension - it was the most useful workshop I have ever taken. "
Kris B (Mat Strengthening )
" This is a really useful perspective for working with clients who have such challenges. Thank you for adding to my awareness and my PILATES toolkit! "
SEOK C (Lower Ribcage)
" Great workshop, inspired me to look at the Pilates repertoire from a new perspective "
Elvira K (Feet )
" This was one of the best workshops i have ever seen , or heard! Madeline is a very good teacher, who explained everything so clear and knows so much. Love to hear see more "
Alex J (Mat Strengthening )
" Wonderful workshop. I will keep this forever for reference. Thank you Madeline. "
Bern T (Lower Ribcage)
" Love all of Madeline\'s workshops. She teaches the kind that you want to watch over and over. Like a good movie. "
Cynthia W (Pelvis in Motion)
" As Always I love Madeleine\'s cues and attention to detail. I also love the picture in picture as it makes it easier to see some of those intricate details. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge! "
Terisha T (Pelvis in Motion)
" I love how clear Madeline is with her explanations. I did her Scoliosis workshop (live workshop) about 5 years ago, and I apply what I learned constantly. I love how each exercise was broken down and focused on the very small movements and initiations. I found it challenging on my own body and learned a bit more about myself. "
Erika S (Pelvis in Motion)
" Great workshop. Madeline explains in detail what to look at in your client\'s body to help them find the best alignement for them to build a strong foundation. Thanks a lot, I\'m rejoicing to watch her other worshops! "
Celine L (Mat Strengthening )
" This was an excellent training. Especially showing how small movements of the hands and feet have a great effect to increase the benefit of each exercise. "
Suann S W (Feet )
" I\'ve gained better insight of anatomy, function, and pathology of the psoas from taking this course. Madeline Black is a knowledgeable and excellent presenter. She is able to apply findings obtained in clinical studies to treatment interventions. I look forward to applying this new understanding while working with clients as both a Pilate\'s instructor and physical therapist. "
Thomas L (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" Thank you for the information presented in this workshop. I appreciated the ideas for the small movements that help a client stabilize and find local muscles instead of automatically recruiting global muscles . Having a client brand new to pilates was especially helpful in seeing how these ideas can translate. Looking forward to using ideas and cues in my teaching. "
Laura W (Mat Strengthening )
" 24 pages of notes later...GREAT videos loved the cuing to assist working with students. Looking forward to taking future online courses with you. Thank you! "
Kelly K (Mat Strengthening )
" I really enjoyed this video. Wonderful anatomy imagery! Thank you! "
Kris K (Upper Thorax: Vertebromanubrial Region )
" Good compliment to her book. "
Taeko B (Pelvis in Motion)
" Thank you for sharing the knowledge with us. This workshop helps me understand more about Psoas and the core muscles. And I have a deeper understanding of the exercises I have learnt in the Centered immersive course. Thanks! "
Zhenyu Z (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" As always Madeline Black's workshop was very detailed and informative. Great sequence of movements leading up into the full body exercises feeling the support from the lower ribs. Fantastic. "
Salome R (Lower Ribcage)
" It was an awesome workshop, I learned a lot. Thank you! "
Kayla P (Feet )
" This workshop has given me so much to think about. Madeline\'s explanations are wonderfully clear and she has given me some great practical advice to use on my clients. "
STEPHANIE H (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" This workshop was great. It reinforced concepts I already knew and brought clarity to others. "
Stephanie L (Pelvis in Motion)
" Madeline is an amazing teacher! Whatever she teaches is absolute gold. "
Tonya A (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" Such a great video. Loved several parts- tail wagging, bridging with rotation, pelvic clock . Explanation of movement was super . Thank you! "
Vicky M (Pelvis in Motion)
" Very helpful in determining postural imbalances... "
Shelly S (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" Good information about the Psoas muscle and integration as a core muscle. Descriptive ways for cues for several exercises. "
Marna W (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" *Fantastic* posture pencil tip. Lots of great information about how foot and hand alignment effect all of the Pilates work. Personally, I found the cues for foot position on supine mat work specifically helpful, since I had a better initial understanding of weight bearing going into this workshop. Great, specific cues very well explained. Thanks! "
Ilana K (Feet )
" Very informative, useful for many clients of all ages and abilities. "
Marideth S (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" Great information! "
Juliana T (Feet )
" Excellent course that I keep coming back to! "
maria r (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" Very detailed and very well explained. Wonderful work! "
Deanna N (Feet )
" extremely informative! "
Kelly H (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" I found the class very interesting. I enjoy taking classes from Madeline. I have taken other classes from her and she does do some of the sameexercises which does help me learn them the more I see them. "
jackie G (Mat Strengthening )
" Great workshop; lots of good techniques to help stabilize the TL junction! "
Kari S (Lower Ribcage)
" I enjoyed the workshop. It is interested to think about working distal to proximal. Thank you. "
Elizabeth H (Feet )
" as always the descriptions and the way to dive deeper into the work, into the body is enriching! thanks a lot! "
Edith D (Feet )
" I really enjoy the precision an all the great cuing Madeline offers in her workshops. "
Salome R (Feet )
" This workshop is a wonderful compliment to Madeline\'s book Centered. It will take several viewings to benefit from all there is to offer in these sessions. Thank you! "
Penny M (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" Great workshop Madeline! Wish I could take a private with you. I teach so much of these concepts already but got a lot of clarity on how to get my client into these positions better. Thank you! "
Karin T (Mat Strengthening )
" Lots to think about and lots to try by myself and with my clients. The anatomical images are very helpful to support the visual images and verbal cues in this video. "
michele W (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" Great! "
Ana O (Upper Thorax: Vertebromanubrial Region )
" I found this workshop incredibly informative. Although, the movements are familiar, Madeline always finds a way of making movements happen in an effortless manner and explains clearly, using good direct cues. Please keep the workshops and great tips coming! "
Sheri N (Pelvis in Motion)
" This workshop will make me look more closely at the TL junction, rotation progressing through the 4 regions of the thoracic spine and rib translation prior to rotation. It has already improved my teaching. "
Tracey M (Lower Ribcage)
" Wow! Great workshop for such a multi-layered subject! "
amy l (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" This workshop was great! Lots of wonderful information and techniques. I'm a Pilates instructor and I have seen this issue in a number of my clients. I will definitely use what I learned in this workshop to help them achieve better alignment, breathing and core integration. "
Nadia T (Lower Ribcage)
" Loved the course! "
Ginger P (Lower Ribcage)
" This was a great session. My favorite thing is how you strung it all together in a progression; so much easier to apply it to my clients! "
Darlene K (Lower Ribcage)
" Very informative and helpful in understanding the mechanics as well as good cueing and beneficial and practical exercises "
Christina J (Pelvis in Motion)
" Thorough and fascinating! "
karina b (Psoas as Core Muscle )
" She is a very good instructor. I enjoyed seeing her cue the movements in real time with the model. "
Leighton R (Upper Thorax: Vertebromanubrial Region )
" Very good workshop. I really appreciated! "
Marana De Moura N (Pelvis in Motion)
" Perfect explanation from Madeline Black! "
sonia E (Upper Thorax: Vertebromanubrial Region )
" I always learn great techniques from Madeline's workshops! "
Jennifer W (Mat Strengthening )