Author Archives: methodpilates
A Lifetime of Moving Through Pilates
“Mens sana in corpore sano.” This was what I heard repeated frequently, even endlessly, it seemed. But as a teenage dance student, I had little idea, in the beginning, what it meant or who the mysterious “Joe” was who issued this dictum. In time, the explanations came from our instructor: “A sane mind in a sound [...]
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Pilates & Sports Conditioning
For more than six years I have taught Pilates Matwork at the Douglas Buck Community Recreation center in Littleton, CO. My classes were a “registered” class where participants paid an additional amount each month. Participants were mostly females who regularly practiced Pilates, with an occasional male participant. Last year my fitness supervisor and I tried [...]
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Adapt or Perish
We were pleased to receive interesting responses to last month’s article on the “Hit Parade”—our Top 40 Pilates exercises that will be the focus of Apparatus testing criteria starting in 2012. Many of you wrote in support while others disagreed saying that all of Joe’s exercises are important to teach, as they are part of [...]
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The Hit Parade
In last month’s Future Of Pilates article, I mentioned that, in 2012, we would only test Concentration 101 students on the “Hit Parade”, i.e. the 40 most used Pilate’s exercises on the apparatus. The response from readers was specific: how did we make these choices and what are the exercises? To answer the first part, we asked many [...]
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The Future of Pilates
I’ve been around for the BEFORE and the AFTER of Pilates. My own story starts almost 50 years ago, when many ignored the Pilates Method and aerobics ruled. Then, 20 years ago, I witnessed Pilates transform into a household name with ELLE magazine’s article, “The Early Morning Secret of Dancers.” Now, 20 years later, the [...]
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New Exercises to Get into the Swing with Pilates
Pilates is one of the most popular mind-body disciplines today with studios mushrooming across the world. International celebrities like Madonna, Hugh Grant, Rod Stewart, and Jennifer Aniston swear by it. But Pilates is also widely recognized and practiced by professional athletes, especially golfers, including Tiger Woods, Ernie Els and Anika Sorenstam. Although at first glance [...]
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Pilates in the Battle Against Cancer
My first Pilates class was a shock. I thought I was strong and fit. Since college I had been an avid fan of daily cardio and strength training. But in this Pilates class I was dead in the water! My first 100’s was more like a feeble 50. Roll up, criss cross, teaser? As I [...]
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Pilates & The Feet
The more I learn about and teach Pilates, the more I keep coming back to the feet. To make corrections in the feet when people come in for help with knee, hip, and back pain. Pilates himself seemed to emphasize the feet in workouts. Always starting with footwork on the chair or reformer and inventing [...]
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Pilates and the Octogenarian
I have taught fitness and Pilates for 19 years at Sentara Center for Health & Fitness in Hampton, VA (www.sentarafitness.com). Sentara is a medically-integrated fitness center that focuses on a healthy mind and body. Sentara is one of a group of 15 similar facilities administered by Power Wellness located in Michigan, Illinois, Pennsylvania, California, and Virginia. [...]
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Pilates and Fascia Release
Our daily lives shape our bodies, from our work, to our play, to what we eat. As a result of our daily patterns, we change our functioning bodies into ones that are strained, tight, and stuck. When we jump into a Pilates exercise program without addressing our tight areas first, we limit our development and [...]
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Pilates Practice to Improve Tai Chi and Yoga
After spending my youth practicing ballet, Balinese dance, gymnastics, and Chinese martial arts, physical movement has become natural for me. I continue my passion in the art of movement by practicing Pilates, Tai Chi, and Yoga in my adulthood. My own experience explains that Pilates is a very good practice to improve Tai Chi and [...]
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Pilates in the Workplace
As Pilates instructors we know that the benefits of Pilates are far-‐reaching. Pilates is so much more than just a series of exercises, it is a mind-‐body therapy that changes the way we move, think and interact. Far from just toning and sculpting, Pilates alters the way we move and hold our bodies in everything [...]
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Pilates and the Overweight/Obese Client
As Pilates Instructors we share a common desire to inspire within our students a passion for Pilates. Our collective purpose is to provide a safe, effective workout to students with varied levels of ability. The situation becomes especially complex when some of these participants, in addition to being new to Pilates, are also extremely overweight, [...]
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The Importance of Language
“To Thy Own Self be True” – Shakespeare Conveying positive body language as well as using positive verbal language used with clients is very important to achieving a lasting, favorable rapport. The best way to achieve this is through a high level of professionalism. The following is a list of the obvious: clean environment, cheerful, [...]
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Memories of 8th Avenue: Charles Harrington Elster’s Pilates Experience
“Pilates was just a name and a memory… something I’d almost forgotten about over the years… I had to laugh when I started to hear tanned celebrity types touting its benefits in infomercials and promoting Pilates as if it were some hot, newly discovered exercise craze.” My ears pricked up. My friend, the writer and [...]
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Pilates & The Chair
The History The idea of a lightweight chair with a central resistance/spring changing system was originally designed, patented and distributed by Joan Breibart and The PhysicalMind Institute. This is the only piece of Pilates apparatus that has a patent on its entire structure—not just one part. The redesign, an open frame with a longer pedal [...]
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Pitching Pilates
Getting an article published in a leading magazine isn’t as hard as it looks. The glossy pages of a national publication may be intimidating, but a well strategized pitch, (a short paragraph designed to sell a story idea), can be within reach. Follow these tips to make landing in Pilates Style a reality, and help put [...]
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The “All Inclusive” Chest Expansion
I am a physical therapist working in an outpatient orthopedic clinic with patients presenting with a variety of symptoms and functional difficulties. I decided to submit an article because I’ve found myself over the last few months saying “I love this exercise” quite regularly when treating patients with back & neck pain, shoulder pain/surgery, and [...]
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Pilates and Martial Arts
My early movement training included gymnastics, then dance. Later, I found Pilates and finally, Martial Arts. Throughout thisjourney, the common thread was attention to developing a supple base for the body, upon which the limbs articulated to describe a story, flip over backwards, or defend an attack. Currently, my Martial Arts training is focused on [...]
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Pilates and Dance
Joseph Pilates was not a dancer. He did, however work with several dancers like Mikhail Baryshnikov, George Balanchine, Rudolf von Laban, Hanya Holm and many more. The reason why so many people associate Pilates with dance is because Pilates took off when he moved to the states, opened up a studio next door to the [...]
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What’s In a Name?
Joan Breibart says: A famous homily tells us that as teachers, by our students we will be taught. When instructing your clinets, remember to consider carefully the way they react to your cueing; this can tell you what you need to know to improve your teaching! Joseph Pilates named his many exercises ion both descriptive [...]
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Freedom Through Pilates
Memorial Day 1998 was the day that my AHA MOMENT occurred. I can still see the sheets on the clothes line wafting in the unusually warm May breeze. I smelled the fresh cut grass, admired the vegetable garden that was just planted, enjoyed the quiet of both my daughters being with friends for the day and [...]
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Pilates & Balance
Standing Pilates® moves are quite hard to achieve, but it is worth the effort because they provide immense benefits. Like Mat Pilates, these moves create resistance through the body’s weight in relation to gravity; however, the muscle recruitment is quite different when standing because the base of support is so narrow: it occurs in the [...]
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The Challenge of Teaching Various Abilities In One Class
Pilates became a part of my life through dance. This background and training has given me the distinct advantage of coming into the discipline with a pre-established awareness of my body, alignment, and muscle groups. I realize, however, that while certain personalities are interested in the more fundamental side of Pilates, not all people enjoy [...]
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Collegiate Pilates
The University of Oklahoma offered its first Pilates course in 1996. At that time, this Matwork class was a largely unnoticed addition among the numerous dance department listings in ballet, jazz and contemporary movement. Fast-forward to today and Certified Pilates Teacher, Jennifer Sheppard, must gingerly step through a maze of over 30 blue foam mats [...]
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Asthma-Pilates as a Therapy
When I was asked to write this article I was concerned that it may come out sounding like an article that is about me and how I coped with my fitness restrictions with Asthma. I feel strongly that by sharing my experience, I hope I can encourage other asthmatics that they too can benefit from [...]
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Pilates 2.0
In tough economic times, the tough have to get going and blogs/social networking are a great way to advertise your studio. My studio, Pilates SF, has been in business for over 10 years. I operate from the entire first floor of a 3-story townhouse on a quiet cul de sac in San Francisco. I have [...]
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Ahead of the Curve: 80Bites & Pilates