"Pull the shoulders away from the ears." 

I bet that was a good reminder for you, wasn't it? Most of us carry our shoulders as earrings. Yep guys, you too!

But if we think of the same cue over and over and over, we tend to shoot beyond the perfect position, and start overdoing it. Too much...

Pilates often uses images to explain a movement. Since our mind and our body are communicating, images often create a shortcut between the two.  

You might have heard the image of suspenders before. It can also be called "ribs to hips." I like using the cue "put your suspenders on" or...

If you've missed the first part of this series, you can find it here:

Side Kick Series: Part 1

After learning the most appropriate position for the side of your body that's touching the floor (bottom arm and leg), we will now look into the movements of the top leg.

The moving leg is the one that...

One of the most common questions I hear over and over from clients is, "How many repetitions should I do of each exercise?"

At that point, I usually launch into a lengthy explanation of why I don't give a number. A part of the length of this explanation comes from my anticipating that someone...

As you probably know, the Chest Lift is a foundational Pilates mat exercise, which is part of many other exercises as well, i.e. all exercises of the Stomach Series (Single Leg Stretch, Double Leg Stretch, etc.), as well as The Hundred (on the mat and the Reformer), Coordination, Backstroke...

The Side Kick Series is a set of traditional Pilates exercises that improve core stability, spine stability and hip strength. There are many different version of it out there. In today's video I'd like to explain how and why they are different from one another. So, when you see the exercise done...

Let me start with a personal story. My mother had been diagnosed with osteoporosis a few years ago. She found out when her doctor detected a fracture in her sacrum.

Now you might think, “Oh that must hurt.” Well - not so much, actually. Many fractures, especially in the spine, are...

Many people new to Pilates know that this method strengthens their core. They often don’t realize that Pilates looks at every body part from every direction. Pilates teachers often find it frustrating, that the method gets reduced to “just” core, when it can do so much more....

The Stomach Series or Series of Five was created by Romana Kryzanowska, who studied with Joseph Pilates himself, in an attempt to strengthen her student’s abdominals. The exercises are: 

Single Leg Stretch
Double Leg Stretch
Single Straight Leg Stretch
Double Straight Leg Stretch
...

I like using metaphors to describe how Pilates works. The technical and anatomical language is not as easy to grasp. That’s why I share the symphony metaphor with each person who is considering taking up Pilates. It will give them a good idea whether this is something that might work for...