"I breathe in when I push out and I exhale on the way in."

Great. This breathing pattern will help you control the carriage on the way in, and by cueing to inhale into the back ribs you can melt your rib cage onto the carriage, hence helping keep the front ribs together and the abdominals engaged...

The Pilates method lives in the details. We can get caught up in all of the many tiny adjustments. So when I come across a shortcut to fix someone’s alignment without saying much I frolic.

The three-point-contact is one of those shortcuts. Neutral spine is a term that has been obsessing...

Most of us are imbalanced in one way or another. One shoulder might be higher, one leg longer, the pelvis out of alignment. This is really fairly common, at least in the world of Pilates where we pay attention to such things. Are you wondering how to best exercise with imbalances?

1. Double up on...

Ankles that are flexible and strong are key to preventing injuries, falls, and compensations up the kinetic chain. A list of ankle stability and mobility exercises has been added to the Pilates Encyclopedia.

Here’s a few to get you started:

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• Balance on a half roller: foot...

When an area of the body gets injured, the local stabilizing muscles turn off to allow healing. Now that these deep muscles are not doing their job of stabilization, the larger more superficial muscles will take over a job that’s not really theirs. Once the acute injury phase has passed,...

Pilates happens on the inside. Videos of advanced Pilates exercises don’t show that work, the detailed work of muscles close to the joint. The magic of Pilates happens through verbal cueing (the teacher saying the right thing at just the right time) or through tactile cueing (supporting or...

When there is dysfunction in a certain area of the body the number of exercises that successfully trigger the target muscles without triggering compensatory patterns gets smaller.

It’s maybe frustrating to think that there is only a hand full of exercises that work for you, but instead...

In Standing Leg Pump - Facing The Chair, it’s the glutes’ job to eccentrically control the pedal. Most students press down using their quad concentrically, but forget to control the pedal on the way up.

Further, if the glute on the side of the body with the foot on the pedal is not...

Runners, this one’s for you! We have added a list of exercises to the Pilates Encyclopedia to help you improve your skills and prevent injury and pain. 

Here are a few to get you started:

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• Single Leg Bridge
• Improves glute strength
• Strengthens obliques
• Single leg calf...

When have you last used the Ladder Barrel in your practice? Me? Yesterday. It’s one of my favorite pieces of equipment. (Shh, don’t tell the Reformer.)

If you haven’t played on the High Barrel in a while, let me tell you why you should hop on it in your next practice....