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:

Mat

• 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! The most important movement skills for running are ankle mobility and stability, knee stability, and hip stability. Additionally, it is recommended to work on hip dissociation and trunk stability.

The exercises in this list do just that. Practice them regularly...

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....

Even though it is a small booklet of 65 pages, “The Art and Science of Cueing” by Eric Franklin is jam-packed with concrete examples and explanations about the delicate skill of cueing. Targeting Pilates, yoga and dance teachers, the book offers examples for each of these movement...

When your goal is to strengthen and correct your (student’s) feet and ankles, you have lots of apparatuses and exercises to choose from. But which would be best? Why should I do Footwork on the Trapeze Table instead of the Reformer? Let’s compare ankle dorsi- and plantar flexion...