In my world of Pilates, the one that I’ve created for myself, first in my body-mind, and as an extension of that in my local studio and my online Pilates Encyclopedia, there is only one Pilates, the one that matches the body who’s doing it. If you need to put a label on it, call me...

At first glance these two exercises seem to be very similar and you might be wondering which one to choose. Let’s look at each differing factor:

Getting The Feet Into The Loops

• T- Getting the feet into the straps is easier, the teacher can expand the springs to help, and table...

Have you been confused why some teachers (Pilates, or yoga) tell you to close your eyes and others tell you to always keep them open?

One of my students asked me yesterday what Pilates’s take is on closing your eyes versus keeping them open during your Pilates practice. This was my answer.

Try this variation of the Mermaid position. Even without this variation, the Z-Sit is a great hip stretch into external rotation (foot that's in front of you) and internal rotation (foot that's behind you). By adding these movements, you will additionally improve your hip mobility into extension,...

Here is a quick video in which I show an easy and effective way to correct yourself in Quadruped exercises, such as:

• M - Opposite Arm and Leg Reach
• M - Quadruped with Leg Abduction
• T - Hip Extension
• R - Reverse Abdominals: single leg variation

Summary:

• Keep your body perfectly still while...

While I was in Massachusetts for a fantastic workshop on adapting Pilates exercises for students with Scoliosis, I took a private lesson with Jill Hathaway, owner of Amherst Pilates. Jill’s story of how she got started with Pilates was incredibly touching. More than 10 years ago she had a...

The Pilates Encyclopedia will be going live soon! We can't wait for you to see it. In the meantime, please hang tight- we're almost there!

If you’re interested, I’d like to share a bit of my reason for building a Pilates Encyclopedia and update you about the progress. Here...

A ghost is what we call a small square of shelf liner that can be used to create more space in the wrist when weight bearing on equipment and also on the mat.

Alternatively on the mat you can use wedges.

When I first began building upper body strength I practiced all weight bearing exercises, such as plank, leg pull, push ups etc. with the wedge. Now that my arms and shoulders are strong enough, they hold my body weight up and there is less weight and pressure on my wrists. I don’t...

This list includes exercises that improve external rotation of the hip joint either by lengthening the internal rotators or by strengthening the external rotators.

Trapeze Table

• Hip Opener
• Side Lying Leg Springs: Passé

Reformer

• Thighs in Straps (springs assist external rotation and...