Boomerang is an advanced Pilates mat exercise where the whole body gets to join in on the fun. When you look at it closely, it combines several famous Pilates positions, like The Hundred, Roll Over, Teaser, and a little bit of Double Leg Kicks.

With so much going on, it's easy to make...

Watch me teach a few mat exercises to my student Bethany. We did 

• Bridging
• Pelvic Clocks 3-9 (1:45)
• Oblique Bridging (2:48)
• Chest Lift (3:55)
• Table Top (5:55)
• Dead Bugs/Arm Arcs (6:30)
• Dead Bugs / Toe Taps / Heel Taps (7:00)
• Swimming (8:05)

As you watch Bethany do the first couple of...

Imagine that your students have just shown up to your Pilates class. As you look around the room, you see people of all different abilities and experience. How are you going to teach a class that challenges each student effectively and keeps everyone safe?  

Layering is the single...

I addressed this topic already a few years back (as you can tell from this video of my younger self). We always seem to be in this rounded or hunched position all day and sometimes it seems we live our lives this way. It is really important to strengthen the muscles in the backs of our shoulders....

We usually picture the upper back as rounding backward, right? But if Pilates has taught us anything it's that each person is different. Maybe you've noticed that some of your students have flat thoracic spines. As you watch them move, perhaps you've noticed that the upper back also seems to...

There are too many bad planks in this world!!! This makes me so very, very sad! Relying on our skeleton to hold us up usually means that the lumbar vertebrae are getting all the load and are suffering.

Here is a video from a few years back (gosh, my hair was long!) I'll teach you how to first...

Roll over is a fun exercise to mobilize the spine into flexion. When the legs are overhead, you get a wonderful stretch in your hamstrings and the muscles that run along your spine. As you slowly lower your spine back down, you’re building abdominal strength and control. 

To perform...

Isn't it confusing when teachers use different names for the same exercise or the same name for different exercises?

We want to help you find the information you need quickly. Name confusion shouldn't have to slow you down! At the beginning of each chapter, you'll now find a list of Alternative...

The Stomach Series is great for increasing abdominal strength, control, and endurance. You're likely familiar with the exercises in this series. We have Single Leg Stretch, Double Leg Stretch, Single Straight Leg Stretch, Double Straight Leg Stretch, and Criss Cross. As you were reading this...

To prevent injury and move efficiently, we need our bodies to have strength and mobility. Maybe that's obvious when we're thinking about our muscles, but people who are new to Pilates might not realize this also applies to our spines.  

During their Pilates journey, they might start to...