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...

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.

Q: My question is about finding cues to activate the lower abdominals and the pelvic floor. For example, in “The Hundred”, using cues such as “belly button to spine” or “bring the sit bones together” can create excessive pelvic tilting and/or the rectus...

Pilates is all about control, don’t we know it.

In this video, I’ll talk about how co-contraction of agonist and antagonist around a joint makes your movement fluid and your joints stable.

Often we focus on the first part of the exercise, pulling on the bar or the strap, and then we...

Joseph Pilates talks several times in his books about the importance of following the laws of nature when exercising. He unfortunately never specifies to which laws he is referring.

I came - undeniably a bit late in my life - across Newton's third law which states: For every action, there is an...

I received a question the other day about positioning the spine and pelvis while on your stomach. Are we supposed to tuck under?

• If you feel your lumbar spine shortening and compressing, then keep lengthening the tailbone, thighs and feet back towards your heels.
• Be aware of how it feels...

Neutral versus Imprinted.  Which is better?  What’s the difference?  I get these questions all the time and in the video below I’ll show you why an imprinted spine is transitional towards our goal of a neutral, natural spine and why your abdominal wall plays a huge role...

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...