Movement Observation, Assessment & Programming

Seeing What Matters. Understanding Why. Knowing What to Do Next.

One of the greatest challenges for Pilates teachers is knowing how to move from seeing a movement issue to understanding it—and then creating a plan that helps the client move more efficiently and confidently. This workshop provides a practical framework for connecting movement observation, assessment, and programming so you can make informed teaching decisions with greater clarity.

You will learn how to identify movement patterns, distinguish compensations from limitations, and investigate the underlying factors that may be contributing to what you see. From there, we'll explore how to translate your findings into effective programming decisions: which exercises to choose, which to modify or avoid, and how to build a progression that supports improved movement quality and long-term success.

Through real-world examples, guided observation, and case-study analysis, participants will develop a systematic approach to answering three essential questions:

1. What am I seeing? (Movement Observation)
2. Why is it happening? (Assessment)
3. What should I do about it? (Programming)

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Recognize common movement compensations and inefficiencies.
• Develop a structured approach to movement observation.
• Analyze potential causes of movement limitations and compensation patterns.
• Differentiate between symptoms and underlying movement drivers.
• Select exercises that support the client's specific needs and goals.
• Identify when an exercise should be modified, regressed, progressed, or omitted.
• Design effective Pilates programs that address movement challenges while building client success and confidence.
• Create logical progressions that help clients move more efficiently and effectively over time.

Who Is This Workshop For?

Pilates instructors, movement educators, and fitness professionals who want to improve their clinical reasoning, sharpen their observation skills, and gain confidence in designing individualized, results-oriented programs.

Stop guessing what to do next. Learn a clear process for observing movement, understanding what it tells you, and creating programs that help your clients move better.

Details

Length: 6 hours with a 1 hour break

Requirements: we'll work with whatever apparatus or props you have available  

Contact us to host this workshop at your studio.

Register

• October 3, 2026 at PE HQ in Bethlehem, New Hampshire 

Successful Layering

Create Inclusive, Dynamic Classes Without Leaving Anyone Behind

One of the biggest challenges in group Pilates teaching is meeting the needs of different bodies, abilities, and experience levels within the same class. How do you challenge your strongest students while ensuring newer or less experienced participants feel successful and supported?

The answer is layering.

Layering is a powerful teaching tool that allows you to build exercises progressively, offering multiple entry points and levels of challenge without disrupting class flow or drawing attention to individual students. When used effectively, layering creates a seamless experience where every participant can work at an appropriate level while feeling included in the group.

Beyond class management, layering is also an invaluable assessment tool. By observing which layers a client chooses, struggles with, or succeeds in, you gain insight into their movement skills, confidence, coordination, energy levels, and day-to-day readiness. This makes layering particularly useful when working with new clients, as well as when adapting sessions to meet clients where they are on any given day.

In this workshop, you'll learn how to design intelligent exercise progressions, create fluid transitions, and use layering strategically to improve both the client experience and your effectiveness as a teacher. Through practical examples and hands-on exploration, you'll discover how thoughtful layering can transform the way you teach group classes.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Understand the principles and purpose of effective layering.
• Use layering to improve class flow and teaching efficiency.
• Create inclusive progressions that accommodate mixed-level groups.
• Challenge advanced students without leaving less experienced students behind.
• Use layering as an assessment tool for new and existing clients.
• Recognize how layering can reveal changes in a client's movement capacity, energy, or readiness on a given day.
• Design smooth transitions between exercises and levels of challenge.
• Apply practical layering strategies across a variety of Pilates exercises and class formats.

Who Is This Workshop For?

Pilates instructors and movement professionals who teach group classes and want to create more engaging, inclusive, and effective learning experiences for every participant.

Learn how to teach one class that works for everyone—without compromising challenge, flow, or individual success. 

Details

Length: 6 hours with a 1 hour break

Requirements: we'll work with whatever apparatus you have available 

Contact us to host this workshop at your studio.

Register

• Date + Location TBD

Make It Work

Practical Problem Solving for Pilates Teachers and Movement Professionals

Not every client fits the textbook. Not every exercise works as planned. And not every movement challenge has a straightforward solution.

As teachers, we're constantly faced with questions: Why isn't this exercise working? What am I missing? What could I try instead? How can I help this client succeed?

This workshop is an opportunity to explore those questions together.

Rather than following a rigid curriculum, Make It Work is an interactive movement lab where real-world teaching challenges become the learning material. Participants are invited to bring movement puzzles, client case studies, teaching dilemmas, exercise frustrations, and unanswered questions for collaborative exploration and discussion.

Through movement observation, live assessment, experimentation, and group problem-solving, we'll investigate what's happening, explore possible solutions, and develop practical strategies that can be applied immediately in your teaching.

This workshop is designed to help you move beyond formulas and develop the critical thinking skills needed to adapt Pilates to the individual in front of you. Together, we'll examine multiple approaches, test ideas, challenge assumptions, and discover new possibilities for helping clients move more successfully.

Part workshop, part movement lab, this choose-your-own-adventure experience allows you to focus on the teaching skills, movement puzzles, and client challenges that matter most to you.

Learning Objectives

By the end of this workshop, participants will be able to:

• Apply critical thinking and problem-solving skills to movement and teaching challenges.
• Explore multiple solutions to common and complex client presentations.
• Develop greater confidence in adapting exercises and teaching strategies.
• Learn how to create individualized approaches rather than relying on fixed formulas.
• Expand their movement and teaching toolbox through collaborative exploration.
• Refine their ability to analyze, troubleshoot, and respond to client needs in real time.
• Uplevel their teaching skills by refining cueing, mastering challenging exercises, and exploring more effective ways to communicate movement concepts.
• Gain practical solutions to challenges encountered in their own teaching practice.

Who Is This Workshop For?

Pilates instructors, movement professionals, and curious movers who enjoy asking questions, exploring possibilities, and developing a deeper understanding of movement through shared learning and discussion.

Bring your questions, your challenges, and your curiosity. Together, we'll explore what isn't working—and discover how to make it work.

Details

Length: 6 hours with a 1 hour break

Requirements: we'll work with whatever apparatus or props you have available  

Contact us to host this workshop at your studio.

Register

• October 4, 2026 at PE HQ in Bethlehem, New Hampshire 

Own the Room: 5-Day Teacher Development Intensive 

A Deep Dive into the Skills That Separate Good Teachers from Great Ones

Most Pilates instructors spend years accumulating knowledge. Fewer spend time deliberately developing the skills that transform that knowledge into exceptional teaching.

Own the Room is an immersive five-day, in-person intensive designed to help you identify where you are on your teaching journey, uncover the blind spots limiting your growth, and accelerate your development across the four pillars of teaching mastery: class planning, cueing, movement assessment and mindset.

Over five days, we'll explore what it truly means to progress from exercise instructor to expert teacher. Through movement, observation, discussion, hands-on practice, self-reflection, and collaborative learning, you'll gain a deeper understanding of the skills that create confidence, adaptability, and lasting client success.

Rather than focusing on memorizing more exercises or collecting more information, this intensive focuses on developing the professional judgment, teaching presence, and decision-making abilities that allow great teachers to thrive in any situation. You'll learn how the four pillars work together, assess your current strengths and growth areas, and create a clear roadmap for your continued development.

This intensive is both practical and transformational. You'll leave with new tools, new perspectives, and a deeper understanding of what is required to reach the next level of teaching mastery.

What You'll Gain

By the end of the intensive, participants will:

• Understand the four pillars of the Own the Room framework and how they contribute to teaching excellence.
• Identify their current stage of development and areas of greatest opportunity.
• Recognize common teaching blind spots and develop strategies to overcome them.
• Strengthen their skills in each area that support confidence, adaptability, and professional growth.
• Develop greater clarity around their unique teaching strengths and challenges.
• Build a personalized roadmap for continued development beyond the intensive.
• Connect with a community of like-minded teachers committed to growth and excellence.

Schedule

• Day 1: Teaching Skills Self-Assessment; overview of the 4 pillars and how they interact
• Day 2: Class + Session Planning Deep Dive
• Day 3: Cueing Deep Div
• Day 4: Movement Observation + Assessment Deep Dive
• Day 5: Mindset Deep Dive

Who Is This Workshop For?

Pilates instructors who are ready to move beyond collecting information and begin intentionally developing the skills that define exceptional teaching.

This isn't just a workshop. It's an opportunity to understand where you are, where you want to go, and how to become the teacher you aspire to be.

Details

Length: 5 days, 6 hours each day with a 1 hour break

Requirements: Please familiarize yourself with the Own the Room framework (membership required. Sign up here.) before attending the workshop. We also highly recommend you take the Own the Room 30-Day Virtual Bootcamp first (but not required). 

Contact us to host this workshop at your studio.

Register

• Sep 28-Oct 2 at PE HQ in Bethlehem, New Hampshire