Explore Pilates Insights for an Active, Balanced Life

I’ve been teaching Pilates for twenty years (!), and I’ve seen it go through many waves of popularity. I’ve also heard a wide variety of takes on who Pilates is for. It’s very interesting how one person’s idea of who Pilates is for can be completely different than what someone else might think. There are […]

I often say that Pilates helps you to move better for all the things you do in life. That’s why I love it so much when clients tell me of a win they’ve noticed in their day-to-day life that they credit to doing Pilates. Some “wins” may be obvious to outsiders, while others are much […]

During the holiday season, our routines tend to change a lot, and Pilates classes can easily slip to the bottom of the priority list. As a studio owner, I see more late cancellations in the weeks leading up to Christmas than at any other time of year. There are illnesses (yours or your children’s), last-minute […]

We have monthly themes at our studio, and this month we are focused on the feet. Feet often get ignored until they start causing us pain. If you can keep your feet healthy and strong, you can hopefully avoid or minimize foot pain and have a more solid base of support. Everything is Connected Pilates […]

Breath is one of the 6 principles of Pilates and, like with anything in Pilates, it can take time to master. In fact, I’m 20 years into practicing Pilates and I still catch myself not breathing in certain exercises.   I will never forget one presenter saying in a workshop that yes, the breath is important, […]

Most Pilates teachers begin their teaching journey as a client. They try Pilates and soon notice how it’s helped them in some way. They learn to love Pilates and what it does for their mind and body, and a spark is lit: they want to help others with Pilates, too.  Being a Pilates teacher isn’t […]

Have you noticed that there are certain exercises in Pilates that show up on both the mat and various apparatuses? My teacher says that her teacher (who was actually taught by Joseph Pilates,) would point out that you could tell Joe felt these movements were important and beneficial to most people. Some of the most […]

Have you ever heard the saying, “You don’t know what you don’t know”? It perfectly sums up my experience with Pilates. In the beginning, even after taking classes at my gym for a year and then doing a 40-hour Pilates certification course, I thought I’d learned so much! Looking back, I know now that I […]

There have been many times over the years that people have told me that they want to try Pilates, but that they need to work on their flexibility first. Surprise! You don’t need to be flexible to do Pilates. That’s because one of the things Pilates does is help you get more flexible… and mobile, […]

In last week’s blog post about Control, I mentioned how all of the principles of Pilates need to work together. Finding flowing movement in your practice is no different, with control and concentration playing a big part. I find that flow takes a while for most people, and I still have my own struggles with […]

Here we are, halfway through learning about the six principles of Pilates. We’ve talked about breathing and concentration, and are moving on to centering. In Pilates, centering means more than one thing, and they are often happening at the same time. There is:  I love the layers of Pilates, and centering is a great example […]

Last week I introduced the six principles of Pilates and shared a bit of the history of how they came to be. Next we’ll learn about each of them, starting with breathing.  Pilates Breathing I don’t know about you, but there have been times during a workout that I notice I’m holding my breath. I […]

Did you know that Joseph Pilates never spoke about the six principles of Pilates? He also taught very few people how to teach Pilates themselves. For something so structured, this is pretty surprising. After all, Pilates is a whole system that was thoughtfully designed to work together. While we certainly credit Joseph with designing this […]

How often you should do Pilates? As an instructor, I hear that question fairly often, and my honest answer is “it depends”. While Pilates can safely be done every day, that doesn’t mean you need to do that to see the benefits. Here are some things to think about.  Daily Pilates Pilates, as it was […]

Here in BC we have many rainy and cloudy days. It can definitely be difficult to stay motivated and stick to your fitness routine when it’s dark and dreary, especially after a long day of work. And once you slip out of routine, it’s that much harder to get back to it.  Since you know […]