Calm seated twist highlighting focused breath work and easy embodied awareness on the mat. Embodiment is something teachers talk about often, yet it fades once you start teaching full schedules and taking on clients. When you are learning as a teacher you get plenty of natural practice. You move, you repeat, and you spend time in your own body. The shift happens later. Once clients fill your week your attention shifts to them and your own practice slips into the background. E

Colourful display of words that reflect diverse Pilates approaches and teaching identities. There is a lot of noise about classical and contemporary Pilates. The labels follow us around. People toss them into conversations as if they decide the value of the work. The pressure to pick a side feels constant. The name is not the technique. The technique lives in how you teach, how you think, and how you adapt. Your history shapes it. Your training shapes it. Your clients shape i

Balance between tradition and evolution in Pilates and yoga teaching. Yesterday I read a post on a classical Pilates social media thread that stopped me for a moment. The writer claimed that in the method you needed 25 personal training sessions before you were allowed into the open studio to practise. According to them, if you had not done those 25 sessions, you were not considered classical. This was new information for me. New, but not surprising. Even inside the classica

Malcolm shows a strong lumbar flexion curve, holding steady control through the centre. Pilates Movement Monday looks at the Short Box Series, a clear way to strengthen your abdominals and sharpen your control through the centre. The work looks simple, but the challenge sits underneath. You train the deep muscles that support your spine while the larger global muscles learn to move in harmony without gripping or taking over. Breath links the whole thing together. Set the Refo

Hand squeezing a soft ball to build grip strength during controlled Pilates work. Grip strength gives clear information about overall strength and long term health. Several large studies show this. A 2015 Lancet study tracked more than 140000 adults and found lower grip strength linked with higher risk of death from any cause. A 2018 BMJ review showed the same pattern in middle aged and older adults. The UK Biobank followed more than 500000 adults and reported that lower grip

Eyes closed to sharpen awareness, training movement through sound, breath, and pressure. Echolocation is a way of sensing space through sound. An animal sends out a sound, waits for the echo, then uses the returning sound to judge distance, size, and movement. Bats use it at night. Dolphins use it in water. It is a precise navigation tool. You will not make clicking sounds on the Reformer, but you can use the principle. When you close your eyes, your hearing sharpens. Your bo

Pilates Reformer used outside its intended purpose, highlighting safety and insurance concerns. The equipment you teach on has a purpose. The Reformer was built for Pilates. Every spring, strap, bar, carriage and pad serves a clear mechanical role. When you respect that design, you honour the method and you protect your clients. When you step outside it, you step outside your insurance. Many teachers do not realise this. They see movement ideas online, they want to add variet

Close up dragon eye symbolising sharp teaching focus and precise Pilates alignment awareness. Eye contact is one of the most effective tools a Pilates teacher has, yet it is rarely taught, practised, or even acknowledged. You can say ten cues in a row and still lose half the room, but one look at the right moment pulls a client back into their alignment, their breath, and their focus. It works because eye contact communicates presence. It tells the client that you see them, y

A thoughtful teacher reflecting on how experience shapes learning and the humility of mastery. After years of teaching, it’s easy to slip into certainty. You’ve seen hundreds of clients, corrected thousands of spines, and heard the same questions a hundred times. Yet somewhere in the comfort of experience hides a trap. It’s called the Dunning–Kruger effect. The Dunning–Kruger effect describes how people with little knowledge often overestimate their ability, while those with

A humanoid robot assists a focused Pilates client guiding movement on a Reformer machine. As headlines shout about robots taking jobs and AI replacing humans, it is worth taking a breath and looking at where Pilates teachers stand in all of this. The good news is that we are safe. Our work depends on what AI still cannot understand, human connection. When I was in China last week, I saw incredible advances in AI. Robots were taking orders in restaurants, scanning faces for pa

Focused eccentric control as the springs support balanced, continuous movement through the Pilates method. Springs are the heart of the Pilates apparatus. They create a resistance that feels alive, unlike fixed weights. On the Reformer, the Cadillac, or any spring-based equipment, the goal is not to overpower the spring but to move with it. Romana once told me, “Fifty per cent of the work should be you and fifty per cent should be the springs.” That balance defines the method

Forearm muscles engaged during a Reformer pull, highlighting the connection between grip and core strength. Grip strength is often overlooked, but it tells us a lot about how the body is functioning as a whole. It reflects not only the strength of the forearms and hands but also the efficiency of the nervous system, muscle coordination, and even cardiovascular health. Research consistently links grip strength with longevity. Lower grip strength has been associated with reduce

Detailed session notes reflect mindful teaching, ensuring every Pilates class remains purposeful and fresh. Teaching one-to-one Pilates sessions demands constant focus. When you work with the same client twice a week, the routine can easily become repetitive for both teacher and client. The challenge is to keep your teaching sharp, your mind alert, and your client inspired. Here are some ways to stay fresh and focused in your teaching. 1. Revisit the Basics Regularly: Even ex

Using the ball to challenge control, balance, and precision while maintaining alignment. Walk into most Pilates studios today and you...

A Pilates practitioner performs controlled leg springs on the Cadillac, focusing on pelvic stability. I spent the weekend with a group of...

A Pilates teacher demonstrates resilience in practice, using mindful control on the Reformer. Neuroscientists are now showing us what...

A Pilates teacher guides precise Reformer leg work, focusing on control, strength, and alignment. One of the most overlooked ways to...

Cadillac arm springs thigh stretch into swan, opening hips and organising shoulders with breath. Big backbends look glorious. They sell...