Our blog, formerly the Soapbox, lives on here. Meet our bloggers here, and read on below for useful insight for all things Pilates.

“In Joe’s studio the worst sin you could commit was to bang the carriage.

The 2nd worst sin you could commit was to make any noise with the clips.”

—Jay Grimes

The “clips” in the quote above refer to the double-ended clips that attach the two black straps inside the front of the Reformer for the short box series.
Some of you may know of my deep devotion to all-things Short Box. Nearly mid-way through Joe Pilates’ sequence of Reformer exercises, you can get a nice massage, do some exacting work and possibly make sparks shoot from your toes. More on that later.
or the Short Box series.

Do you step on the scales when you step off the mat? And then weep? You’re not alone. But it may not be all your fault, either. We tip the scales for a dizzying number of reasons.

When making a difference in our clients’ lives with the elite tools of Pilates, we’re typically teaching adults, not the younger population. I have to say that, as teachers, we should be using our education to make sure the next generation becomes familiar with Pilates and the benefits—for years to come.

I started a quest to find kids from ages seven to 12 and see what reactions I would get teaching them Pilates on Balanced Body ARCs. I found that after three months, each and every student was having fun and building his or her core muscles. Making 10 kids do the Stomach Series isn’t easy but in the end, I can say that they now have a clue as to how important their core and flexibility are to their overall health and muscle development.

Last month, we ran Part 1 of Kristen’s killer workout. Check it out below! As promised, here’s Part 2. Get ready to feel the burn!

by Kristen Matthews  Every time I tell my clients we’re going to use the Magic Circle, more often than not the response I get is “there is no magic in the circle,” and we all laugh. They view it more as a necessary evil, knowing it produces results. So when I was trying to think [...]

Take five (okay 10) and do the Series of Five. Both of them. You know the first: the fabulous abs series that starts with Single-Leg Stretch and ends with Criss-Cross. But what about the second? It’s for your nutritional mouth—not your mind/body core. This series of five foods is just as fabulous for your abs but in a nutritional way.

This is, with out a doubt, one of my favorite and most challenging exercises. The major focus is upper-body stability, coupled with core strengthen and the challenge of keeping the spinal and pelvis in neutral, making for an advanced exercise.