Pilates On Tour®, Sacramento

This workshop is led by Board-Certified Gynecologist, Dr. Bruce Crawford M.D., creator of the Pfilates Method of plyometric pelvic floor training.  This course is intended for Pilates instructors and Physical Therapists interested in gaining an advanced understanding of pelvic floor neuromuscular physiology, common pelvic floor disorders, and ways of preventing the need for surgery. This course is appropriate for all instructors and provides an excellent way to demystify pelvic floor training.

The Ron and Romana workshop is an immersive gathering, bringing together to distinct Pilates lineages through the visionary collaboration of Kyria Sabin and Amy Alpers, second generation teachers and internationally respected leaders in the Pilates community. Kyria, Director of Fletcher Pilates and Disseminator of the Fletcher lineage of the Pilates method, studied with Ron Fletcher for over two decades and has been instrumental in preserving and evolving his legacy and lineage through the Fletcher Pilates School. Amy, co-founder of the Pilates Center in Boulder, and a direct student of Romana Kryzanoska, is widely known for her depth of knowledge and her commitment to Romana’s lineage and the classical repertoire. 
Together, Kyria and Amy have curated “Ron and Romana”, an event based on shared learning through thoughtful dialogue and lineage specific movement experiences, creating a rare opportunity to explore both lineages side by side. The full-day schedule includes a brief history of each lineage and underlying teaching philosophy, movement classes, workshops and a panel conversation, all designed to celebrate the unique contributions of each lineage, while encouraging community connection and mutual respect. For teachers, educators and devoted practitioners, “Ron and Romana” offers a meaningful space to reflect on the past, engage with the present, and shape the future of the Pilates method – together. 

Many individuals have asymmetries in spinal curvatures, spinal muscular strength, and spinal muscle activation, with scoliosis one of the primary underlying causes. Exercise such as Pilates can exaggerate these imbalances, or in contrast, with careful cueing and exercise selection reduce these asymmetries. Research suggests that addressing the rotational component of scoliosis is one vital considerations for reduction of asymmetries. After discussing the basic anatomical and biomechanical changes of the spine associated with scoliosis, this session will focus on utilizing counter rotation and lateral flexion combined with distraction of the spine to attempt to lessen the asymmetries and discomfort often associated with scoliosis. These principles will be applied progressively from standing posture to strengthening exercises to functional movement. Participants will participate in novel exercises utilizing elastic bands and Pilates apparatus, as well as learn cueing for classical exercises that can be utilized to maximize benefits for your clients. A sample mat class and sample reformer class that integrates the postural exercises learned in this workshop will also be provided. These exercises and cues can provide valuable spinal strength, kinesthetic awareness, and postural benefits for your many clients who have spinal asymmetries that are not considered due to scoliosis, as well as those with a diagnosis of scoliosis. 

In the half century since Ken started building the Reformer, the PIlates industry has grown from a well-kept secret to worldwide phenom. What was just a handful of studios, today is in the tens of thousands. Join Ken as he shares the changes that he has witnessed, and had a hand in shaping, the secret sauce that is Pilates, and his hopes for the future.

The Wunda Chair is wunderbar…there is no doubt! Did you know it used to be called the “Home Reformer?” Let’s delve into the intricacies of the classical exercises and how to let the chair do the work it’s supposed to do in order to give you and your clients the most incredible workout! 

The hip flexors are active in virtually everything we do from standing, sitting and walking to running, jumping and sleeping. Join Tom as he takes you through a series of exercises designed to better understand how the hip flexors work and how they can work better together. Combining the Franklin Method of experiential anatomy with practical work in the Pilates studio, you will come out of this workshop with a better idea about how the hip flexors work and how to train them for optimum function and wellness.

Joseph Pilates’ philosophy of a simultaneous development of body and mind are thought to be the root of physical and emotional joy.  Join Dr. Brent Anderson for a whole-body movement experience guaranteed to bring joy.  Brent will provide tools to all participants to ensure the balanced development of body and mind with your clients.

Plantar Fasciitis is a very common yet widely misunderstood painful condition. There are varying opinions as to what causes the condition and which treatment is most successful. As a foot and gait specialist, Plantar Fasciitis is the number one problem people come to me seeking help for, and I have had success with programming using exercises in the Pilates environment. In this course we will discuss foot anatomy and the function of the plantar fascia, look at different possible causes and introduce exercise programming for relief of plantar fasciitis.

Shelly brings a fresh approach and offers a new perspective on the traditional and more contemporary reformer exercises. In this workshop, we will work on movement to create the ultimate healthy body for ourselves and our clients plus explore how to integrate and progress exercises for all abilities.   
Each of the different movements will be used to prepare the body for more advanced movement on the reformer.  You will be able to use these tools and ideas immediately. 

Footwork is not an isolated warm-up—it is a primary organizer of the entire kinetic chain. This workshop examines how force, alignment, and load transfer from the lumbar spine through the pelvis, hips, knees, ankles, and into the feet, and how skilled footwork sets the tone for everything that follows. 
Participants will explore how variations in foot placement, spring load, and intention influence spinal organization, pelvic mechanics, and lower-extremity coordination. Emphasis is placed on identifying compensations, understanding common breakdowns, and using footwork as both a diagnostic and corrective teaching tool. 
Teachers will leave with a clearer framework for cueing footwork that supports spinal health, improves movement efficiency, and enhances client outcomes across the full Pilates repertoire.

Barrels gathering dust? Time to unlock their power for group classes! This hands-on workshop dives into Ladder Barrel, C Shaper, Spine Correctors, and Pilates Arcs—teaching flexion/extension gold that’s perfect for warm-ups, cool-downs, or circuit refreshers. 
You’ll master barrel sequences that build client “aha” moments in flexion/extension—supporting beginners and advancing pros, as well as Pilates Arc intros for mat or Reformer classes and how barrels elevate any practice. 
Bring client challenges—we’ll workshop barrel/arc solutions together. Walk away with flows ready for your next class. 

The rocking and rolling series of the matwork are wonderful ways to bring balance, coordination, flexibility, nervous system regulation, challenge, and FUN to your Pilates mat classes. In this experiential mat class we’ll explore ways to progress your clients into the rocking and rolling exercises so they can experience their many benefits. You’ll learn to include a variety of props to bring variety, challenge, and/or assistance to the exercises. Plus some novel exercises to bring rocking and rolling to unexpected exercises and transitions.

Breath is arguably the number one Pilates Principle. Defined as our “vital animating force,” breath consciousness is the key to understanding the Pilates method. In addition to oxygen, we can draw power and “inspiration” from each breath.
This presentation is designed review the anatomy and physiology of breath, as well as to clearly demonstrate how movement is inspired by breath – and how the concept of breath as inspiration to move can be carried beyond the Pilates studio to positively impact and influence the quality of athletics and everyday life movements. We will explore the concept of “inspirational breath” through movements on a variety of Pilates apparatus.

Madeline Black will lead a movement class on the Universal Reformer with Towers. This workout will be a whole body movement experience challenging the grounding points of hands and feet. Focus will be on the upper and lower extremity relationships with torso and its adaptions to force. The repertoire will vary from J. H. Pilates to Madeline Black methodologies of movement. Question and answer time is allotted (45 minutes) for inquiring about movement strategies of the class or any related questions to enhance human movement understanding. 

Ready to rev up your reformer? Join this workshop and learn sequences capturing both creativity and performance related strategies which integrate whole-body movement. We will explore and apply quality of movement which will help your athletes (and experienced clients) take their sessions to the next level by offering creative challenges that involve moving in ways that are non-inherent to their sport. The importance of multiple body positions will be addressed on the reformer and may add props. This session will provide you with plug and play ideas and guidance on immediate personal practice and session integration with clients, leaving you full of one of a kind ideas which will help you and your clients stay both strong and long.

Magic happens with all the horizontal work in Pilates’ Contrology! However, to make the work useful as you “return to your life,” you must do it vertically on your feet. Joe finished sessions on your feet so you could take the work home with you.
In this workshop, you will learn how to effectively put the work on your feet using the many arm spring and standing leg spring exercises. By challenging balance, strength, and control, you will experience arm spring exercises you already know in a different way. Additionally, you will get to practice lesser-known exercises under the instruction of Joel Crosby. Discover how to work muscles, the central nervous system, and the standing exercises.
Return home with a superior perspective on how to finish a workout. Your clients will complete their sessions feeling exhilarated.

Step beyond traditional Chair work and discover how the SpineFitter can transform familiar exercises into dynamic, full-body experiences. In this workshop, you’ll explore thoughtfully crafted Chair sequences that integrate the SpineFitter to enhance joint mobility, relieve muscular tightness, and deepen proprioceptive awareness—without sacrificing intention. 
By pairing the athleticism of the Pilates Chair with the therapeutic qualities of the SpineFitter, you’ll get the best of both worlds—building strength and control while simultaneously restoring ease and fluidity to the body. You’ll learn how strategic SpineFitter placement encourages deeper whole-body engagement, improves movement efficiency, and empowers clients to move with greater freedom both on and off the Chair.

Oh, there are seemingly man different ways to work with scoliosis in the Pilates studio! It can be confusing! In this workshop, we will work with the latest research on scoliosis and how to help your clients in the most simple and straightforward manner. We must also consider our clients’ emotional connection to their scoliotic spine. By that I mean: they have always been told that they are “damaged goods”…I couldn’t disagree more. How we work physically and psychologically makes all the difference in helping our clients, strengthen, develop greater mobility, reduce pain and limit the progression of scoliosis! 
Let’s play!

Haven’t you ever dreamed of flying – of floating in air with that weightless feeling of freedom and release from gravity? Pilates can make that feeling possible. It is the anti-gravity system, designed very intentionally to organize your body so wisely and naturally that you literally feel lighter and truly do defy gravity longer. However, it’s often taught from a more careful, slightly fear-based approach of stabilizing or holding parts of the body to prevent movement, especially in the case of injury. Instead, we can learn to teach from the natural truth that enabling and supporting movement through the amazing suspension system we all have in our own bodies is actually what heals. Utilizing the profound natural laws of movement, we can learn to teach a client how to move – not stabilize – in a suspension field of amazing bones, cables and fluids to develop the strongest, lightest, most powerful body possible. The geometry of energy. In this workshop we will discover how to teach the idea of suspension versus stabilization. Utilizing Pilates Mat and Reformer exercises we will explore ways of reconnecting to the innate  ‘tensegrity’ in our bodies. Tensegrity, the term coined by Buckminster Fuller, means ‘tensional integrity,’ or “the use of internal forces to overcome external forces, as in a self-supporting sculpture,” which defines this universal truth – a way of following nature’s design to achieve more results with less effort. 
Just watch Baryshnikov leap impossibly high above the dance stage and seemingly float there for a moment – or Michael “Air” Jordan jump into the air and actually appear to fly across the basketball court to make a dunk – and you know it’s humanly possible. And we all can do it in our way – we just have to reconnect with our own unique personal suspension system. 

Over the age of 30 you lose between 3% and 8% of your muscle mass every decade. Less muscle means metabolic slowdown, increase risk of falls and fractures and eventually loss of independence. Preserving your strength is one of the best ways to be healthier now and protect the quality of your life as you age. 
Research over the past ten years on Fascia and Hormonal Health suggests how sex hormones affect fascia,  Fascia has fasciacytes, receptor cells that respond to the hormones levels in the extracellular matrix.  
The properties of fascia including pliability and rigidity are affected by the levels of sex hormones throughout life.  The sex hormones affect the elasticity and rigidity of fascia by changing the different types of collagen in the dense fascia. In this workshop learn how changes in the properties of fascia influence mobility, strengths, coordination, motor learning and focus.  Learn to personalize movement programs to facilitate safe, injury-free training customized to the elasticity and rigidity of the deep fascia and the superficial fascia affected by sex hormones. 

The shoulder and its relationship to the spine is essential for most athletic endeavors from the mobility and power used in swimming to the stability used in bicycling. Take a deep dive into the complex actions of the shoulder and spine and learn to feel, see and train this area for optimum function on the Pilates Reformer. You will gain deeper understanding and appreciation for the synergistic actions of the shoulder girdle and spine. You’ll enhance your hands-on skills and personal practice with excellent exercises to improve health and performance.

This will explore how the traditional repertoire (Classical Reformer, Cadillac, Ped-o-Pul, Mat, and Wunda Chair) along with ballet foot conditioning exercises help prepare the feet, knees and hips for the Jumpboard. Workshop features exercises throughout Joe’s Gym and Jumpboard choreography.

The Pilates Method has been passed from teacher to teacher and teacher to student since Joseph Pilates brought it to New York 100 years ago. For the first 70 years, Pilates teachers were trained through practical apprenticeships where a student would work with an experienced teacher over a period of time. Now everything has changed. How do we make Pilates education effective and inspiring while respecting the vibrancy and depth of the original work? That’s the question for today. 

Let’s put a little Low Chair Love in your Heart! This workshop will challenge and build upon your Foundation level skills to help maximize your potential on the Pilates Wunda Chair/ Pilates Low Chair. Fall in love with exercises like High Bridge and let your heart soar with exercises like Swan Dive! 

In our modern world of extensive sitting and time on the computers our posture and spines and becoming more misaligned, imbalanced and compressed. This workshop will practice and embody a better understanding of the spine and what’s needed to take care of it on a daily basis for life.  
We’ll combine a Franklin Method lesson on the spine and how to use imagery, touch and movement to improve mobility and alignment prior to more traditional Pilates Mat with corrective exercises. We’ll also practice specific, incredibly effective decompression exercises for the spine using the ELDOA system created by Guy Voyer DO, to support health and improved function.

What is happening to the body when it is inverted? Madeline Black will share with you the how, what and why of inversions. She will show you how to prepare the client for going upside down, short spine, long spine, hanging and handstands. Inversions are challenging, healing and fun once they are accomplished. 

Mindfulness is on the move, both in the popular press and research communities. The benefits of a mindfulness practice are numerous; ranging from decreased stress, better quality of life, improved relationships, decreased pain symptoms – the list goes on and on. 
Pilates is described as a mind/ body form of exercise with a benefit of increasing mindfulness. But is that always true? Using the integrated Reformer / Tower Combo we’ll explore ways to increase mindfulness through breath, coordination, and nervous system regulation. You’ll leave with a full toolbox of new exercises using the Reformer and Tower that will allow you to make it mindful! 

The ankle-foot is a common site of injury and disrupted mechanics. This workshop will use data collected on foot contact pressures when performing parallel footwork standing upright and supine with the feet on the reformer footplate to derive recommendations for recognizing and correcting common technique problems such as excessive rolling inwards, excessive rolling outwards, and undesired excursion of contact pressures in a forward-backward direction. Participants will learn repertoire and cueing to aid with strengthening the ankle-foot complex and developing proprioception in this vital area, as well as links to aid with the transfer of technique from supine to functional standing positions.

The shoulder girdle does not function independently of the spine. This workshop focuses on the thoracic spine as the critical link between upper-extremity strength, scapular mechanics, and efficient load transfer through the arms. 
Participants will examine how thoracic mobility, rib positioning, and spinal organization directly affect shoulder function, stability, and freedom of movement. The emphasis is on integrating the thorax into arm work rather than isolating or “fixing” the shoulders. 
Through applied movement exploration and teaching strategies, participants will learn to cue arm work that supports the spine, restores shoulder integrity, and improves whole-body coordination. This workshop is ideal for teachers working with shoulder limitations, chronic tension patterns, or clients who struggle to connect upper-body strength to the rest of the system.

The Pilates Chair is the ideal equipment for practicing functional movements that are part of everyday life, improving postural awareness and having fun. This workshop offers a stimulating look at traditional and creative exercises on the chair with Shelly Power. This workshop will improve your practice and teaching on the chair and help you apply the new material immediately.

Being quad dominant, bi-pedal animals, we are perpetually moving forward in life. Be it walking, cycling, running or sitting in front of a computer, modern life has increasingly disconnected us from our backside, (ahem, our Glutes / Ass or Glass). Come meet your “glass” on the mat and find ways to connect with your posterior, wake up, illuminate and train the lower body in a variety of functional body positions and flows to use with yourself, your clients and in classes!

This workshop is designed to deepen your expertise as a Pilates trainer by moving beyond traditional approaches of “stretch this, then work that.” Learn practical mobility techniques that seamlessly integrate into existing training sessions on the reformer, trapeze, table, chair and ladder barrel.  Additionally, you will discover a variety of homework exercises to assign to your clients that can be performed off the Pilates equipment. You will leave with a repertoire of dynamic movement sequences specifically designed for mobility then immediately into strength. Expand your toolkit and empower your clients to achieve greater mobility and strength!

The feet create the foundation for every move we make. Imbalances, injuries, even a blister can cause us to change our movement patterns. Learn a variety of exercises for creating balance, strength and flexibility in the feet to keep your foundation strong.

Explore the benefits of single-spring usage and unleash creativity in your group classes without overwhelming complexity. Transform your Reformer classes with a workshop focused on using just one spring. Discover the simplicity of this approach, allowing for enhanced focus on form, breathing, and alignment. Learn how to layer exercises and maintain consistent resistance throughout the session. You’ll learn to adapt mat exercises to the Reformer, maximize studio space and optimize everyone’s experience.

If there is one series in Pilates that clients and teachers love to skip its the Stomach Massage! Where’s the massage part in it? Why are my pants coming off? What is this for? In this workshop learn to not only love Stomach Massage and keep your Pilates Pants on but also how it can be the teacher for some of the most basic Pilates exercises to the most advanced.

CrossFit, Tough Mudder, American Ninja Warrior…oh my!  This workshop will radically expand your potential to retain clients who love the extreme.  Learn to speak their language while you showcase the importance of the Pilates system in “their world”.  Discover creative movement sequences on the Pilates Chair and small togu ball that will surely keep your extreme clients asking for more.

Pilates can be just another workout or…it can be more! A lot more! When Pilates works it’s astounding! What makes it work and why does it fail when it fails? That’s important to explore! One aspect that is often missed and leads to less success in Pilates is the development of proprioception and interoception. Proprioception is the awareness of where you are in space. Interoception is the awareness of what is working inside of you. Both are essential to helping our clients achieve their physical goals and the goals we actually have for them! (The ones they don’t even know about!) Let’s discover how to cue into proprioception and interoception to help our clients and ourselves get stronger, more limber, have better balance and be more dynamic in our movements! Let’s make your classes and sessions more dynamic and successful!

The number of factors that influence how we move seems to be growing – factors such as perception, genetics and biological to psychological influences.  Learn with Dr. Brent how these factors can be considered and managed when working with individuals suffering from chronic pain.  Research shows that education can reduce pain by as much as 30%.  Learn powerful tools that you can apply immediately with your clients to encourage independence and healthier movement behavior in your clients.

Rotational imbalances are often a source of physical limitations as well as low back pain. Drawn from Advanced Movement Principles: The Low Back, this workshop takes a deep and detailed look at assessing and improving rotational imbalances in the core. We begin with a series of exercises for assessing rotation and creating clarity about possible root causes and potential movement strategies. Once the patterns are clear, we move on to cueing strategies and strength and mobility exercises to bring the body closer to balance. Let’s dive in!

This workshop reframes Reformer programming as an integrated system rather than a collection of exercises. Participants will explore how apparatus setup, sequencing, and progression support intention and outcomes. Emphasis is placed on logical transitions, load management, and continuity, helping instructors design Reformer classes that are purposeful, adaptable, and grounded in Pilates principles rather than trend-based choreography.

Joe chose springs on his equipment for good reason. Discover how to get 100% benefit from every reformer exercise -no cheating. Learn to connect your body to the springs. You will also learn to properly use the springs on every apparatus to change your body and build strength and stamina. This will deepen the work for even the most advanced Pilates practitioner using only the classical intermediate exercises. Discover how Joe Pilates used simple, but not simplistic, spring techniques to get a stronger body and mind efficiently.

As Pilates continues to grow, our community faces an important question: How do we evolve while staying true to the essence of the work? This keynote explores the balance between honoring Joseph Pilates’ original vision and embracing the natural progression of a living, breathing movement system. 

Pilates principles remain timeless, but bodies and contexts continue to evolve. This workshop focuses on applying classical principles thoughtfully to modern clients. Participants will explore how to adapt exercises while maintaining integrity, purpose, and intent—bridging tradition and contemporary needs with clarity, inclusivity, and respect for the Pilates system. 

The upper body is often broken down into it’s parts to make understanding and working with it easier. This workshop takes the opposite approach. Let’s contemplate and work with the marvelous complexity of the upper body to better understand the relationships between the spine and the shoulder girdle, the clavicle and the scapula, the hands and the head. Join Nora for a series of anatomical and movement explorations designed to illuminate and expand our understanding of the upper body.

Training with the Pilates apparatus is an ideal environment for facilitating mechanical demands on the body for improved performance through neuromyofascial adaptation. Current fascia research shows that mechanical loading, when strong enough occurring in a regular manner, changes the architecture of connective tissue.  
Madeline Black will guide you through how specific apparatus set-up, body positioning and lines of force generates and supports movement. Experience how Pilates apparatuses with its bars, pedals and springs produces variable force transmissions and how it moves through the body.

Having pioneered group Reformer classes in 1999, for the original Balanced Body Allegro Reformer, Elizabeth finds herself circling back to the group space, teaching 15 group Reformer fitness classes each week, this time bringing with her recent fascia research, neuroscience and humor to the Pilates environment. Elizabeth sees the current enthusiasm for group Reformer fitness classes as a valuable opportunity to bring the benefits of Pilates to a wide range of individuals. In this workshop you will learn to order exercises that satisfy Pilates principles and criteria for fascia-informed movement. She will discuss spring settings and spring tension in relationship to tendon, ligament, cartilage, muscle and bone. Together you will explore the role of spatial orientation and rhythm as tools to engage your students with movement, music, curiosity, community, and optimism. She will also discuss verbal and touch cues to create reassurance, trust, proprioceptive acuity, and alignment.  

Extended sitting at computer work stations can lead to forward head, rounded and elevated shoulders, and slumped upper back postures. These postures are often associated with pain and can alter optimal mechanics and increase risk for many problems. This workshop will provide recommendations for workstation adjustments and exercise microbreaks using bands and your desk chair that can improve posture and lessen discomfort. Exercises will also be taught utilizing Pilates apparatus that are designed to strengthen and stretch key muscles of the shoulders, upper back and neck to help counter stresses associated with extended computer work. 

Some exercises can seem unattainable like the Star, Snake or Big Swan on the Reformer. But, what if they weren’t? What if the secret to you or your clients accessing them was one or two connections away? Learn how to break down any advance exercise and build yourself up. Plus rock a Star, Snake or Swan along the way!

Elevate your Pilates practice with a specialized workshop featuring the EXO Chair and Slastix resistance bands. This innovative workshop is designed to double your exercise repertoire and enhance your body awareness, balance, coordination and strength. This session offers a blend of detailed guidance and creative movement variations. 

“You are only as old as your spine” Review the biomechanics of spinal mobility and experience the true potential of your spine using small balls and the Pilates Arc in this dynamic workshop. We will use detailed imagery, specific cueing and a variety of exercises to enhance proprioception and deepen your understanding of flexion, extension, rotation and lateral flexion. Appropriate for clients with limited or imbalanced mobility and to optimize the movement of the spine for functional activities. 

Training for longevity means we are working with a heterogeneous population of clients and movers these days, and our goal is to keep them thriving in life for as long as possible. We’ll discuss specific research backed strategies associated with longevity training, what it entails, discuss neurogenesis and it’s importance and much more.  
We’ll then provide creative and FUNctional ways to help your clients and classes move better to live better for a long time to come. 

A rigid thorax is often the hidden cause of discomfort, breath restrictions, and stress in the body. Discover how to unlock your client’s thoracic cage to create movement freedom – and watch them soar! Explore anatomy of the thoracic cage and learn to address thoracic restrictions with breathwork, novel Pilates exercises, and release work to bring your clients more ease in Pilates and life!

 You were taught to stretch…but is it effective? Have any of your tight-hamstring’d clients actually gotten more flexible in their hamstrings from stretching? Has your piriformis from doing a figure-4/ Pigeon stretch? What about your quadratus lumborum (QL) from side stretching? Your psoas, calves, chest etc. etc…? The list goes on an on. And what is stretching anyway? Do we want loose tissues? What do we want? Let’s learn about the recent research on stretching and what does and doesn’t work. Then let’s apply that to our Pilates work! It’s amazing what sort of elasticity we can develop if we understand what is and is not happening in our bodies!

Do we cue inhale when the carriage goes out or in? When the legs go up or down? It isn’t about when we inhale or exhale but how. How the musculature of our breath supports movement and our bodies in space. Breathing the Back Body will explore how to teach and cue breath as an integrated element in the Pilates Reformer and Mat work. There is no incorrect way to breathe but keeping the musculature of our breath strong is a trained skill. Master your own breath and learn how to cue your clients for their needs.

Joseph Pilates created the Wunda Chair as a multi-functional piece of equipment. The newer versions, the combo and EXO chairs, have split pedals. In this course, we’ll go in-depth on anatomically functional, gait-specific exercises that speak to each step we, and our clients, take. We will work on standing balance to improve strength and flexibility in the feet, ankles and hips. Also, we’ll cover footwork on the chair in an upright position, which translates well to standing walking patterns. We’ll also work on split pedal, delving deep into pelvic stability by exploring diagonal and bilateral exercises. The work we will cover in this course directly translates to better posture, improved body mechanics and an increased awareness of gait. This, in turn, leads to less wear and tear and pain relief. 

Joseph Pilates only gave his blessing to teach to a few individuals over his lifetime, and directly certified an even smaller amount. Each person to receive these honors of becoming a Pilates Elder had one thing in common other than working with Joe: They were all dancers! In my new workshop “From the Barre to the Mat and Back”, we will learn dance moves that aid in executing Joseph Pilates original Matwork and also exercises and variations unique to a few of these Elders taking our workout from the Barre to the Mat and back. 

This workshop will present a simple program to objectively assess posture and basic movement patterns utilizing Pilates methodology within a movement therapy/Pilates scope of practice.

In Pilates we often focus a lot on the abdominals and the “center”, but Mr. Pilates’ writings make it very clear that his work is about normal, natural, whole body movement – that we should move like the animal we are. In other words, our abdominals should not need to be arbitrarily and mechanically contracted and held, but rather be automatically activated through normal, natural, full body movement. Given our innate design as an originally four-footed animal, this automatic access should naturally occur through the connection of our hands and feet.  
Our feet and hands constitute half of all our bones. Given that, the number of joints in each is also considerable – several dozen at least – and therefore the number of muscles and nerves proportionally greater as well. This is a simple way to recognize the value and potential available in fully utilizing them. In other words, the strong connection from brain to hands and feet, and back again, is undeniably essential to our survival and to our health. 
In this workshop we will explore the Pilates exercises through the perspective of hands and feet better connecting to our brain and center, to learn how to achieve the fullest potential of the movements to create whole body health. Watching film of a cheetah running, we will discover how the feet/hands trigger the appropriate action of all other muscles to enable the most efficient, effective movement possible. In this way, breathing is enhanced and unimpeded, and movement more powerfully cleanses and re-oxygenates the body.

Many teachers often “call out” exercises instead of facilitating the movement, and often label different exercises as hard or easy.  Both of these labels can lead to discouragement.  This workshop will examine the connections and transitions crucial to moving from the elementary through to advanced Reformer work through a mixture of discussion and practical work. Communication and teaching skills will be the guide through the exercises to give instructors information they can put into practice immediately. 

Flow can provide additional challenges when a high level of technique is achieved on individual Wunda Chair exercises.  This is achieved by shaving off the end of an exercise and transitioning to the start of the next. Now, a complex, logical movement sequence is created.  
The cumulative training effect is greater than if the individual exercises were practiced for the same number of repetitions. Complexity increases, the “internal shower” occurs, and gains grow exponentially as movement ability develops. 
In this workshop, Joel will help you learn and experience original classical Wunda chair exercises, linked to logical, challenging flow combinations, to amplify your physical and mental fitness.