Clear, professionally recorded audio instructions are well-paced so you can easily follow along and learn how to correctly work from day one. Practice at home, on the road, or at your favorite Pilates studio, maybe even as part of a full Pilates equipment workout. You can fit in a quick session almost everyday and be on your way to a stronger, leaner, healthier you.
Filed under: Lifestyle Matters,Movement Matters,Pilates Avatar
Learning Labs #1 is a 15-hour course for produced by Going More Joe and it's created for contemporary trained teachers who are curious about the classical work. Check out this brief trailer followed by what others are saying. Personally, I enjoyed the experience and I'm glad we captured it as an online learning tool. We'll have more live online experiences coming soon. Contact Me to find out more:)
Participating in Learning Labs #1 was a great experience for me. Clare Dunphy is an exceptionally knowledgeable individual and is a genius when it comes to teaching the classical methodology of Pilates. I found her style to be absolutely creative and captivating with natural ability throughout all the parts of Learning Labs 1. Clare talked about her experiences and training with Romana and she shared the sentence, “Stay true to the system will stay true to you.” I loved hearing about her memories. So many people have been fortunate to study with Romana and share her nuggets of wisdom. Clare is definitely one of them. During the five-three hour sessions there was not a pause or hesitation in both verbal and visual exchange of knowledge. She positioned her laptop and moved it with such natural ease. It was almost as if it were part of her and the viewers never missed a single second of instruction. What Clare did with her laptop was exactly what she was teaching us to do, to keep moving and making adjustments while in movement. Clare talked about the classical philosophy of Pilates, why there is an order to the mat and reformer exercises, and how it operates. I loved her clear and concise flip chart and how she broke down the beginner reformer exercises and then wove them into the intermediate level. For me personally, it validated my trading with Mary Pilates. Clare pointed out some common teaching mistakes. It made me aware of one of my teaching habits, like over-cueing breathing, which was something left over from my comprehensive contemporary training and I didn’t realize it until I took this workshop.
Thank you to Clare Dunphy and Sunni Almond for giving me this opportunity to study, learn, grow and participate in this extraordinary series of workshops via Zoom!!!!!
Francene Perel
As a Contemporary trained teacher, with some Classical influence, I found Clare's Learning Labs #1 incredibly useful. Clare teaches in a very straight forward way and is not judgmental at all. Instead she is interested in people and the differences in training.
The workshops have helped me both in my teaching and personal practise. My clients and body have really noticed the difference. I have been equipped with more understanding of the Classical order and have gained some invaluable teaching tips. There is a lot to take in and it has been useful to be able to dip in and out of the workshop videos.
I am interested in learning more and hopefully will continue on this journey. I certainly recommend it to anyone interested in delving into Classical Pilates.
Zoë xx
Filed under: Lifestyle Matters,Movement Matters
Filed under: Lifestyle Matters,Movement Matters
There's more to keeping a healthy back and painfree back than simply core strength. For sure, core strength is one element but there is SO much more that's important for us to understand. There's Alignment, Posture, and Decompression of the spine, all of which are included in the Pilates Method of body conditioning. The spine also needs a balance of flexibiity, stability, and movement in all planes. Joseph Pilates was well ahead of his time when he designed his method!
Filed under: Lifestyle Matters,Movement Matters
A few months ago, I have the pleasure to finally meet Brett Miller, founder of Pilates Intel - in person - all the way from Stockholm to Newburyport. We had a great visit and even had a chance to get a couple workouts in. Here is a fun video capturing workout moments. Enjoy this article - hot off the press this morning. You can subscribe for free and get this newsletter delivered in your mailbox every Wednesday.
Click HERE for the full Newsletter
In every profession, Pilates included, the most effective teachers are the ones who can communicate in simple terms, so the subject matter easy to understand, appropriate to the level of the learner. Elegant simplicity is an art, ideally considering the whole person – their goals, mindset, physical and emotional state. It sounds like it should be easy, but for many of us, it really isn’t. Like developing any skill to a higher level, teaching with elegant simplicity requires self-awareness, focused practice, feedback, and refinement.
Let’s back up for a moment and look at possible reasons a teacher might feel obliged to provide more information than necessary during a Pilates session. First of all, it seems that the more we know, the more we usually feel compelled to share. Without being aware of it, we can get drawn into habits of over-cueing, over-teaching, and over-stimulating our students. Here are some questions I ask myself to keep my intentions on track:
• How much information is enough for my client today to get them moving and in their body?
• Did I insert myself to the right degree to let the work do its work?
• Am I cultivating awareness of my teaching and creating a learning environment where the door is open for growth?
• When can I tell if my teaching style isn’t working and might need adjusting for an individual or situation?
If we start by understanding why most people come to Pilates in the first place, in most cases, it’s to get in shape and feel better for their daily life, sports or recreational activities. People want real results, and they want to see and feel progress. They want to gain strength, flexibility, and endurance; reduce back pain, neck pain, knee pain, and hip pain – in general, they want to feel better. They need to move! By the end of an hour, we should be able to simply ask, “Did you get a good workout?” And the answer should be “YES”, regardless of their fitness level, issue or age.
Sure, we can help pinpoint movement problems. For example, squaring the shoulders and hips, noticing asymmetries in the body, and the other corrections we give. These things may be important to improving performance and yet, how often do we find ourselves going down the rabbit hole of over-explaining, analyzing, and focusing too much on what’s wrong with a movement? Let’s turn the perspective and focus on what’s right with the movement, build on that, and create a positive atmosphere where students can grasp and learn the work. Let’s remember that Pilates is a practice, not a perfect. Teachers that are continuing to grow can always improve how we craft our sessions, through our word choice, exercise choice and our own personal attitude, so people feel good about themselves while they move.
I know I am probably preaching to the choir here. However, I am amazed at how many articles, blog posts, workshops, etc. continue to feed us information in a manner that pulls us away from our ultimate goal of keeping to the philosophy of the work, just giving a good solid workout and a positive experience. The media bombardment of what “healthy” and “fit” means is nothing less than astonishing. The Pilates philosophy to “Return to Life” is built on a strong foundation of excellent alignment, fewer reps, and a whole lot of variety. Nothing is overdone, the whole body and mind are engaged. Contrast that to Barre, Boot Camp, Crossfit, P90X, and all the latest HITT trends where harder is better, reps are king, and burn baby burn! Oh, that’s so 80’s! Didn’t we learn our lesson? So friends, ask the questions and align them with your principles.
Thank you for taking the time to let me share my thoughts with all you amazing teachers!
Filed under: Movement Matters,Pilates Avatar
