WHAT IS IMPORTANT TO US.
Learn more about our philosophies and what we love to teach.
Pilates Center Teacher Round-Up: How Your Teachers Really Feel About Their Practice and More
We talked to a few of our teachers about their practice, the meaning of their teaching work and what they’ve been up to during this period of quarantine and social distancing. What is your hardest exercise (or the one you skip the most…)? Christin: Corkscrew Flat...
Interference
I recently reconnected with a colleague — Carolyn Johnston. This past year, if you have been active with us, you have been hearing more about her and some of you have experienced her teaching. Needless to say, I am a fan of Carolyn and her work. She teaches the...
Moving Through the Unknown: Wellness in the Midst of Continual Uncertainty
As we begin to transition out of quarantine and shelter at home and begin to dip our toes back into the activities that were considered “normal” prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it can be scary, unsettling and confusing. Amidst all of the uncertainty, we...
Moving Forward: We’ll Meet You Where You Are
We will meet you where you are. This has always been an important part of our studio’s mission. From the beginning, I envisioned the studio serving people of all ages and needs to optimize their wellness and inform their life with the skills that come from these...
How to Build a Sustainable Pilates Practice
These words popped out of one of my favorite client’s mouths a few months ago, just before Christmas. It has stayed with me as that was the goal all along in opening up our studio 14 years ago.
Is the GYROKINESIS® Method a good for your fitness needs?
Is the GYROKINESIS® Method a good fit for your fitness needs? You might have heard about our newest offering of the GYROKINESIS® Method and may be wondering whether or not you are a good fit? In this post, we’ll discuss who can most benefit from this work. The...
What is the GYROKINESIS® Method and is it for you?
What is GYROKINESIS®?Created by Juliu Horvath, GYROKINESIS® system of exercises is designed to help a person move beyond their limitations. The exercises feel like a combination of swimming, dancing, tai chi, yoga, calisthenics movements, but are unique to this...
How Do you walk? Combining Consciousness with Balance for Better Movement
The following is a guest post from Carolyn Johnston. Through her background as a dancer and performer, she discovered the Alexander Technique. We will be welcoming her into the studio for a special workshop to teach the technique as it applies to walking. Hope to see...
What it Takes to Become a Pilates or GYROKINESIS® Teacher
What it takes to become a Pilates or GYROKINESIS®teacherRecently, I attended a course lead by one of the experts in the GYROKINESIS® Method field, Kathy van Patten. She was sharing stories of “the old days” when she was training Pilates teachers. I found her comment...
Gain Poise and Grace with the Alexander Technique
The following is a guest post from Carolyn Johnston, who I’ve known and had the pleasure of working with for several years. Through her background as a dancer and performer, she discovered the Alexander Technique. We will be welcoming her into the studio for a special...
In Pilates, The Transition is the Exercise
“The transition is the exercise” popped out of my mouth one day in a session a few weeks ago. It really got me thinking, and I began watching how people use their bodies and minds between sections of the class, both in terms of the groups of exercises and of course,...
The Spine in Pilates
If your spine is inflexibly stiff at 30, you are old. If it is completely flexible at 60, you are young. - Joseph H. Pilates Our spine connects to our entire body. This includes our nervous system, the brain, our limbs, the intrinsic core and our organs. Our...
Cue: Hug your midline!
Thank you Allie Castello for writing this piece. Hug the midline is a cue many teachers use and clients hear on a regular basis. But what does it actually mean? To understand this cue, we first must back up and understand what a cue is and why we use it. Cues are...
What is quality of breath in my practice?
The intrinsic core consists of the Diaphragm Transvesrus abdominals Posterior fibers of internal oblique Pelvic floor Multifidus (back muscles) and the Lumbar portions of longissimus and iliocastalis I share this breakdown of intrinsic core not to go deeper in the...
Improve circulation in your joints with Pilates
A joint is a movable body part in which adjacent bones are joined by ligaments and other fibrous tissues. A joint is constructed to allow for different degrees and types of movement. When your Pilates teacher gives you the cue, "Open up your hips, Open your shoulders"...
Taking a Tower Pilates Class
Tower is Pilates most popular class. It offers a very work-out experience, one which our society has come to know as “Oh I got a good workout” because in Tower class, you move every part of your body. Students love it because it is well balanced, and has the feel of...
Why do Pilates teachers tell me to scoop my abs?
Have you ever wondered why all this fuss about “scooping” of the abdominals? How exactly are you supposed to bring the Abs In and Up anyhow? Unlike many other forms of workout, Pilates focuses on the deepest most innermost layer of your abdominal muscles, the...
Teachers share favorite mat exercises
For this week, we polled the teachers. We asked them what are your three favorite Mat exercises and why? Read below and hey, you know you can use one or two of these in your home routine! Ask at the studio how to create a home routine next time you are in. VIVIANA 1....
The Box as a movement cue
“The Box” is a Pilates term referring to the box frame made by your Shoulders and Hips. Think about it, the hip bones and the shoulder points do form a box! When beginning any exercise you want to strive to engage the abdominals pay attention that this Pilates "Box"...
What is Quality of Movement
Defining quality of movement can be elusive, difficult to define or describe. To help with this, we use our six Pilates principles.
Tone Body in Pilates
TONE BODY IN PILATES What does having a tone body in Pilates mean? How do we get you there? One of the main requests we receive from clients is Can you tone me up? Or, I want to increase the tone of my body. So we started talking about it in the studio in the past...
History of Joseph Pilates
HISTORY OF JOSEPH PILATES Joseph Pilates was born in a small village near Düsseldorf, Germany in 1883. His father was a prize winning gymnast and his mother was a naturopath. He achieved some success as a boxer, a gymnast, a skier and a diver. During World War I, he...
Pre-Natal Pilates
PRENATAL PILATES We are happy to announce an exciting new program coming to the Pilates Center of Pittsburgh: “Prepare the Body™” and “Repair the Body™”a specialization in prenatal and post-natal body work. Based on conversations with the teachers at the studio and...