Pilates Sisters Squad Editor

Chris Robinson Advanced Reformer

Sometimes there is nothing else to be said. Chris does not waste time, energy or movement. He consistently challenges the teacher with the Classical method and form, exactly as he learned from both Romana Kryzanowska and Jay Grimes.

by Pilates Sisters Squad Editor

Sonje' Mayo and Reconnecting Pilates Teachers

Walked into the studio as the mat class was ending with Frontal Support and heard her comments admonishing the group of the importance of matwork and its "feed" to the mind and body for everything else in the Pilates system.
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by Pilates Sisters Squad Editor

Peter Roel's Studio MasterClass

Doing everything in classical form is definitely our guidepost and principled foundation, yet, once a month, spicing it up with variety, nuance and refinements is so very good for the soul and spirit. Peter brought all that jazz — and then some — to his session yesterday. A session like this helps one rekindle your love and appreciation for the work of Pilates over and over again.

This is why we do this with a #2ndGenMaster!

I have not had the pleasure of working under Peter’s direction and eyes IRL, yet everyone I know and respect as a teacher has. He is one of New York’s favored teachers and within the first few minutes, it was clear why. We used the tower/cadillac mat for a 15-20 minute pre-Pilates mat that felt very “KSG-esque.” No surprise, as Peter spent fifteen years studying and working for Kathy Grant in the 80s. He warmed up all the joints and body parts and then we moved to the Reformer.

On the Reformer, he jazzed up footwork with a variation that you will simply have to experience from the recorded session. While he didn’t state it, I recognized the KSG “before the Hundred” Arm Circles from earlier work with Blossom Leilani-Crawford. While leading us through The Hundred, he was actually singing a “jazz scat” rather than the boring count.

You can tell Peter loves dance, rhythm, flow the freedom of spine extension and doing things differently; and he didn’t hold back with the Backward Rowing series. He threw in a little Carola Trier extension and blew our minds with a 15-count combo sequence for Front Rowing that felt like a dance of the body thru all of the elements of the series. Check the video clip below 🙂

We used the Ladder Barrel for Swan and Short Box, moved back to the Reformer and ended with the Spine Corrector and I felt all of the influences, history and Peter’s years and experience with all of his mentors, friends and teachers: Kathy Grant, Romana Kryzanowska, Deborah Lessen, Carola Trier in the very precise and distinctive way he taught and encouraged us to move, providing a “more complete workout between the use of the body in space and in relation to gravity.”

The other personal “WOW” of the session, is that my first Pilates teacher, Juliet Harvey and my current Pilates teacher, Brett Howard, were both in attendance with me and the other twelve #PilatesSisterSquad members enjoying all this goodness together. I am very clear and aware if I hadn’t had the solid, precise and specific foundation of their teaching and style embedded in my body, I would have been lost in the sauce with Peter.

This was a goodie. If you would like to experience it, use this link to download a copy.

by Pilates Sisters Squad Editor

Gadar's Wunda MasterClass

I think it's the authenticity in her persona that is so welcoming, powerful and beautiful. She doesn't speak quickly, there is no rush in her pace whatsoever. She does like the metronome count/hold for three, tho. She is organized, structured and in control of everyone and every aspect. All of us were completely mesmerized by the subtle nuances she asked of our bodies and our awareness to the traditional movements we know, use and teach on the Wunda Chair.

by Pilates Sisters Squad Editor

Brooke Siler Blew Our Minds

She did it again. She took simple mat moves and added the constant isometric contracted-connection of the backbody (lats, shoulders, triceps) with the push thru or rollback bar to keep the body actively moving.

Cadillac/Tower MasterClass

Every teacher in the virtual room was moaning while simultaneously commenting on the brilliance of each of the movements. She introduced nuanced ways to the basic moves and kept the mind and body connected. This was a snippet of an introduction to her work on Cadillac/Tower Mat. She gave us an hour, it could have lasted three hours and no one would have lost interest, energy or the ability to complete an exercise.

“The thing with Brooke is that she totally understands the connections of movement in Pilates.The way she Intuit’s things is amazing and how she connects the dots for every teacher and student. We had the same teacher, Romana, me and Brooke, and yet how we connect the dots is unique. And I always learn something more when I work with her. She’s open to working things out, not solving. I can’t say enough about this quality. Oh geez I could go on and on. Brooke is a treasure!” — Clare Dunphy Hemani @pilatesavatar

She used the Wunda Chair pedal resistance in a similar way last year with her “Wunda Mat” series and had me entranced for weeks with the replay. The same will happen with this series as Brooke reveals more of her creativity in how to move our bodies with the method …. just a little differently than we were taught or coached to do so.

“This was amazing. Brooke is just brilliant. There’s a reason her books are best sellers.. no one puts the “work” to words like Brooke. Simply magical. I miss her so much but what a treat to connect virtually. Thank you Gina and thank you @brookesilerpilates 🙏🏿🙏🏿” — Michelle Leach @noexcusespilates

This fits so nicely with my Spring 2021 focus of #DoingItDifferent. Stay tuned to Brooke Siler Pilates for the full series. Get the replay of this MasterClass download here.

by Pilates Sisters Squad Editor

The Ides of March

This week marks the One Year Anniversary of the world shutting down. Studios and gyms closing, art galleries and broadway shows closing down. Marks the start of a gazillion purchases of masks and shields and gloves and sanitizers. The anniversary of no touching, no hugging and no kissing and new meaning to distance learning. The script was flipped on us all and the aftermath was chilling. I am going to leave the nightmare alone and revel in the way the script was re-flipped this year....at least in my mind's eye.
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by Pilates Sisters Squad Editor

Dancers, Athletes, Kathy and Romana

Maria Earle definitely set the stage for 2021 with a MasterClass session on the Wunda. Not only with the work she led the group through but with the sellout of the series in short order and the need to add more slots for more teachers. Then the February session with Alycea Ungaro sold out days afterwards, April 2021 with Brooke Siler sold out before the snowstorm walloped TX, May 2021 with Christina Gadar is 60% filled and June thru October were confirmed with three more #FavoriteTeachers that already have their rosters filling up.

by Pilates Sisters Squad Editor

Six-Nine Months with a Few Masters

The purpose and intention of a blog is to write to explore thoughts and experiences and share it with the world. I have been remiss on the writing and thought exploration part, as I got caught up in the process of living the experience with so many of my #PilatesSisters over the past year. Very grateful to have so many gleefully join to laugh, sweat and share the movement and freedom we love virtually together.Read more

by Pilates Sisters Squad Editor

2021 MasterClass Lineup

Lock one in for yourself. Hell lock in all of them. A Pilates workout, led by the eyes and guidance of a 2ndGenMaster. A MasterClass Workout using the Pilates studio apparatus with a few friends, teachers and colleagues. This is the #PilatesSistersSquad 2021 LineUp.

by Pilates Sisters Squad Editor

MasterClass Recorded Sessions

The #NewNormal necessitates new world operations. In realization that all our schedules and lives may not always coincide with all the LIVE Virtual MasterClass sessions, the recorded session replay is a way to take advantage of the work with a favorite #2ndGenMaster on your own time.Read more

by Pilates Sisters Squad Editor