Just a few simple (not easy) tips for your Pilates workouts!
In the above workout preview, I highlight staying ‘on top’ in several ways as I work on the electric chair and on the reformer.
Connecting with the apparatus is like any other relationship. First you have to FEEL and touch base with yourself and the other person involved. If the relationship is a good fit, it will lift you up!
I have this whole class on my youtube channel. Check it out.
Are you someone that lives on the edge and takes risks? Or are you someone that’s afraid and scared and holds back? Maybe you do both! I was. I was either, all out, or, nothing at all…I would swing frequently between the 2 extremes.
These are two ends of a continuum as Annie carpenter would say…and our life, our body, and our practice is overflowing with continuums!
I just completed Sama sadhana with Annie carpenter. The intention was cultivating an even/balanced practice. No extremes! Something I am learning to appreciate more and more. 🙂
I am grateful for Annie and for her smartFLOW method. A method that is rooted in classical yoga, yet blends in functional anatomy and energetic awareness. This method allows the student to embrace their own unique circumstances to find their ‘return to center’ as they cultivate clear, bright, and strong lines of energy, and returning to ones center over and over again..
The more I practice, I understand more deeply how I practice on the mat is a reflection of my life off the mat. ‘For how we do one thing is how we do everything’…another one of Annies’ sayings that I love.
As I mature and grow more and more into myself I’ve learned to just show up do my best, be more conscious of my edges on my continuum, let go of what i cannot control and connect to my ‘center’ in all the ways.
AND if you are stuck in an extreme – maybe try to cultivate the opposite.
Do you remember who you are at your core? What makes you, you? Can you stay connected to who you are in relationships and stay true to you?
Where is your center when you move in and out of certain postures? Where is your center in the transitions? Can you maintain your sense of balance and center as you move in and out of postures?
Learning something new is hard! The idea is always fun, but it does take some work!
Pontus and I just started taking Salsa lessons together. We have only had 3 lessons and understand that we have a ways to go… In our learning we are counting aloud to synchronize with the music and each other and trying to perfect every step we take as we move! The music doesn’t stop and that means we don’t either! The instructor moves fast and we are doing our best to keep up.:) With each lesson we gain more knowledge, awareness and have many shared laughs along the way!
I feel that learning salsa is similar to learning the Pilates. In salsa, there are several basic salsa steps that are precise and meant to be executed within a certain rhythm. In Pilates there are certain exercises to be done in order while maintaining a certain amount of rhythm and flow as well. Also, in salsa and Pilates transitions from one step and/or exercise to the next are just as important as the move/exercise itself!
One difference between Salsa and Pilates is the music. Music is intrinsic to salsa dancing, it helps with everything! In Pilates, although we do not have music to encourage us to stay at a reasonable tempo, it is still important to maintain a fluid rhythm. I feel that because there is no music in Pilates it is easier to stop, sometimes maybe for too long, in an effort to get the exercise/posture perfect!
It is given that you need rhythm to dance salsa, but it is also very true for Pilates. If you can master your transitions and flow you are more ‘advanced’ than someone who can perform the posture or exercise but does not understand how to flow in and out of it. Learning the rhythm and experiencing smoother transitions takes practice. That said, practice does not have to be perfect. Practice is practice. The practice is to pay attention as you move and breathe. To feel yourself and your surroundings (partner and music in salsa – apparatus in Pilates), all to make better connections with yourself and your surroundings.
My hope for all of you taking lessons is first that you are enjoying yourself or at least feel better when you leave:). I also hope you are gaining knowledge and more awareness of the practice and yourself. Last but not least, for those of you who have been practicing with me for a while, I hope you are discovering more rhythm and flow within the exercise and having fun while you work to find more connection in your body.
This is a quote from Darren Rhodes. I have witnessed his teaching from a far for 10+ years. I will be practicing with him for the first time in person this coming Spring 2026 at Joshua tree. I am so looking forward to finally meeting him in person.
I learned of Darren from my early years studying and practicing Anusara Yoga. He was a senior teacher and very well regarded in the Anusara community. He “walked the walk” in every aspect of living the principles of Yoga. He has a dry sense of humor and he is a very talented Yoga teacher.
In 2019, I encouraged Pontus to take Darren’s beginner yoga series on a platform called Glo as we were preparing to go to a yoga retreat in San Miguel for my 40th birthday wish back in 2019 with another one of my favorite Yoga teachers and friend, Desiree Rumbaugh.
Darren’s quote sums up what I try to inspire in all that I teach. Strength is nothing without flexibility just how being flexible will not serve us if we do not have a strong boundaries to keep us safe from over stretching.
What do you consider you need more of today – strength or flexibility?
tis the season to rush around. I hope you spend some time on yourself and invest in your health! If you have a chair, and I am sure you do, you can give yourself a full body workout. I personally love using a chair, especially on the days when all i feel like doing is sitting down in one and relaxing. However, I know that relaxing after I move, even for a little bit, will make my ability to relax so much better. It’s easy to let time pass by and get hung up on everything else but you, but don’t wait too long to take care of you:).
I will be offering a chair – functional fitness/yoga class in my home studio December 4th, 2025! Please reach out for more information.
This exercise is called ‘running’ on the reformer. Flipping the camera around you can see how this exercise reflects running, jogging, and/or walking off the reformer. I loved flipping the camera to highlight this exercise as it shows me standing tall in my body. It’s not always easy to stand tall especially if you are dealing with and or recovering from an injury. Believe me, I’ve been there! Regardless of your story, to practice Pilates, we need to include and honor all of our pieces even if things are not as they used to be, and not leave one piece behind.
Understanding how to connect and strengthen our pieces as a whole takes time and changes as we change. Listening, adapting, and continuing to love ourselves through all of our changes will be the best medicine to feel whole, time and time again. If you are stubborn like me, you may need to experience the ‘dark side’(read back in my blog to understand) for a while, until you decide to wake up and be more present!
Pilates is in the details and acknowledging all our piecesin the present moment so we can experience the whole and feel our power!!
Therefore, if you are interested in strengthening your ‘core muscles,’ understand that this involves your whole body. I have found that sometimes in ‘our’ efforts (myself included) to strengthen the ‘core muscles’ we sometimes neglect other parts of our body. Remember, Pilates is whole body integration. We need to include all of ‘our pieces’ in our practice and not forget or neglect any part! Pilates teaches us to initiate our movements from a stable, balanced center, and to never leave any part behind, meaning every piece of us is involved in the movement.
Take ‘running’ on the reformer for example, there is really so much to pay attention to! From the transition from one heel reaching under the foot bar to the next.
Here are some other things you need to consider…
1 – Are you connecting all of your toes on the foot bar or are your pinky toes missing?
2 – Are you pressing down into the foot bar with strength to feel and activate your hamstrings as you run?
3 – How is your pelvic alignment? are you tucking, arching? Hopefully you are in neutral!
4 – Are you able to connect the back of your rib cage, shoulder blades, back of skull in and up on the carriage?
5 – How is your neck alignment? hopefully neutral!
6 – Can you tone the back of your triceps to help you open the collar bone/chest more?
7 – Are you able to sustain your stability in your spine and pelvis as you lower and lift your heels with strength?
8 – Are you able to maintain your push/your strength as you resist the springs and actively under the foot bar one heel at a time? 9 – How are your knees? can you tone and lift your knee caps and quadriceps up with out hyperextending and locking your knees as you run?
10 – How about your breathing? How is your rhythm? can you expand your body on your inhales with out loosing your connections and deepen your powerhouse muscles on your exhales?
When you are learning, please be forgiving as it does take time! With steady practice and attention to your body and ALL your pieces its does start coming together, and you will start to step more and more into your POWER.
check out the song “step into you power” by Ray LaMontagne
Finding more connection in my body has been an evolving ‘love story.’ There have been tough and unstable times with highs and lows. Shit happens! Its part if the ‘love story.’ I have had many injuries over the years, some that still haunt me from years ago when I broke my back b/t L1/T12 when i was 7 and more recently in 2017 a disk replacement b/t C6/C7. Fortunately I have not had any more serious injuries. I believe the reason why I am feeling stronger than I ever have is because I continue to practice with attention and presence. I honor my body in the present moment. My love is growing deeper and expanding greater because I am nurturing my relationship with my whole self – body and mind. Everything is mind/body.
As a movement – Pilates and Yoga teacher, sometimes words are hard to find. Especially when I do not know someone’s whole story. As a teacher you have some ideas as you watch your students move and breathe but there is always so much to someone’s story that is hard to know and understand. I do my best to observe and listen to the body and person in front of me, and trust what I am told and try to feel what one is feeling to better address that moment.
As student, learning something new is hard. Regardless of what it is – Its takes consistency, dedication, patience, and a lot of practice! Most importantly it takes courage to admit when something is not working, and to trust yourself when something feels off and not right.
Sometimes ‘we’, (myself included) prefer to be told what to do, its easy (and its nice not to own up to our own mistakes:). However the need to be told ALL the time will never help one build their own relationship with themselves.
Personally, Loving myself more has been my greatest teacher. Trusting and honoring what my body is telling me in the present moment, instead of somebody else’s words, has been such a blessing.
If you are struggling in your own ‘love story’ – with yourself or someone or something else, regardless of what the issues and injuries may be – loving yourself and staying present is always the better option than trusting or following someone else’s words.
The following are my class opportunities for the month of September!
On a trial basis I moving Pilates mat class to noon on Fridays and Yoga to 9am on Thursdays.
Pilates mat class – Fridays at noon
September 5,12,19,26
Yoga – Thursdays at 9am
September 11, 25
I am also excited to offer a new class format on Wednesdays at 12pm.
I am naming my new class – FUNctional fitness. You can expect to align your body and mind, strengthen your muscles and fortify your bones, and also mobilize and release shoulders, hips, and necks:). Optional use of some weights and resistance bands. See more in description below…
FUNctional fitness – Wednesdays at noon
September 10,17,24
What to expect with FUNCTIONAL FITNESS
–deep breaths standing with postural awareness. (5 min) Understand how to ‘stack our bodies” to find optimal alignment and connect to the relationship between our lungs/diaphragm and our pelvic floor.
-warm up (15/20 min)
-3 FUNctional exercises executed in sets of 10 done 3 times
these exercises will include movement that highlight
-hip hinge
-squats
-lunges
-twists
-move through sun salutations to integrate (you will learn surya A & surya B)(10/15 min)
-core/mobility work (10/15 min)
-3/4 various core exercises done in sets intermixed with 3/4 mobility exercises done in sets to to release after we strengthen.
example –
Core – forearm planks
mobility -cat/cows
or
Core – side planks
mobility – mermaid or gate(side body stretch)
or
Supine abdominal bracing with legs at table top
mobility – supple flowing bridges
-closing (5-10 min)
3/4 deep stretches to release hips/shoulders/neck
Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have questions.
I am writing to inform you that I will be increasing my Pilates private and duet rates, effective October 2025.
My new rates are still better than all the Pilates studios I know on the West Coast. Besides I hope you are learning from the best. I truly believe that.
If you are just getting to know me – I have been teaching Pilates for over 20 years and have learned from the best of the best including Jay Grimes, a Pilates elder who learned from Joe Pilates himself. I am also unique as I have an extensive background in Yoga, both SmartFLOW and Anusara and I am also a certified personal trainer. And most important, I do practice what I preach:) and continue to also be the student which I feel is very important if you want to continue to teach.
I honor my teaching responsibility which is to honor the students’ body in front of me! I hope you feel cared for, and that you are getting the results that you desire.
Of course I do not want this to ‘stretch your wallet’ so much that you can no longer practice with me so please reach out to me personally to discuss if needed.
The biggest increase in my fees will be the duet rates. Right now I am charging $45/55min and I am increasing this to $60/55min. My private rate will be increasing to $90/55minute. Zoom classes will be the same $80/55min.
I will not be increasing my group Pilates mat class nor my group Yoga class rate at this time. I also would like you to consider these classes if you have not already. They are a wonderful way to practice what we do in the private classes and also encourage more body awareness to enhance your optimal body alignment.
Here are some other things I considered when making my decision:
1 – I have recently invested in new equipment including a new reformer, new contrology/gratz foldable mats as well as flooring.
2 – i have and continue to invest in my continued education. Right now I currently studying with Annie carpenter with SmartFLOW yoga and I also continue bi-weekly lessons with a collegue of mine, Nicole Martin who is in San Diego at Ritual Pilates.
3 – Seattle is an expensive place to live. I have a daughter in college and 2 more still at home.
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