Pilates DNA

10/17/2025

“Effort Without Strain.”
When I first started teaching, a couple of clients told me during a group class that they “weren’t in the mood for this” and that “you’re not supposed to sweat in Pilates.” Let me clarify something: I don’t know what kind of “Pilates” they were doing, but if you’re not sweating or putting in effort, you’re not doing much of anything at all.

Practicing Pilates is the endless pursuit of finding freedom of movement under control (from the center, with the two-way stretch). That’s why seasoned practitioners make it look effortless. Characterizing Pilates as “too easy” or “too hard” is a straight up misunderstanding and an indicator that something has been lost in translation. Done properly, Pilates is absolutely not easy—it’s sweaty, hard work, as Jay always said—but it also shouldn’t look like you’re straining or bearing down. We’re not at cross fit pushing Mack truck tires around the block.

Effort without strain means you’re working to your capacity, even challenging it. If an exercise pushes you into tension, you’re no longer learning from it and that is all you will build. Tension. The goal is to cultivate control, precision, and an internal lift that extends outward — not to collapse, grimace, or grit.

True Pilates demands effort, but it rewards you with power, balance, and freedom.

10/15/2025

Sure, some days you might drag yourself to the mat, but I’ve yet to see anyone regret making the effort once they begin. You leave lighter, stronger, more centered every single time.

10/11/2025

The equipment you use matters. Change the apparatus, and you change your relationship to the work.
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Practicing Pilates is about consistency, but having the right tools is essential.
• Not all Pilates equipment is created equal.
• When the specifications of Joe Pilates’ original apparatus change, so does the relationship to the work. In effect, it muddies that relationship, waters it down, diminishes it. And let’s face it, there’s already enough misinterpretation circulating about what Contrology is supposed to be, why add to it?

Now, that’s not to say you can’t practice Pilates without classical equipment. I’ll take a mat and a wall over a reformer, chair, barrel, Cadillac etc., outside Joe’s original specifications. But when you get on the real deal, and you’re paired with a teacher who knows how the method should be taught, well that’s just magic.

10/10/2025

10/08/2025

Before I say a word, I watch.

Every body carries its own history, rhythm, and logic. To teach well, I have to understand what’s in front of me; not the ideal version of the movement, but the person doing it. Observation lets me meet them where they are, so what I offer is not generic instruction, but guidance that matters.

Teaching Contrology begins with curiosity. When you truly see the body, you know when to challenge and when to support, when to speak and when to stay silent. The work reveals itself through that relationship.

10/07/2025

I spent over two decades as a distance runner: a couple of full marathons, countless half marathons, and regular 8-10-mile runs multiple times a week. While I don’t log that kind of mileage anymore, I still love the feeling of moving freely and without pain. The runner’s high is real.

This is where Pilates comes in. The Two-by-Four is one of those unassuming gems Jay Grimes always told me to keep in my regular rotation. And, of course, he was right. I know it isn’t flashy enough; that is, I know this content won’t “go viral on social” but I don’t care because this little block of wood has been key in keeping me balanced, connected, and able to run pain-free. That’s the beauty of Pilates: it keeps me doing the things I love in life.

07/16/2025

Is Pilates “corrective exercise”?
That depends on how you define it, and more importantly, how you apply it.

Lately, I’ve heard it said we should reject the term outright, arguing that “corrective” implies a rigid right vs. wrong. This binary might serve a good-vs-evil fairytale narrative but rarely holds up in real life (or in the body).

In the world I come from, which is shaped by Jay Grimes and rooted in Joe Pilates’ method, correction isn’t about nitpicking or pointing out flaws. It’s about observing, guiding, and knowing when someone is ready to progress. As Sandy Shimoda in her Contrology Handbook says (get the book ) :

“Rather than endeavoring to correct every part of your movement superficially, you allow the regular repetition of Joe’s exercise to correct your functioning over time.”

That’s the kind of correction I believe in: patient, practiced, earned. And yes, by that definition, Pilates is corrective exercise.

🧠 New blog post coming soon: Corrective Without the Complex.

07/02/2025

Here’s this week’s Contrology group class schedule and a note that we are open on the 4th of July! Two spaces left in Friday’s pop-up class at noon: come work on your independent Pilates practice before the bbq or picnic in the park. Get your annual fill of Lee Greenwood and then join us for our regularly scheduled class Saturday’s at 9am!

06/11/2025

There’s a persistent misconception out there: that the original Pilates mat work is too basic, and the real work happens on the equipment. Let’s clear that up:

The mat is the essence of the work and all of Joe’s other apparatus exist to offer precise levels of support and challenge that work to bring a body up to optimally performing the mat exercises.

The mat reveals everything — what you’re capable of, what needs work, and how well you—that is, how well your mind, body, and spirit—synthesize the method. The apparatus teaches the body how to get there. When practiced as a system, Pilates instructs the body to move through life with strength, grace, and vitality.

05/25/2025

Group class schedule for next week:

* The studio is open on Memorial Day day! Enjoy the light traffic Monday and join us for Contrology group class at 10 am!

* Tuesday 9 am Keion teaches a Virtual Vintage Pilates class. Sign up through and deep dive into your practice and the exercise of the month!

* Top off the end of the work week and join us for Contrology Group Class at 3 pm.

***NEW CLASS ANNOUNCEMENT*** Starting May 31, Saturdays at 9 am Contrology Group Class co-taught by Keion and Jeane.

05/19/2025

Decoding Pilates Marketing: How to Spot a True Pilates Expert

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Looking for a place to practice Pilates? You might see claims like:
“We teach both classical and contemporary Pilates.”

Or: “Our studio is rooted in tradition, but with a modern twist.”

“Classically trained, contemporary approach.”

…Mmkay.

Here’s the truth: classical and contemporary Pilates are not compatible systems. To claim fluency in both as if they’re interchangeable styles is a false equivalence.

Classical Pilates (aka classic or traditional Pilates, the original method, Contrology) is a complete system with specific order, apparatus, and intent. Everything else—call it contemporary Pilates if you like—reinterprets, dilutes, or replaces key elements of that system.

To blend the two is to misrepresent the original method altogether. If you’re looking for the real thing, find a teacher who teaches it as it was meant to be: whole, rigorous, and uncompromised.

05/15/2025

Pilates: an absolute wonder drug.