Whether consciously or not, we all find niches as Pilates instructors. It’s just a matter of time. As we work with more and more clients, we notice and are drawn to the needs, wants and requirements of a segment of the population and start to direct our professional efforts to help them. What is a…
Flexibility without stretching You won’t be met with any argument from me when you tell me that stretching feels so good. Even my golden retriever loves to stretch into some of the most luxurious down dogs and up dogs I have seen. But for dogs stretching isn’t complicated; they just do what feels natural for…
Combining manual and movement therapy Have you ever had a client come for a Pilates session with a particular complaint and, no matter what approach you tried, it didn’t work or it got worse? In which case, your client may have felt discouraged and wondered what to do next. Perhaps, you have felt you sometimes…
What is Plantar Fasciitis? Plantar fasciitis is the most common cause of heel pain. It is a condition in which the plantar fascia is irritated and develops tiny tears. The plantar fascia ligament is a flat band of connective tissue under the sole of your foot that runs from you heel to all five toes.…
Pilates teaching tips When you first start teaching, you’re so nervous that you just want to get through the class. As years go by, you go grow and develop into someone who can deliver a class with ease and essentially go into autopilot. Whether you’re a new Pilates teacher or have had some experience, self…
Break into the Pilates field Whether you’re looking to break into the Pilates field, add a few hours to your schedule or find a new place to call your home studio, you’ll need to seek out Pilates jobs and apply. Below are some of our best job-related resources. We hope you find them helpful. The…
Beginner-intermediate Pilates mat class: Warm up: Standing Thoracic Rotation Standing Sagittal Arm Arcs Standing reach up and pull down alternating arms (like climbing a rope) Standing extension (heart lifts to sky) Quadruped: Cat/Cow Hip Glides Press into right hand left knee in neutral spine Press into left hand right knee in neutral spine Switch back…
Years ago, Avon Cosmetics’ Latin American division got in trouble about their misleading advertising, promising dark-haired, dark-skinned women that they would look like the blonde, light-skinned models if only they used Avon skin creams. We don’t make that claim at Body Harmonics. You can do Pilates 24/7 and we still won’t promise that you’ll look…
Which body type benefits most from a push up? And which one benefits the least? Each of the three ‘pure’ body types has differing movement capacities and limitations. Your body type will influence your abilities with different Pilates exercises and may contribute to how much you love or hate an exercise. Last week I introduced…
Body Types As much as we would like to believe it, the cute behind we see in the movie shower scene probably doesn’t belong to Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie. We all know that body doubles often replace Hollywood stars in risky or revealing scenes. In the movie of your life, who would be cast…
80 years young from Pilates This month we are celebrating Monica Armour, one of our star clients who turns 80 on July 8. She and I sat down to chat a few weeks ago about her time at Body Harmonics, where she started and where she’s at. She and I have worked together for close to…
Becoming a Pilates instructor I had been practicing Yoga with in incredible instructor Naomi Zahler for five years. I knew that she was also certified in Pilates but I never knew what that meant. She finally opened her own basement studio and began to offer exclusive Pilates classes so I decided to go. I’m a…
Reduce stress with breath For most of us, stress is practically a given. We remind ourselves constantly to eat wholesome food, get adequate rest and take care not to overcommit, but sometimes, thinking about what we should be doing to control our stress levels causes them to rise. It all becomes a vicious cycle and…
The muscles of the Rotator Cuff The rotator cuff is one of those areas that is so frequently injured or dysfunctional that most people will have heard the term “rotator cuff”, even if they have no clue what it refers to. This blog series will help us get familiar with this part of the body,…
Resources for every Pilates and movement professional The work we do at Body Harmonics has always been about helping people transform their lives through movement. Over the years, I’ve worked with many clients, trained thousands of instructors and witnessed miracles along the way. One way we create miracles at Body Harmonics on a daily basis is…
Launch your Pilates career Georgia Burns is one of our superstar instructors at Body Harmonics. Her Pilates work has given her a great life: she has a very full teaching schedule, owns a beautiful condo downtown Toronto, a car and an adorable puppy. She’s been teaching Pilates for 16 years now, travelled across the globe…
Comparing Springboard and Reformer machines Springboards are becoming more and more popular. They’re more affordable and they take up less space than bigger pieces of equipment. What’s the appeal? And how is it different from the other major piece of resistance equipment: the Reformer. Even though both the Reformer and Springboard use spring resistance, the…
Meet Margot! Body Harmonics has been taking part in the Toronto Yoga Conference and Show the past several years. Each year we have a booth to meet and greet people, share exercises and answer questions about what we do – essentially move well. teach well. be well. Margot McKinnon, Body Harmonics founder, also presents educational…
How to prep for your Pilates class So you get this opportunity to offer an ongoing class in a new venue. You jump at the chance and find out the particulars of place, time and duration of the class. This is all key information but it doesn’t give you anything in terms of “planning power”.…
Planing your pilates class You may have found an extra hour in your schedule and want to fill it up, but starting a new Pilates class can be exciting and frustrating at the same time. Before you get your advertising out, consider these four points to make sure you’re prepared and have thought things through.…
