myacademy

Pilates inspired plank position highlighting stability, endurance training, and controlled bodyweight strength work. Walk into any fitness space today and you will hear the words strength, tone, and endurance used almost interchangeably. Clients ask for strength training when they mean a harder workout. Others say they want endurance but really mean they want to feel less tired. For Pilates teachers it is useful to understand the difference, because the Pilates method often s

Standing Pilates practitioners practice lateral rib breathing, hands on ribs to feel expansion and control. Breathing is not only a function of the lungs. It is also influenced by posture. The position of the spine, the direction of gravity, and the movement of the diaphragm all affect how easily the lungs expand. Research in respiratory physiology shows that body position alters lung volumes, breathing mechanics, and diaphragm function. This means that breathing while standi

Western cereal breakfast contrasts with traditional steamed vegetables on morning table. I have been in China teaching Pilates, and every time I come here something small unsettles me in the best possible way. This time it has been breakfast. No cereal. No cold milk. No bright cardboard boxes promising fibre and vitality. Instead, there are vegetables, rice porridge, noodles, soups, sometimes an egg. Warm, savoury, practical. And it makes me pause and ask, when did cereal bec