Spring has us busy as bees here at Pilates by the Bay! Here’s what’s happening this month:
- March MATness check in and playlist
- Equipment Spotlight: Bodhi Suspension System
- Move of the Month: The Saw
- Pilates on Tour at the New York City Ballet
We’ve officially hit the halfway mark of March MATness! This month is all about honoring where it all began with Joseph Pilates’ original 34 mat exercises, known as Contrology. These movements laid the foundation for everything we do today, and they still challenge, strengthen, and refine the body in powerful ways.
Joseph Pilates was also an innovator, creating equipment designed to support and elevate movement. That spirit is exactly what I love celebrating all month long.
On social media we’ll continue to highlight one exercise each day, but in the studio we’re recognizing the various aspects of those original exercises and how they translate on the different pieces of equipment! Come check out a class to feel the connections, deepen your practice, and understand the method on a whole new level.
If you’re following along on social media, we made a YouTube playlist so you can join us wherever you are!
Fresh Season, Fresh Gear
Don’t miss our Spring studio sale!
Equipment Spotlight: Bodhi Suspension System
The Bodhi Suspension System is Pilates’ version of TRX, rather than one strap with handles together Bodhi has two straps with different grips one is a handle and the other is the short and long loop just like the reformers.
Since Bodhi ropes don’t use any springs they’re considered a prop. We use them in our Saturday mat classes, and often incorporate them into tower classes.
Like any other prop the Bodhi ropes give us assistance to do the exercises, but it’s really more of you and your body doing the work. Remember it’s the spring tension on the equipment that gives you more resistance and assistance, so mat work and Bodhi is more challenging than the Reformer and Tower.
Pilates on Tour at the NYC School of Ballet
Earlier this month I attended Pilates on Tour at the New York City School of Ballet. It was an educational and impactful trip that left me with some key takeaways I’d like to share with you.
This year’s theme was “connection and awareness.” Connection to your breath, body, equipment, or prop. Awareness of your body and every position and move you are making.
And it was so cool to be at the SAB (as the kids call it) and take sessions in the dance classrooms. Some of the sessions I took were taught by people who trained under Kathy Grant. It was interesting to learn her methods of teaching and while she did train dancers all of her visualization cues were very practical like zipping up tight pants to keep your abs in and buttoning up your vest to keep your ribs closed.
The keynote speaker was Ken Endelman, head of Balanced Body, the History of Pilates. Ken did research on Joesph Pilates and had some amazing photos and facts:
- In Germany there was a boxing school run by the Pilates family, Joe his brother and father. Joe most likely came to the US for boxing in 1928 and became a US citizen in 1955.
- While in NY he marketed himself and Contrology with articles in newspapers and readers digest. He would have loved social media and March Matness.
- He strongly felt Contrology was the answer to everything (like me) and even wrote a letter to President John F. Kennedy and petitioned for contrology to be taught in schools as it is the answer to the decline of civilization.
- The original prototype for the Reformer from 1927 had weights rather than springs but it was impractical as it would need to be tall where you would need a ladder to get on it in order for the weights to move properly.
One of the highlights of the trip was a Konnections Bands workshop. The bands were created by Viktor Uygan, a former dancer, Pilates teacher, studio owner, and the inventor of the Konnect Method. His reformers use four straps, which inspired the design and function of the Konnections Bands.
During the workshop, we explored how the bands help you create stronger connections throughout your body. Feeling that immediate sense of integration and coordination made it clear: we needed these in the studio. I’m excited to share that they’re already on their way to Pilates by the Bay!
The Konnections Band enhances Pilates sessions by linking all four limbs, encouraging balanced movement and greater body awareness. Each band is covered with fabric that protects the resistance band from wear while keeping it comfortably away from your skin and hair. With loops at both ends, the bands can be incorporated into a wide variety of exercises, adding a fresh dimension to your workouts.
Stay tuned … we can’t wait for you to try them in class soon!
Move of the Month: Saw
This month we’re putting the spotlight on the Pilates classic Saw. At first glance it looks simple, yet it’s one of those deceptively sophisticated exercises that reveals just how thoughtful the Pilates method can be.
The name comes from the action of reaching the opposite hand toward your foot, as if you’re going to “saw off the baby toe.” As you rotate and fold forward, the exercise lights up the abdominals, especially the obliques, while encouraging a deep twist through the torso. At the same time, the spine lengthens upward before reaching forward over the leg, creating space and stretch through the back body.
Saw was one of the original 34 mat exercises that we highlighted during March Matness but can be performed on all pieces of equipment, even standing. It’s a beautiful example of how Pilates blends strength, mobility, and precision into a single movement.