PILATAY

10/24/2026

Safety first! 👻

Get your set-up and exit strategies down, kids!

👻 Hanging: Never hang alone (rotate the fuzzy so your heel can slip through the strap - not loop a side.)

👻 Chest Expansion: Return the straps slowly - people lose balance when they lose tension on the in.

👻 Push-Through Bar: Thumb around! Chain on when you’re under it (Even with no spring - I just lost footing yesterday when trying to flex without tension of springs. 😬)

👻 Reformer: Control the springs! Out to come in!

👻 Wunda Chair dismount: Keep your body weight forward until the springs are closed.

NEVER CHANGE A LOADED SPRING! 👻👻👻

Stay safe out there, Pilates people! Love you. Mean it!

10/23/2026

The better you get, the harder it gets. The deeper you go.

And that’s the hardest part for most people.

Some people give up completely… they just can’t “go in.”

Others resist, and once they arrive, the light in their eyes changes: “This is incredible!”

People who are already there, very introspective or in tune with their bodies like professional athletes often “get it” right away.

For some of us 🙋🏼‍♀️ it takes a little longer. 🤷🏼‍♀️🤭

The hardest part of being a Pilates teacher is that it’s not just about teaching a shape or a movement or an exercise… a person success is 100% dependent on them. On their ability to concentrate and focus and work towards control. The teacher can’t crawl inside your brain and figure it out for you.

But when you get there, it’s like a whole New World. It almost feels magical. 🪄🦄

10/22/2026

Michael Johnson Michael Johnson talks motor control and more in this week’s episode of the Pilates Podcast by Pilatay With Tracy Belcher Pilates podcast.

https://www.pilatay.com/zest-and-pleasure/michael-johnson-talks-the-pilates-eye-chart-and-motor-control

Michael Johnson discusses the Pilates eye chart and how his own recovery from a head injury helped him understand the fundamental role the eyes play in motor control, inspiring his signature workshop series, MatFit Lab.

Michael has been a Pilates student for more than 40 years and has worked with renowned Pilates teachers Eve Gentry, Romana Kryzanowska, Jay Grimes, Kim Lee, Lo**ta San Miguel, and more. He was certified to teach by both Romana Kryzanowska and Kim Lee.

He also has certifications in yoga and personal training, with additional training in kinesiology, mobility, and calisthenics.

10/21/2026

🙋🏼‍♀️

Sometimes it’s really that simple. Unplug. Move your body.

The best experiences are not happening on social media.

Getting offline and into the studio is where I can finally breathe. 🧘

➡️ FOLLOW if you like e Pilates! Let’s celebrate the magic of the method together! 🪄

10/20/2026

New Episode is up!!!

Michael Johnson discusses the Pilates eye chart and how his own recovery from a head injury helped him understand the fundamental role the eyes play in motor control, inspiring his signature workshop series, MatFit Lab. Michael has been a Pilates student for more than 40 years and

10/19/2026

Pilates is never a bad idea.

10/19/2026

And honestly how nice would it be to be able to blame the equipment? 🫣😂🤸

Does your neck hurt in the Hundred on the Reformer? 😢

If so, there are MANY different connections that could be contributing to this: Maybe it’s the arm connection into the back, maybe it’s the opening of your back ribs… I don’t know, and neither does anybody else unless they’re working with you directly.

BUT for SOME people (keyword SOME) an equipment adjustment may help. 🤷🏼‍♀️

I know high risers are preferred in contemporary Pilates because of the contemporary feet in straps series… risers help you do big yummy circles without letting the straps hit the shoulder blocks. I get it.

But a lower setting may prove helpful when it comes to powerhouse/center/trunk activation.

And in the Hundred, when you’re dealing with such heavy springs (the default is ALL springs on), I know the line of pull changes the way I experience the exercise.

Also, I feel my neck take on too much effort when I start with my hands behind my shoulders.

So if you’re using the loop system, maybe try the long loops.

Or, you can try what I did here which is pull your hands over your shoulders before you curl up.

Anyway, let me now what you think. ⬇️⬇️⬇️

Ultimately, the best course of action is to use all the apparatuses in the studio to build the necessary skills of an exercise before attempting the full expression of the exercise.

HOWEVER - we all don’t have that luxury.

And, maybe equipment really is to blame! 🤷🏼‍♀️ How great would that be!?

10/18/2026

“How did Joe Pilates come up with all of this?”

A client recently asked me this after a particularly important breakthrough during her Pilates session.

Using the mat work as a guide, slowly and systematically building skills with clients as needed through use of the various Pilates apparatuses, has been wildly effective, and has gotten me thinking about Joe Pilates’ intentions for his method and the role he had in mind for of all his “inventions.”

Like, how the heck did he come up with all this brilliance? How did he filter out all the nonsense and simplify the needs of the human body in such a digestible way that is only more relevant today?

There’s so much Pilates lore out there. We make so many bombastic statements without any real evidence to back it up. I’m often afraid to repeat anything I hear because I don’t know what is fact versus interpretation.

I think that’s what drives my interest in Pilates history. I want to know what’s real and what’s true, and the closer I get to that, the better the system seems to work. The simpler it is.

I wanted to share with you guys some of the quotes I often think about while contemplating the magical method of Pilates!

And, if you have any favorite quotes, or thoughts, please feel free to add them below.

(It’s also worth noting that there may be some typos in here. The newspapers don’t always get it right and sometimes they’re paraphrasing themselves. Who knows what their fact-checking was like back then. So do with that what you will.)

And last note, I really wanted to put this to the background music of “insane in the brain”, but I knew you guys would get mad at me because it’s too busy, so I went with “what was I made for.” 🤣

Love you Pilates people! Mean it! ❤️