MINDFUL MOVEMENT
We’ll be exploring simple, yet powerful techniques to enhance your students’ connection to their practice and their body. Each technique in the lecture video can be explored deeper in your personal practice.
It does not have to be complicated to be effective, so just slow it down and really explore the role of mindful breathing, preparatory movements, and the role of your cueing to create an environment that helps the student become present.
When you are ready for more info, browse the resource videos for practical ideas to incorporate into your class to enhance body awareness.
Homework:
Experience some of the fascial techniques below. Feel free to pause the video and get creative with your own additions and intuitive flow. Take note of how these movements make your body feel, and the effect they have on your nervous systems. Are you feeling more relaxed? More energized?
Prepare and practice 2 warm ups that you can add to your mat classes to create a mindful environment for the student and positively effect their fascia in the first 10 minutes of class. Write out basic cues for any 3 exercises from start to finish. Now, convert some of those cues from directions to questions. Have at least one question or an invitation for spatial awareness in each exercise. Practice them out loud, and start getting used to doing this every time you practice teaching.
📹 MINDFUL MOVEMENT
DOWNLOADS ⤵️
🗒 Mindful Movement PDF
MORE RESOURCES ⤵️
📹 HIP FLEXOR RELEASE
📹 LOWER BODY FASCIAL MOBILITY
📹 UPPER BODY FASCIAL MOBILITY
MAT 2
Let’s keep the momentum train rolling and head straight into Mat 2. Continue to practice the exercises, and then use the movement matrix to cue cue cue out-loud.
As you go through each Mat 2 exercise:
Go through each move in your own body
Practice each exercise in the order they are in your matrix
Pick 10 of those exercises to teach to someone else in the most basic way. You can also read them directly from your matrix while you are teaching your student
When you get more comfortable, add a warm-up, cool down to your sessions
Just work on the basics first, you got this 👍
📹 MAT 2
DOWNLOADS ⤵️
🗒 Mat 2 Movement Matrix
Week 6: MOVEMENT INTENTIONS
This week we will dive into - “movement intentions”. This lecture helps you start thinking about the WHY behind building your class. It will get you thinking about the exercises as tools for helping you create meaningful changes in your own or someone else’s body.
It will help you decide how you will select exercises for yourself, for your 1:1 clients, or for a class based on your understanding of the purpose behind each exercise.
As you already noticed, the movement intentions, or primary goals, are listed in your movement matrix. If you are ever unsure about a movement intention for a certain exercise, bring your questions to practice hours or office hours.
Knowing the Movement Intentions will help you build your classes with the handy resource in the downloads below 👍
📹 movement intentions
dowloands ⤵️
🗒 How to Build Your Classes Guide
MAT 1 + HOW TO CUE
Get ready to roll out your mat and start practicing. Literally do the exercises, as we walk you through each one in your video. Pause, so you can really feel the concepts discussed and take your time. You do not need to do this all in one day!
The next step is to grab the movement matrix below and practice cueing out loud as you go 🤓
Don’t worry about the cueing part too much - just make it basic. The concept of simplifying your cueing may feel challenging at first, but give it a try and see how much it can change your experience getting the words out faster.
Homework:
Practice each exercise and try to discover the underlying functional movement goals based on your experience with the movement.
Teach 5-10 of the Mat 1 exercises to someone else using the “cueing formula” discussed in your lecture and PDF.
📹 MAT 1
DOWNLOADS ⤵️
🗒 Mat 1 Movement Matrix
📹 STEPS TO EFFECTIVE CUEING
DOWNLOADS ⤵️
🗒 Steps to Effective Cueing PDF
FOUNDATIONS
The Foundations videos are meant to be of reference you can go back to again and again. There is a TON of information in these videos and PDFs, including, vocab. You don’t have to memorize all the things, just read through it, and come back to it again, in the weeks/months ahead. These principles are directly related to what you learned last week in the anatomy lecture. Right now, we just want to focus on the BIG picture.
Homework:
🚨The most important aspect for this lesson is self-practice. Practice feeling foundational concepts like “torso hug”, in your body. How do they feel in your body?
Teaching Practice: practice teaching someone to: Don’t worry if you feel like you’re not sure exactly what to say just yet, just think, “how would I describe these concepts in the simplest way to a friend, so they can understand them?”
Create a 20 minute warm up sequence that incorporates these three fundamental concepts from the Reference Section -- Neutral Pelvis, Torso Hug, and Large Letter "C" - engaged flexion. Add other movements that just feel good in your body. Let your creativity take you where it takes you. Once you come up with something that feels good, write it down, and you can use it as a warm up or "primer" for classes later on.
📹 FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLES
DOWNLOADS ⤵️
📝 Foundational Principles PDF
📹 ANATOMY OF BREATHING
📹 BREATHING BASICS
📹 PLANES OF MOVEMENT
HOW TO TEACH + ANATOMY
Welcome, teachers!
Today, you’ll begin to uncover the foundation of the Pilates practice you’ve come to love.
You’ll also get an overview of functional movement anatomy and watch one of the most important lectures — the Anatomy of the Core.
Homework:
Browse the PDFs below and do the homework
📹 TEACHING OVERVIEW: YOUR JOURNEY STARTS HERE 👇
DOWNLOADS ⤵️
🗒 What and How to Teach PDF
📹 ANATOMY OF THE INNER UNIT
DOWNLOADS ⤵️
🗒 Anatomy of the Inner Unit PDF
week 14: cadillac 2
Aug 8th
Let’s finish on a roll, with flips, and some pull-ups. That’s where the Cadillac can go (potentially). And don’t forget to celebrate with a proper dance party, because you deserve it 🎉 I will see you next week for our last office hours, and a little graduation partaay!
📹 Cadillac 2
week 17: Cadillac 1
Aug 1st
Finally, the Cadillac is here! Can you feel how close you’re getting to the end of the program btw? If you don’t have a Cadillac to practice on as much as you’d like, you can use a tower, or a spring board, or even some kind of a bungee/wall system to practice as many of these exercises as possible. Remember, you can always adapt a lot of this work to the equipment you have available once you understand the fundamental concepts.
📹 Cadillac 1
week 16: what are you looking at? how to observe
July 25th
This lecture is short but MIGHTY. There is a reason it has its own week. Observation is one of the most important tools you’ll develop. And it’s also what will make your precious time fulfilling. Without learning how to observe and be in the present moment with the student, you will be stuck regurgitating (YUK) the same information over and over, which can lead to burn out. And you are on this planet to do so much more than that!
☎️ Office Hours - Friday, July 29th at Noon PST
📹 How to Observe Lecture
ADDITIONAL DOWNLOADS ⤵️
🗒 How to Observe Lecture PDF
BARRELS 1 & 2
A spine corrector is one of the most versatile tools you can use, and it’s extremely effective at not only improving every day function, but it’s great at assisting people through some of the challenging moments from Mat 1 and Mat 2. This module shows you 3 different types of barrels you will most often find at a Pilates studio. Dive right in!
HW TIP 📝: As you go through these don’t forget:
Go through each move in your own body
Practice each exercise in the order they are in your matrix
Get creative and practice using a 9”-12’ ball instead of the Spine Corrector, where possible, so you can easily add these movement to a Mat, Reformer, Cadillac, or even Chair class without having to use the Spine Corrector.
📹 Barrels 1 & 2
WEEK 14: CHAIR 1 & 2 + HOW TO CUE
July 11th
It’s Chair week! Fun fact: the Chair is the first piece of equipment I personally purchased because it less expansive than the Reformer and could easily fit into my tiny apartment. Now that you are very familiar with Mat and the Reformer, it will make your work on the Chair so much easier. Most of the exercises overlap and the fundamental concepts are the same. Let’s get into it!
HW TIP 📝: As always, when you go through the exercises in Chair, don’t forget:
Go through each move in your own body
Practice each exercise in the order they are in your matrix
Pick 10 of those exercises to teach to someone else in the most basic way. You can also read them directly from your matrix while you are teaching your student
When you get more comfortable, add a warm-up, cool down to your sessions
📹 Chair 1 + 2
week 10: reformer 2
JUNE 20th
Welcome to a BIG week. Reformer 2 is shorter than Reformer 1, but a lot more physically demanding, especially on the upper body. So this week, we’re adding another Reference 📹 all about the upper body.
Now that you’ve been working really hard the last few weeks, we’ll meet for for group class hours soon and answer all of your questions. It’s also an opportunity to go over ANY exercises from Reformer you have questions about or to go deeper into anatomy and discuss cueing.
HW TIP 📝: As you go through the exercises in Reformer 2, don’t forget:
Go through each move in your own body
Practice each exercise in the order they are in your matrix
Pick 10 of those exercises to teach to someone else in the most basic way. You can also read them directly from your matrix while you are teaching your student
When you get more comfortable, add a warm-up, cool down to your sessions
Just work on the basics first, you got this 👍
📹 Reformer 2
📹 All About the Shoulder Girdle
week 8: Reformer and anatomy
JUNE 6TH
This week combines two big lectures. You will learn Reformer 1 and dig into Anatomy of the Core. There is a ton of info, but it’s all interrelated. See if you can incorporate what you are learning from the anatomy lecture right into your cueing on the Reformer during your practice teaching hours, or as you tune into your body during your own practice.
This is also the first time you will get not only a Movement Matrix, but also an Equipment Matrix to set up your equipment. You can download all these docs and save them on your phone as you practice.
HW TIP 📝: As you go through the exercises in Reformer 1, don’t forget:
Go through each move in your own body
Practice each exercise in the order they are in your matrix
Pick 10 of those exercises to teach to someone else in the most basic way. You can also read them directly from your matrix while you are teaching your student
When you get more comfortable, add a warm-up, cool down to your sessions
Just work on the basics first, you got this 👍
☎️ Office Hours - Friday, June 10th at 2:30 pm PST
📹 Reformer 1
📹 Anatomy of the Inner Unit Lecture
📹 Anatomy of Breathing
📹 Hip Flexor Release
ADDITIONAL DOWNLOADS ⤵️
🗒 Anatomy of the Inner Unit PDF
🗒 Reformer 1 Movement Matrix
🗒 Reformer 1 Equipment Matrix
WEEK 5: MINDFUL MOVEMENT
MAY 16TH
This week is all about exploring simple, yet powerful techniques to enhance your students’ connection to their practice and their body. Each technique in the lecture video can be explored deeper in your personal practice.
It does not have to be complicated to be effective, so just slow it down this week and really explore the role of mindful breathing, preparatory movements, and the role of your cueing to create an environment that helps the student become present. We will go in depth with this in our live office hours, so don’t miss out!
When you are ready for more info, browse the resource videos for practical ideas to incorporate into your class to enhance body awareness, and read the PDF on how to incorporate all the technique to build a complete class.
☎️ Office Hours - Friday, May 20th at 2:30 pm PT
📹 Mindful Movement Lecture
ADDITIONAL resources ⤵️
📹 lower body fascia priming ideas
📹 upper body fascia priming ideas
📹 more fascia 101
Can’t get enough fascia talk? Heather gives you more of it!
WEEK 4: MAT 2
MAY 9th
Let’s keep the momentum train rolling and head straight into Mat 2. Continue to practice the exercises, and then use the movement matrix to cue cue cue out-loud.
This week we also dive into - “movement intentions”. This will get you thinking about the exercises as tools for helping you create meaningful changes in your own or someone else’s body.
How you select exercises for yourself, for your 1:1 clients, or for a class will come from your understanding of the purpose behind each exercise.
As you already noticed, the movement intentions, or primary goals, are listed in your movement matrix for each technical video. If you are ever unsure about a movement intention for a certain exercise, bring your questions to practice hours or office hours.
📹 Mat 2
📹MOVEMENT INTENTIONS LECTURE
ADDITIONAL DOWNLOADS ⤵️
🗒 Mat 2 Movement Matrix
MAT 1
This week we dive into the first technique demo for Mat 1. Get ready to roll out your mat and start practicing. Literally do the exercises, as we walk you through each one. Pause, so you can really feel the concepts discussed and take your time. You do not need to do this all in one day!
The next step is to grab the movement matrix below and practice cueing out loud as you go 🤓
We also talk about “how to cue”. The concept of simplifying your cueing may feel challenging at first, but give it a try and see how much it can change your experience getting the words out faster.
Although the “how to cue” lecture is short, it packs a punch. There is a TON of content for you to work through as you go through this entire program. I recommend coming back to this lecture often.
If you’re craving your own mat class, check out the reference library of mat classes from our virtual mat studio 👇
🔗MAT Classes from the Virtual Studio (for reference) ➡️ https://vimeo.com/showcase/8278875
Password: TeachersinTraining2022
📹 Mat 1
📹 steps to effective and meaningful cueing
WEEK 1: FOUNDATIONS
The Foundations lecture is meant to be a reference you can go back to again and again. If you come across concepts in the Foundations videos that we have not yet talked about (especially the anatomy references), don’t worry, we’ll get there. For now, just try to take away some of the bigger concepts and go back to these details later.
This week, we’ll also begin to uncover the foundation of your teaching from a technical perspective, with a bit of functional movement anatomy. Plus, we’ll start talking about WHAT and HOW to teach. There is a TON of information in this week’s PDFs, including, vocab. You don’t have to memorize all the things, just read through it, and come back to it again, as we get going in the weeks ahead.
Right now, we just want to focus on the BIG picture, instead of all the details.
🚨The most important aspect for this week, is self-practice. Practice feeling foundational concepts like “torso hug”, in your body.
Heads up 👍— the homework PDFs for this section will often refer to the “Anatomy of the Core” lecture. Don’t worry about that yet. Once we get to the anatomy lecture later on in our training, you can go back to this Reference/Foundations section and you’ll be able to come full circle. For now, just stay in this section and resist the urge to jump around.