Put Your Best Foot Forward Bunions, fallen arches, curled up toes and plantar fascitis beware- some simple exercises can combat and conquer these problems These exercises have been reforming and refreshing tired achy feet for decades. Little devices- such as elastic bands off the head of a bunch of broccoli, a tennis ball or your hand towel that innocently hangs in your bathroom, can be formidable weapons in the war against foot pain. These tools, used correctly, really get the circulation going. Beginning from the bottom up, at the start of a day or as a sweet ending the choice is yours - either way you win. For thousands of years the benefits of reflexology have been enjoyed. This book takes it further -by increasing ankle stability, flexibility, alignment and propulsion. These exercises are often used to help develop speed for an athlete and the arch jump of the dancer. At the end of the day- it just plain feels GREAT. Here is my favorite exercise to become refreshed and revitalized- from the bottom up This book is for everyone- to prevent pain, to relieve pain or to move you forward with strength and alignment. Get ready to put your Best Foot Forward

For more than 40 years, I have been involved with the method Joe and Clara Pilates shared with their students, called Contrology. I spent my life studying the exercises and the thread between the exercises. For over three decades, I have applied this knowledge as a teacher of clients, teachers, as well as teachers of teachers. I have had the gift and blessing to have studied under the best of Joe and Clara's students, some of whom they personally trained and certified to continue his legacy. Their goals were the same as mine: to define, clarify, share, protect and proliferate this body of work.

This book not only shares detailed, clear photos and instructions for the Pilates Mat work, as I personally teach, but also notes about how my teachers taught these exercises, both in their studios and in their teacher training programs. The book covers how Joe Pilates taught the work in his book and also what he verbally passed on and taught to his teachers Lolita San Miguel, Kathy Stanford Grant (through the eyes of Blossom Leilani Crawford), and Romana Kryzanowska (through the eyes of Kathryn Ross- Nash) and shares notes on those vantage points.

Each of these teachers instructs with a unique voice, perspective, and way of communicating. Although each of these teachers utilizes different models of the method, they all share a common thread. This book celebrates that thread, these incredible teachers, and the legacy Pilates has given us.

To say I love this work is truly an understatement, I live, breathe, and cherish it. It is this passion that brings this book to you. My wish is that when you read the last exercise you will see that ALL of these students of Joe Pilates and students of Joe Pilates teachers share a common bond. They teach Pilates. They come to it from their unique vantage point, a reflection of the times, a need to adjust, but they all teach the work of Joe Pilates. They all began on their own path and had their unique journey, but in the end, all paths - start with Joe. I hope that the notes in this book will inspire you to open your hearts, your eyes, and your work to investigate the work of these gifted teachers. Because of their hard work, dedication and inspiration, we have the method before us that we do today. As the method unifies the mind, body, and spirit, I hope that through this book, the Pilates community will find understanding, respect and tolerance for the progressive variations of Joe's essential Pilates which experience and individual creativity have inspired. Whether we teach the Hundred with palms down or palms up, and so many other variations on the exercises Mr. Pilates bequeathed to us. We are all in this together - to share the many gems of this work we know as Pilates.

The exercises I describe in this book are a blend of the original way I learned the exercises from Romana when I began training in the '80s, through and post my teacher training with her in the '90s, and my journey in this work as a student of Kathy, Lolita, Jay and others who had a close relationship with Joe Pilates or his work. The exercises and order Romana used during my teacher training were slightly different. I have included many of these changes in the notes, and I refer to those as RK. I was blessed recently to have completed Lolita San Miguel's Pilates Master Mentor Program and was inspired by how and why she teaches the work. Lolita and her lead teacher, Danielle Armstrong, shared their insights for this book. I refer to these insights in the Notes as LSM. Sarita Allen trained for many years with Kathy Stanford Grant and has shared her notes and insights into Kathy's teaching. I refer to Sarita's notes, insights and variations in the Notes as KSG. Recently I have had the gift of becoming friends with the brilliant John Steel. To be honest, there was a time when he had been painted as a villain. Nothing could have been further from the truth. Having spent time with John, he further solidified my belief in this work, and he enlightened and delighted me with his wit and humor about his time with Joe and Clara. Most of all, he inspired me to continue my quest to unify the Pilates community. John, like Mr. Pilates, myself and so many others, believe in this work and the power of this work to make the world a better place- one body at a time.

Often Romana would point to a photo and tell me to add that exercise into my workout. If someone was doing the exercise, I was told to watch it and learn it. I was not taught as we teach our clients today. We had to be responsible for our orders, our exercises and our safety. I used the photos on the wall and the few verbal cues that we were given to learn the exercises. Most of all, we had the touch of our teachers to help us find the work, the flow of the movement to increase our circulation and the freedom of tension to lubricate our joints.

I hope you appreciate the simple format of this book and how important it is for me to pay respect to those who have blazed the trail and formed us into the teachers we are today. I thank my teachers and colleagues from the bottom of my heart for sharing themselves and their knowledge. I hope this book will inspire you to look deeper and search into yourselves and your Pilates then, now and in between.

The Baby Chair sat in the corner for years... She gathered dust and was only dragged out of the shadows for the occasional delicate client. Her power was unappreciated, untapped and unknown. She held the secret that makes the Pilates Method different from all others. Baby holds the gift of the lift. This is where we learn how to correctly scoop the abdominals in and up. To create length in the spine, first from the base of the Powerhouse, through the pelvis, then the stomach, buttocks, and thighs, and finally connecting the body from our head to our heel. Here is where we learn to push down to pull up. We create space in our spines and breath with expansion not experienced in other places. This is the lift of the Baby Chair.

This book is formatted in the style of Joseph H. Pilates' Return To Life, to give the reader a quick and simple reference guide with clear and efficient instructions and photographs. This portable book travels easily, with unincumbered information on the 90 Essential Baby Chair Exercises used to build your Mat and Reformer. Open this book and take Baby out of the corner and give your life a lift. The Baby Chair will change your Pilates forever!

This book contains 89 exercises executed on the Baby Chair/ Arm Chair with clear photographs and instructions.

How do you build a bridge? On a strong foundation. -KRN

The Red Thread of Pilates The Integrated System and Variation of Pilates - The Foundational Reformer(R) is like a good parent of a baby. It supports you, surrounds you, guides' you, to make centered and balanced decisions. It tries to give you a stable foundation.

This book is filled with all the tools you need to build a stable foundation. There are clear explanations of transitions between the exercises and how the transitions are exercises themselves. Throughout the book, you will learn the Thread that connects each exercise to develope your unique workout. Each exercises has suggestions

on where to safely replace an exercise by applying The Pilates Method. There are thousands of photos, each exercise provides a side view and an Instructors' view that were taken exactly at the same. The photos and instructions
will guide you through each exercise with ease. The

book is full of teaching tips and what to look for as
well as the Goal and Purpose of each exercise. Perhaps
the most important of the books, The Foundational
Reformer will help you create a strong and balanced
foundation in which all the other work may be supported
by. At this level, The Reformer builds a strong and solid Foundational Mat. A strong Foundational Mat is your key
to a balanced body and the development of all the exercises
to come. Unique to the Red Thread(R) Book Series, you will not only learn the how of each exercise, but the why, when and
what. There are rarely seen variations Ms. Ross-Nash personally was taught and teaches shared here and utilized through the application of her Red Thread(R). These will build stability, strength, Powerhouse, alignment and deepen your understanding of this brilliant method we call Pilates.

The Red Thread: The Integrated System and Variations of Pilates - The Mat gives to you over 35 years of experience in the Pilates Method Mat in one book. The book not only instructs how to execute the goal of each exercise, but how to build with variations and challenge each exercise, preparing the body for the next exercise to come. The book explains how and why to choose a variation to suit the needs of the student. It includes a comprehensive look at the connection between not only the Prior Exercise and the Thread that binds them, but the Thread that runs through the link between the Spinal Function of the exercise's predecessor. The book includes the purpose of each exercise, which enables you to break it down so the Purpose remains unchanged and the Method preserved. The Red Thread: The Integrated System and Variations of Pilates - The Mat offers Teachers tips on how to spot, what to look for, the Don't, Do's and Major Benefits of the exercise. The 1400 plus photos are taken both from the traditional vantage point and from the Teacher's view. The Pilates Method is also presented in easy to read Charts. These Charts breakdown, in simple form, what to Add Next. This will enable you to create a perfect workout to strengthen what is weak and challenge what is strong. The Charts offer a multitude of vantage points to build the work from. These include Spinal Functions and cover a vast range of injuries. My hope is that The Red Thread: The Integrated System and Variations of Pilates - The Mat will give both the Teacher and the Student insight into the Method we know as Pilates, the tools you need and elicit critical thinking. I hope it gives the insight needed to understand that the Pilates Method is NOT just a list of exercises and why, at each level of the work, one exercise follows another. The Red Thread: The Integrated System and Variations of Pilates - The Mat presents an understanding that this Method is NOT black and white, but a beautiful colorful canvas as unique as the body before you.

How do you build a bridge? On a strong foundation. -KRN

The Red Thread of Pilates The Integrated System and Variation of Pilates - The Foundational Reformer(R) is like a good parent of a baby. It supports you, surrounds you, guides' you, to make centered and balanced decisions. It tries to give you a stable foundation.

This book is filled with all the tools you need to build a stable foundation. There are clear explanations of transitions between the exercises and how the transitions are exercises themselves. Throughout the book, you will learn the Thread that connects each exercise to develope your unique workout. Each exercises has suggestions

on where to safely replace an exercise by applying The Pilates Method. There are thousands of photos, each exercise provides a side view and an Instructors' view that were taken exactly at the same. The photos and instructions
will guide you through each exercise with ease. The

book is full of teaching tips and what to look for as
well as the Goal and Purpose of each exercise. Perhaps
the most important of the books, The Foundational Reformer will help you create a strong and balanced foundation in which all the other work may be supported by. At this level, The Reformer builds a strong and solid Foundational Mat. A strong Foundational Mat is your key to a balanced body and the development of all the exercises to come. Unique to the Red Thread(R) Book Series, you will not only learn the how of each exercise, but the why, when and what. There are rarely seen variations Ms. Ross-Nash personally was taught and teaches shared here and utilized through the application of her Red Thread(R). These will build stability, strength, Powerhouse, alignment and deepen your understanding of this brilliant method we call Pilates.

Durante más de 40 años, he estado involucrado con el método que Joe y

Clara Pilates compartieron con sus alumnos, al que llamaron Contrología. He pasado mi vida estudiando los ejercicios, la conexión entre ellos, cómo aplicar

este conocimiento como profesor de clientes y finalmente como profesor de profesores. He tenido el regalo y la bendición de haber estudiado con los mejoresestudiantes de Joe y Clara. Algunos a quienes entrenaron, certificaron y prepararon personalmente para llevar adelante y continuar con este trabajo. Los objetivos son y fueron los mismos que los míos, definir, aclarar, compartir, proteger y proliferar este trabajo.

Este libro, no solo comparte fotos, detalles e instrucciones para el trabajo detallado del Pilates Reformer, como yo personalmente lo enseño, si no también notas de cómo mis maestros enseñaban estos ejercicios, tanto en sus lugares de trabajo como en sus programas de formación docente. Este libro contempla la manera

en que Joe Pilates expuso el método a través de notas de fotografías históricas, y también lo que él transmitió verbalmente y enseñó a Lolita San Miguel, Kathy Stanford Grant (a través de la mirada de Sarita Allen), Romana Kryzanowska (a través de la mirada de Kathryn Ross-Nash) y su alumno John Steele. Las notas compartidas son fascinantes y esclarecedoras!

Cada uno de estos maestros/estudiantes tiene una voz única, con una propia perspectiva y manera de comunicar. Las citas no están editadas para compartir

el encantador sabor y la personalidad de cada uno. Y aunque cada uno utilice diferentes modelos de enseñanza, todos tienen un hilo en común. Este libro celebra este hilo, a estos increíbles maestros/estudiantes y el legado que Joseph Pilates nos ha dejado.

Espero que disfruten los beneficios de Pilates y que este libro enriquezca el proceso de trabajo de cada uno de Uds. a través del método.

Pilates book on the reformer in Spanish

For years Baby sat in the corner- It's for old ladies and delicate dancers we were told. So for years Baby sat.... Off to the side and out of the light. This book will change your mind about the Arm/Baby Chair It contains exercises that challenge the strongest of strong. The Arm /Baby Chair teaches us the missing component in the Pilates of today. It teaches us how to lift and engage our Powerhouse in the correct manner. You will learn to move with length in two directions from a strong center. The Arm/ Baby Chair connects the front body to the back body and then both more deeply into the Powerhouse. Unique to this book, you will not only learn the how of each exercise, but the why, when and what. Why would I choose the Baby Chair instead of the Cadillac? When would I add a spot, bar or Magic Circle, What is the purpose of this exercise and how does it connect to the work of Pilates? Once again, the RED THREAD is woven and the connection is understood between the Mat and Reformer to increase a greater under- standing of Pilates as a Method. This book contains three examples for each exercise to understand what you would see during the Mat or Reformer to make you GO TO THE BABY CHAIR. So out of the corner Baby and into center stage cause nobody puts Baby in the corner

The High/Electric Chair is a crucial apparatus in the building of a strong Pilates Foundation. I didn't appreciate its versatility until my son came to me with a football player who had shattered his collarbone. This boy was a high school senior and the break had occurred a week prior to opening day. My sons' belief in the Method and his Mother was greater than mine, but he was right. There was a way for me to train this boy, who couldn't lie down and had never trained before. A Chair is a Chair, what you do on one you can do on the other was what I had been taught. My Teachers were right. Mat & Reformer were out (no lying down). He couldn't do Baby Chair for obvious reasons. We couldn't do the Wunda Chair...he would have killed himself So off to the High Chair we went. On this amazing apparatus, where Stability is honed, I translated the entire Method and created a safe workout, while avoiding the injury. The young man was strong and fit when he returned to the field for his final three games, I stood yet again in wonderment of Joe Pilates genius and grateful for the tools he left us.

Unique to the Red Thread (R) Book Series, you will not only learn the how of each exercise, but the why, when and what. This book contains photos and instructions that will guide youthrough each exercise with ease. There are never before seen variations Ms. Ross-Nash personally translated to the High Chair, through the application of her Red Thread (R), that will build stability, strength, Powerhouse, alignment and deepen your understanding of this brilliant method we call Pilates.

Durante más de 40 años he estado involucrada con el método que Joe y Clara Pilates compartieron con sus alumnos, al que llamaron Contrología. He pasado mi vida estudiando los ejercicios, la conexión entre ellos,

cómo aplicar este conocimiento como profesor de clientes y finalmente como profesor de profesores. He tenido el regalo y la bendición de haber estudiado con los mejores estudiantes de Joe y Clara. Algunos a quienes entrenaron, certificaron y prepararon personalmente para llevar adelante y continuar con este trabajo. Los objetivos son y fueron los mismos que los míos, definir, aclarar, compartir, proteger y proliferar este trabajo.

Este libro, no solo comparte fotos, detalles e instrucciones para el trabajo del Mat de Pilates, como yo personalmente lo enseño, si no también notas de cómo mis maestros enseñaban estos ejercicios, tanto en sus lugares

de trabajo como en sus programas de formación docente. Este libro contempla la manera en que Joe Pilates expuso el método en su libro Return To Life, y también lo que él transmitió verbalmente y enseñó a Lolita San Miguel, Kathy Stanford Grant (a través de la mirada de Blossom Leilani Crawford), y Romana Kryzanowska (a través de la mirada de Kathryn Ross- Nash), y comparte notas acerca de estos puntos de vista.

Cada una de estas maestras enseña con una voz única, con una propia perspectiva y manera de comunicar. Y aunque cada una utilice diferentes modelos de enseñanza, todas tienen un hilo en común. Este libro celebra este hilo, a estos increíbles maestros y el legado que Pilates nos ha dejado.

Espero que disfruten los beneficios de Pilates y que este libro enriquezca el proceso de trabajo de cada uno de Uds. a través del método.

The High/Electric Chair is a crucial apparatus in the building of a strong Pilates Foundation. I didn't appreciate its versatility until my son came to me with a football player who had shattered his collarbone. This boy was a high school senior and the break had occurred a week prior to opening day. My sons' belief in the Method and his Mother was greater than mine, but he was right. There was a way for me to train this boy, who couldn't lie down and had never trained before. A Chair is a Chair, what you do on one you can do on the other was what I had been taught. My Teachers were right. Mat & Reformer were out (no lying down). He couldn't do Baby Chair for obvious reasons. We couldn't do the Wunda Chair...he would have killed himself So off to the High Chair we went. On this amazing apparatus, where Stability is honed, I translated the entire Method and created a safe workout, while avoiding the injury. The young man was strong and fit when he returned to the field for his final three games, I stood yet again in wonderment of Joe Pilates genius and grateful for the tools he left us.

Unique to the Red Thread (R) Book Series, you will not only learn the how of each exercise, but the why, when and what. This book contains photos and instructions that will guide you through each exercise with ease. There are never before seen variations Ms. Ross-Nash personally translated to the High Chair, through the application of her Red Thread (R), that will build stability, strength, Powerhouse, alignment and deepen your understanding of this brilliant method we call Pilates.

For years Baby sat in the corner- It's for old ladies and delicate dancers we were told. So for years Baby sat.... Off to the side and out of the light. This book will change your mind about the Arm/Baby Chair It contains exercises that challenge the strongest of strong. The Arm /Baby Chair teaches us the missing component in the Pilates of today. It teaches us how to lift and engage our Powerhouse in the correct manner. You will learn to move with length in two directions from a strong center. The Arm/ Baby Chair connects the front body to the back body and then both more deeply into the Powerhouse. Unique to this book, you will not only learn the how of each exercise, but the why, when and what. Why would I choose the Baby Chair instead of the Cadillac? When would I add a spot, bar or Magic Circle, What is the purpose of this exercise and how does it connect to the work of Pilates? Once again, the RED THREAD is woven and the connection is understood between the Mat and Reformer to increase a greater under- standing of Pilates as a Method. This book contains three examples for each exercise to understand what you would see during the Mat or Reformer to make you GO TO THE BABY CHAIR. So out of the corner Baby and into center stage cause nobody puts Baby in the corner