Whether you want to maintain and build on the strength that you have, rehabilitate an injury, or simply create more support to move through your life with less pain and more ease, this series will give you the tools to discover habits that may be holding you back, build the strength and awareness to support new patterns, and leave you feeling taller, stronger and more energized.

While traditional exercise and therapeutic work often uses a linear approach—"if your ankle hurts, do ankle exercises”—, Pilates looks at the body as a whole, building strength and movement patterns to support the entire system. At the heart of this work is a strong focus on the healthy function of the core muscles of the body (diaphragm, abdominal muscles, spinal muscles, and pelvic floor).

 A neglected core leads to discomfort and pain elsewhere in the body as a lack of support from your center translates into strain and dysfunction throughout a system that has taken on work it was never meant to do. You will most commonly feel the results of this dysfunction in your neck, shoulders, wrists, hips, knees, low back, and pelvic floor. 

By focusing on the healthy function of the core, Pilates exercises build the strength and awareness that allow your system to return to balance and your limbs and joints to regain their freedom and range of movement. You may be pleasantly surprised to find how much stronger and happier you feel as a result. The connected body, freed from stress and pain, is much more available to experience joy.

In this 4-week series you will:

•  Build strength in your center to support your extremities.

• Engage your abdominals without straining your neck.

• Release tight muscles to activate less active ones, and bring your body back into balance.

• Undo old beliefs about what it means to ‘stand up straight.’

• Connect your feet to your center to support your knees and hips.

• Understand proper alignment of ribcage and pelvis.

• Work with gravity (not against it) to support healthy posture.

• Activate your hamstrings (back of the leg) to release your quads and hip flexors (front of the thigh) 

• Differentiate the stabilizing movement of the abdominal wall from the tucking action of the rectus abdominus.

• Learn the fundamentals of the beginning Pilates mat sequence.

• Discover the beauty of action coming from a place of ease.

When you sign up for this series you will also get these bonus materials: 

• A downloadable Pilates mat exercise card.

• Study sheets for taking notes on the exercises you’ll be learning.

• Bonus short practice recordings.

• Links to articles and resources for further study.

COST

• $90 for the series, bonuses, and replays. You will have access to the replays for 3 months. 

• The series, bonuses, and replays are included with The Sanctuary membership. Not a member? Go here to join The Sanctuary and get unlimited access to this series and many others at no additional cost.