Many high-level skills in Pilates, yoga, and calisthenics require the ability to bear weight on the arms or to hang from the arms (brachiation). If we view the whole Pilates repertoire with these goals in mind, we can see how open-chain tasks set us up for these advanced closed-chain skills, where the arms are the base that moves the rest of the body through space. We can also appreciate how these high-level skills are the most dramatic expression of abilities we all use every day: the ability to use our arms to help change our position from lying to sitting, or from sitting to standing, for example. Or the ability to steady ourselves using the strength of our arms when our hand is on a stair rail or subway pole.

To understand these uses of the upper extremity, from the everyday to the exotic, we need to understand the structure and function of the shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand. In this Movement Science Made Simple course we:

• Review the musculoskeletal anatomy of the shoulder, elbow, wrist and hand
• Learn training strategies to help clients work toward arm-standing and hanging (brachiating) movements
• Appreciate the places in the Pilates repertoire where arm-standing and brachiating are trained
• Refine our teaching of the Pilates repertoire with these high-level goals in mind

In the Pilates studio, we encounter many clients with hip pain and/or a diagnosis of a particular hip pathology. While it is not our job as Pilates teachers to treat a client’s hip diagnosis, it is helpful to be familiar with some of the conditions we commonly encounter. This understanding allows us to better communicate with our clients and other practitioners, and gives us the confidence to move forward with a client in pain.

In this 4.5 hour webinar, we will discuss:

• Hip dysplasia
• Femeroacetabular impingement (FAI)
• Osteoarthritis of the hip
• Gluteal tendinopathy and trochanteric bursitis

We will learn strategies for making choices within the Pilates environment that honor contraindications and precautions. And we’ll include a discussion of recent findings in pain science as they relate to hip pain.

In the Pilates studio, we encounter many clients with shoulder pain and/or a diagnosis of a particular shoulder pathology. While it is not our job as Pilates teachers to treat a client’s shoulder diagnosis, it is helpful to be familiar with some of the conditions we commonly encounter. This understanding allows us to better communicate with our clients and other practitioners, and gives us the confidence to move forward with a client in pain.

In this 4.5 hour webinar, we will discuss:

• Rotator cuff tears and impingement syndrome
• Biceps tendinitis
• Osteoarthritis of the shoulder
• Frozen shoulder

We will learn strategies for making choices within the Pilates environment that honor contraindications and precautions. And we’ll include a discussion of recent findings in pain science as they relate to shoulder pain.

In the Pilates studio, we see many clients with low back complaints. While back pain is complex, and the majority of low back pain is “non-specific,” it is helpful to understand common conditions that may be contributory. This understanding allows us to better communicate with our clients and other practitioners, and gives us the confidence to move forward with a client in pain.

In this 3-hour webinar, we will discuss:

Degenerative disc disease

Disc bulges and herniations

Lumbar stenosis

Facet joint arthritis

Spondylolysis and spondylolisthesis

We will learn strategies for making choices within the Pilates environment that honor contraindications and precautions. And we’ll have a short introduction to pain science, in order to understand some of the non-structural contributors to back pain.

In The Advanced Spine we take a deeper look at spinal mechanics in order to better visualize the 3-dimensional movement of the whole spine in our Pilates exercises, as well as to better understand spinal conditions such as scoliosis and hyperkyphosis.

In this Movement Science Made Simple course, we will:

• Draw on the research into the variability in sagittal spinal structure to help us update our understanding of what “normal” posture looks like
• Examine the typical sagittal changes that occur in the aging spine, and learn strategies for working with them
• Learn Fryette’s laws of spinal motion as they relate to the Pilates repertoire and to scoliosis
• Understand the “why’s” of best practices for working with clients with scoliosis or osteoporosis

This course has prerequisites: Look, Listen, Push, Pull; Separate But Connected; and Your Song Is Your Strength.