There was a time when I barely taught Mat Pilates. I know that might sound strange now, especially if you know me primarily through my Mat work, but it is true. For years, my professional world revolved around barre and the reformer. I was teaching in New York City, where studios were fully equipped, classes were fast-paced, and everything was designed to be as big and as impressive as possible. I loved it. I was good at it. And it gave me an incredible foundation as a teacher. But then my life changed in a way that quietly changed my entire relationship to Pilates. I moved to England.
And I was pregnant. And suddenly there were no barres. No reformers. No familiar rooms full of equipment. There was just me, my changing body, and a mat on the floor. I was insecure at first. I had spent so much of my teaching life leaning on tools, springs, straps, rails, resistance. They were wonderful tools, but they were also something to hide behind. On the mat, there is nowhere to hide. Your body tells the truth immediately. And that truth changed me. Very quickly, I fell in love. Not with choreography. Not with being sweaty (eww I hate sweaty!)! But with how deeply Mat Pilates let me feel myself.
Pregnancy forces you to listen. Your center shifts. Your balance changes. Your joints soften. You cannot muscle your way through movement anymore, you have to understand it. Mat Pilates became my anchor during that time. It was the one place I could explore my body safely, honestly, and with respect for what it was going through. That experience is one of the reasons I still say, to this day, that my body requires at least one Mat Pilates class every week.
I need to roll.
Spinal articulation is not optional for me, it is essential.
There is nothing like the feeling of rolling your spine down, one bone at a time, and then stacking it back up again. It’s not just stretching. It’s not just strengthening. It’s communication between your nervous system and your skeleton. It is a reminder of where you are in space and how your body actually works. Yes, we do spinal mobility on the reformer. But let’s be honest, many of those exercises are advanced. They assume a lot of strength, a lot of coordination, and a lot of confidence. On the mat, we get to start at the beginning. Even in a beginner Mat class, we are already teaching spinal mobility. We are already teaching how the pelvis moves, how the ribs respond to breath. This is why Mat Pilates is so powerful. It does not wait for you to be “advanced” before it gives you the good stuff. It gives you the foundation right away.
That foundation became even more important to me years later, when I injured my back. I had to remove rolling exercises for a while during my recovery. I could not do some of the things I loved most. But what saved me was that my nervous system already knew them. My body had years of Mat Pilates in it. I understood how to articulate my spine, how to stabilize my pelvis, how to breathe through movement. That knowledge did not disappear just because I was injured. It guided me back. This is why I recommend Mat Pilates for absolutely everyone over 40. Not because it’s gentle. But because it’s honest. It keeps your spine moving. It keeps your brain connected to your body.
And it gives you a way to keep evolving, even when things change. That is also why I created my Online Mat Pilates Course.
This program is for two kinds of people. The first is the client who loves Mat Pilates, who wants to understand it more deeply, feel it more clearly, and move with more confidence and intelligence.
The second is the future teacher, the person who feels that pull to teach, to guide others through movement that actually matters. You do not have to decide which one you are right now. You should just start.
This course was built from decades of teaching, learning, and also recovering. It is informed by my time in New York City, my years in Europe, my experience owning and running a studio, and my own journey through injury and healing. It is thoughtful. It is detailed. And it is designed to grow with you.
Right now, I am closing new enrollments for a few months so I can focus on supporting the students who are already inside. That means this is your window to step in. If you begin now and study just two hours a week, you could be ready to teach Mat Pilates by summer. But even if you never teach a single class, you will walk away with something just as valuable, a deeper relationship with your own body. That is what Mat Pilates gave me when I needed it most. And it’s what I would love to give you.
If you are ready to roll, to breathe, to articulate, and to trust your body again, this journey is waiting for you.
SIGN UP HERE for the Mat Pilates Training
