Pacific Northwest Pilates

10/28/2026

You finish a workout feeling accomplished. Then the next morning, something in your back feels off, and the questions start. Was that normal? Did I do something wrong? Should I skip the next class?

If you've ever been injured, those questions can be enough to keep you from exercising at all.

The tricky part is that feeling something during exercise is normal. Muscles working is how they get stronger. So how do you tell the difference between good work and a warning sign?

The first check is one most people already know. If you can't breathe comfortably or speak a few words, you've pushed past the productive zone.

The more useful question takes a little more awareness: where do you feel it, and does that match what the exercise is for?

Take footwork on the Reformer. You're lying on your back with your spine supported, and the work belongs in your legs. If you feel it in your back, that's a signal. Another part of the body may be compensating, and the exercise needs an adjustment.

Now compare that with lifting something overhead again and again. In that case, the muscles along your spine are supposed to help hold you upright. Feeling them work is appropriate effort. Even then, working should never cross into pain.

The day after matters too. Tired muscles that ease within a day or two are your body adapting. Deep, achy pain that lingers longer, pain in a joint, or sharp pain during or after exercise are signs that something needs to change.

"No pain, no gain" is one phrase you won't hear at Pacific Northwest Pilates. Our instructors pay close attention to where your effort goes, not just whether you finish the exercise. Over time, people learn to read these signals for themselves, and that confidence carries into everything they do.

If you'd like to build strength without the guesswork, we'd love to help you find the right place to begin.

Get started here: https://pacificnorthwestpilates.com/client-home/

10/26/2026

"Slow and controlled" is one of the first things we learn as Pilates instructors, and for good reason. It's how we build precision, alignment and the kind of control that keeps bodies moving well for years.

But think about what real life asks of the body. Lifting a suitcase into the overhead bin. Swinging a golf club. Catching a toddler mid-launch. Chasing down a pickleball. None of it happens in slow motion. If our training never asks the body to handle speed, load and changes in direction, where exactly is it supposed to learn?

That's the idea behind STOTT PILATES® Athletic Conditioning with the Twist Ball™. Developed by the Merrithew® team and launched at the UK Symposium in London in 2023, this workshop uses the Twist Ball™ to add load in two ways: static holds, and swinging and throwing actions. Those dynamic actions can enhance and stimulate the neuro-myofascial system, giving your programming direction, focus and a lot more variety. Control and athleticism aren't opposites. This workshop shows you how to train both.

We first brought this workshop to PNWPE in January 2024, and this time Melanie Byford-Young is leading it. Melanie is a physiotherapy-trained STOTT PILATES® Master Instructor Trainer with 20+ years of experience teaching instructors how to apply Pilates to real bodies, from rehab to performance.

A quick heads up: this one is designed for healthy, conditioned people ready for an athletic-style challenge. That includes you, because you'll be moving. It's a great fit if you work with athletes, active adults or the people in your advanced classes who are ready for something new.

STOTT PILATES® Athletic Conditioning with the Twist Ball™
Online | Saturday, December 5 | 8:30 - 10:30 AM PT
$140 | .2 CECs
You'll need a Pilates Mat and a Twist Ball™ (available on Merrithew.com or Amazon). Order yours early so it arrives in time.

Learn more and register here: https://pacificnorthwestpilates.com/continuing-education/

10/23/2026

Our next STOTT PILATES® course is coming up in November — and we offer it just once a year.

Injuries & Special Populations (ISP) is designed to help Pilates instructors safely and effectively work with clients recovering from injuries or managing special conditions, with practical applications across Matwork and equipment.

📅 November 12–15, 2026
📍 Pacific Northwest Pilates | Portland, Oregon
🎓 2.4 STOTT PILATES® CECs

Learn more about ISP, prerequisites, and registration:
https://pacificnorthwestpilates.com/stott-intensive/

10/22/2026

It's not that the exercises were wrong. It's that nobody explained why you'd choose them.

If you've taken an injury course or two, you've probably run into the same few traps.

There's the watered-down version, where every exercise you already know just gets smaller and easier, with no real explanation of the biomechanics behind it. You leave thinking, "Come on, I could have figured that out on my own."

There's the recipe: here's the condition, here's the list. Nothing helps you tell a knee six weeks out from meniscus surgery apart from a knee that's ached for ten years, even though they need completely different sessions.

There are the rules that keep flipping. Extension is good, flexion is bad, until someone tells you the opposite and nobody explains why.

And there's the classic "that's not your role." Don't diagnose, don't treat. Got it. But you're the one seeing this client twice a week through their recovery, and being told what you can't do isn't the same as learning what you can.

What all four have in common is that they skip the why. Flexion and extension aren't good or bad on their own. Whether a movement helps depends on the tissue involved, where it is in healing, and how that body manages load. Once you understand that, the "rules" stop contradicting each other, and you stop guessing.

That's what the STOTT PILATES® Injuries & Special Populations (ISP) course is built on. It trades "Which modification do I use?" for better questions: Where is this tissue in its healing? Is this movement truly off the table, or does it just need a different load, range or position? And where does my role end and the physician or physical therapist's begin? You'll come away with clinical reasoning you can bring to any client, and a clear picture of your place in prevention and post-rehabilitation.

At Pacific Northwest Pilates Education, ISP is taught by Katherine Brown, STOTT PILATES® Master Instructor Trainer, who works with clients with injuries and complex needs right here in our studio. Every "why" comes with a real example.

Injuries & Special Populations (ISP)
📍 Nov 12–15, 2026 | Portland, OR
Thu–Sat 12–7pm PT | Sun 9am–4pm PT
✔️ 24 hours of instruction | 2.4 CECs
✔️ Required for full STOTT PILATES® certification
✔️ Prerequisite: Intensive Mat-Plus (IMP), Intensive Reformer (IR) or Comprehensive Matwork & Reformer (CMR)

Your clients don't need you to have every answer memorized. They need you to ask better questions, and to understand the body well enough to act on the answers. 💜

Learn more and register at https://pacificnorthwestpilates.com/student-home/ or book a free chat with our Education Coordinator: https://pacificnorthwestpilates.com/book-a-free-chat/

10/20/2026

What happens after the first Pilates class, when the shaking stops being a surprise?

The Wall Street Journal recently had fun with strong men discovering how hard Pilates can be. We asked nine men who've practiced at our studio for years, some for more than two decades, why they keep coming back. Their answers have very little to do with shaking: a marathoner who avoided spinal surgery, a grandfather keeping up with his grandsons, and a 79-year-old who swan-dived off a bridge.

Read their stories in their own words:
https://pacificnorthwestpilates.com/pilates-fitness/why-men-do-pilates-real-answers-beyond-the-gym-bro-hype/

The WSJ says gym bros leave Pilates shaking. We asked nine men who've practiced for years what it's really like and why they keep coming back.

10/14/2026

Last chance to join us!

This Sunday, October 18, Master Instructor Trainer Katherine Brown will be teaching STOTT PILATES® Programming Protocols for Breast Cancer Rehab live online.

Designed for movement professionals, this specialized course explores current information on breast cancer, diagnosis and treatment; pre- and post-operative considerations for safe and effective exercise; and specific STOTT PILATES® programming protocols to support clients throughout their breast cancer journey.

Sunday, October 18 | 9:00 am–4:00 pm PT
💻 Live Online
💗 $420 — includes course manual ($60 value)
🎓 Earns .6 CECs

Only a few spaces remain. If you've been thinking about joining us, now is the time.

👉 https://pacificnorthwestpilates.com/continuing-education/

10/13/2026

Your client just finished cancer treatment. Your instinct is to treat her like she's fragile. That instinct might be holding her back.

It usually happens quietly, at the start of a session. "I finished treatment last month. I'm ready to start moving again." And in that moment, a teacher's mind starts racing. Is this safe? What should I avoid? Can she load that arm? Does she need medical clearance first?

If you've felt that flicker of panic, you're not alone. It means you care. But here's the part no one talks about: when we're unsure, we default to gentle. Tiny ranges, no load, and a lot of "just take it easy." Being handled like glass can quietly tell a client that her body can't be trusted. Careful is smart. Overly cautious doesn't serve anyone.

The research supports a more confident approach. International exercise guidelines for cancer survivors, developed by a roundtable convened by the American College of Sports Medicine, find that exercise is generally safe and support working with qualified exercise professionals. And the landmark Physical Activity and Lymphedema (PAL) trial found that slowly progressive, supervised strength training was safe for breast cancer survivors, including those with or at risk for arm lymphedema.

Every client is different, and not every client is a woman. Men get breast cancer too. It's rare, fewer than 1% of US cases, but those clients deserve the same informed care. Different bodies, same need for a framework.

That's what a protocol-based approach gives you: a clear starting point, a logical progression stage by stage, exercise choices with a reason behind them, and the confidence to progress your client, not just protect them. All while working alongside their care team, not in place of it.

In STOTT PILATES® Programming Protocols for Breast Cancer Rehab, Katherine Brown, STOTT PILATES® Master Instructor Trainer, will guide you through understanding breast cancer, detection, and treatment, applying Merrithew® programming protocols for pre-operative and post-operative stages, and exploring healing practices that support both physical and emotional recovery.

📍 STOTT PILATES® Programming Protocols for Breast Cancer Rehab
📍 Sunday, October 18 | 9am to 4pm PT | Online
📍 With Katherine Brown, STOTT PILATES® Master Instructor Trainer
📍 $420, course manual included | .6 CECs
📍 Small equipment required. Full list on our site.

See the full list and register here: https://pacificnorthwestpilates.com/continuing-education/

10/12/2026

Think back to the last time you skipped a walk because something ached.

It probably didn't feel like a big decision. It was just one walk. But for many people, that's how it begins. A sore knee turns into a few quiet days, and a few quiet days turn into a new routine. Weeks later, the stairs feel a little harder, and getting up from a low chair takes more effort than it used to.

The body responds to less movement faster than most of us realize. In one study, healthy adults in their early 70s who reduced their daily steps to about 1,400 for just two weeks lost nearly 4% of their leg muscle.

Pain researchers have a name for the pattern that often follows: the fear-avoidance cycle. When something hurts, it's natural to protect it. But over time, worry about pain or reinjury can lead people to avoid movement, and that avoidance is linked to deconditioning. Discomfort leads to less movement, which leads to less strength, less confidence, and even less movement. Each step makes the next one feel perfectly reasonable.

When people come to Pacific Northwest Pilates, they rarely lead with "I'm in pain." More often, they say something quieter: "I just don't feel like myself."

Here's the part we want everyone to know. Much of what feels like "just getting older" is often deconditioning, and deconditioning responds to thoughtful, consistent movement at any stage of life. In a landmark study, adults ages 86 to 96 more than doubled their leg strength after eight weeks of strength training, and their walking improved as well.

The cycle runs in reverse, too. Thoughtful movement builds strength. Strength builds confidence. Confidence leads to more movement. The walk comes back. The stairs feel steadier. Getting up from the floor gets easier. And one day, saying yes to that trip feels possible again.

Wherever you are in the cycle, it's a good place to start. Our instructors will meet you there and build at a pace your body can trust.

Book a Free Chat with our team:
https://pacificnorthwestpilates.com/book-a-free-chat/

Learn more about getting started at Pacific Northwest Pilates:
https://pacificnorthwestpilates.com/client-home/

10/08/2026

If your neck and shoulders start to ache after sitting for a while, you're not alone, and it may have less to do with your posture habits than you think.

For generations, the standard advice has been simple: sit up straight. It's well-intentioned, but it rarely creates lasting change. Most people respond by arching the lower back, lifting the ribs, and puffing up the chest. It looks taller for a moment, and then the body settles right back where it started.

At Pacific Northwest Pilates, we have a saying: if you've given a cue three times and nothing has changed, you need a different cue.

Here's what many people don't realize. Difficulty sitting upright usually isn't a strength problem. More often, restriction in the low back, deep hip muscles, and hamstrings creates a downward pull on the pelvis that the trunk simply can't overcome. It isn't a willpower problem either. Sitting upright improves gradually, as muscle tone changes and muscle groups rebalance and learn to work together differently. That's why mobility has to be restored alongside strength.

So what do our instructors do instead?

Sometimes we guide people to stack the spine through movement, one section at a time, from the pelvis to the lower back, ribcage, head, and neck. Upright sitting begins to feel natural rather than forced.

And very often, we simply raise the seat. Sitting on a box, bench, or firm cushion gives the pelvis room to find its balance. It improves alignment through the whole spine, takes strain off the neck and shoulders, and decompresses the spine, so movements like rotating or rounding forward don't add compression on top of compression. If someone feels shoulder discomfort during seated arm work, raising them up is often the first thing we try.

That isn't a shortcut. It's a smart starting point that lets the body practice good positions until it can find them on its own.

Want to feel the difference? Sit on a folded blanket at the front edge of a chair, find both sit bones, rock gently until you find the balanced middle, and let your spine grow up from there. Notice what changes in your neck and shoulders.

If you're curious how Pilates could help you move and sit more comfortably, we'd love to talk.

Book a Free Chat with our team:
https://pacificnorthwestpilates.com/book-a-free-chat/

Learn more about getting started at Pacific Northwest Pilates:
https://pacificnorthwestpilates.com/client-home/

10/07/2026

Only a few spots left!

Working with clients before, during, and after breast cancer treatment requires more than a general understanding of exercise. It requires thoughtful programming, an understanding of the effects of treatment and recovery, and the ability to adapt movement appropriately for the individual in front of you.

On October 18, Master Instructor Trainer Katherine Brown will teach STOTT PILATES® Programming Protocols for Breast Cancer Rehab, a live online course designed for movement professionals who want to better understand how to support clients throughout their breast cancer journey.
The course includes current information on breast cancer, diagnosis and treatment, pre- and post-operative considerations, and specific Merrithew® programming protocols to help practitioners make informed exercise choices.

📅 Sunday, October 18
💻 Live Online
⏰ 9:00 am–4:00 pm PT
🎓 .6 CECs
📘 $420, including course manual ($60 value)

Only a few spots left!
Link in bio to learn more or go to:
https://conta.cc/4rI6eWL