Our South Texas Pilates Lineage

The history of Pilates in Corpus Christi is deeply connected to the work that continues today through Divine Moon Yoga & Pilates.

In 2001, physical therapist Mariah McQueen apprenticed under Pilates educator Radonna Patterson in Durham, North Carolina. Radonna's work incorporated the Pilates apparatus with therapeutic movement, bodywork, and rehabilitation.

Following her apprenticeship, Mariah returned to Corpus Christi, Texas, where she established the city's first Pilates studio and helped introduce Pilates to the fitness, rehabilitation, and wellness community of South Texas.

The Pilates Center of Corpus Christi

Following her first studio, Mariah went on to establish The Pilates Center of Corpus Christi, further developing Pilates education and apparatus-based movement in the region.

It was there, in 2009, that Leah Murray, newly out of graduate school, interviewed for a position as studio manager. Leah was hired, beginning what would become a long-standing professional partnership between Mariah and Leah and a shared journey in movement, wellness, and community.

Studio Be — 2012

In 2012, Mariah McQueen and Leah Murray collaborated to create Studio Be.

Studio Be became more than a Pilates studio. It became a place where teachers learned, practiced, apprenticed, and developed their own understanding of the Pilates method.

Over the years, Mariah mentored numerous Pilates apprentices. Many of those practitioners eventually went on to establish Pilates spaces of their own throughout Corpus Christi—including individuals connected with Bayside Pilates, Highline Pilates, and a number of private and home-based Pilates studios.

In this way, the work extended far beyond a single studio. A lineage of teachers began to spread throughout the Corpus Christi Pilates community.

Continuing the Lineage

Today, Divine Moon Yoga & Pilates represents another chapter in that history.

The lineage can be traced through generations of teaching and mentorship:

Joseph Pilates and the Pilates Method

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Radonna Patterson — Durham, North Carolina

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Mariah McQueen — apprenticeship, 2001

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First Pilates studio in Corpus Christi

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The Pilates Center of Corpus Christi

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Mariah McQueen + Leah Murray — 2009

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Studio Be — 2012

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Apprentices, teachers, and new Pilates studios throughout Corpus Christi

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Divine Moon Yoga & Pilates

This history matters because Pilates in Corpus Christi did not appear overnight. It developed through decades of education, apprenticeship, collaboration, and teachers passing their knowledge to the next generation.

Divine Moon carries that history forward—not only teaching the Pilates method, but continuing a tradition of mentorship that has helped shape the Pilates community of Corpus Christi and South Texas.

Joseph Pilates → the Pilates lineages

Joseph Hubertus Pilates (1883–1967) + Clara Pilates

Contrology / Original Pilates Method

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Joseph and Clara trained a number of teachers who became known as first-generation Pilates teachers or “Pilates Elders.” The Pilates Method Alliance identifies teachers including Romana Kryzanowska, Eve Gentry, Ron Fletcher, Kathy Grant, Carola Trier, Lolita San Miguel, Bruce King, Mary Bowen, Jay Grimes and others as part of this first generation. Pilates Method Alliance

From these teachers, multiple lineages developed rather than one single branch:

Joseph & Clara Pilates

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First-generation teachers / Pilates Elders

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Second-generation teachers

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Teacher-training schools and contemporary Pilates methods

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Today's Pilates instructors

This is why today you encounter Classical Pilates, contemporary Pilates, rehabilitation-oriented Pilates and schools such as Balanced Body, Fletcher Pilates, Polestar, STOTT/Merrithew and others.

For example, Ron Fletcher studied directly with Joseph and Clara, and the modern Fletcher Pilates school explicitly identifies him as a first-generation teacher.

Balanced Body

Balanced Body's founder, Ken Endelman, began building Pilates equipment in the 1970s. He studied Joseph Pilates' original equipment designs and worked with instructors to modernize the Reformer. During the 1980s, Balanced Body says Endelman worked with several first-generation Pilates pioneers, including Ron Fletcher, Eve Gentry, Carola Trier and Kathy Grant.

Balanced Body officially launched its own education program in 2006, with curriculum developed by Nora St. John.

That makes Balanced Body a contemporary Pilates education system informed by the Pilates tradition and modern movement science, rather than a single classical lineage descending through one Elder.

JOSEPH & CLARA PILATES

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Contrology / Original Pilates Method

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First-Generation Teachers / Pilates Elders

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Multiple Pilates Lineages & Schools

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Modern Teacher-Training Programs

Balanced Body • Fletcher • Polestar • STOTT/Merrithew • independent schools

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Teacher completes that school's educational requirements

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School-issued Pilates teacher certificate

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Optional/separate professional credentialing

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National Pilates Certification Program (NPCP)

The Matwork Principles

• Concentration- Mindfulness, focus, connecting body and mind. Honing your focus/concentrating on the area that is primarily working enhances the feedback to the brain and increases your ability to FEEL what you are working on. (80/20 Rule-80% of your strength, toning and form come from 20% of your focus)

“Concentrate on the correct movements each time you exercise, lest you do them improperly and thus lose all the vital benefits of their value.”

J. Pilates

• Control- Primary underlying principle of Joseph Pilates’ method! Quality + good form = positive results and decreased risk of injury.

• Center- Powerhouse, the “CORE”: ABDOMINALS, LOW BACK, HIPS and BUTTOCKS

• Fluidity-   Flow. Moving like a dancer through space with graceful motion. Replacing static or jerky moves with smooth liquid ones. Flow of your session as you transition between exercises.  

• Precision- Move with purpose! Aim for precise movements over half baked. QUALITY over quantity!

• Breath- First and last thing we do in this life! As a baby, breathing is instinctive. However, as we mature, we often develop poor breathing habits and fail to maximize the cleansing/energizing potential of the breath.

• Alignment- Maintaining proper posture and skeletal alignment ensures efficient movement, while releasing unnecessary tension promotes energy efficiency

• Stamina – “In ten sessions you will feel the difference, in twenty you will see the difference, and in thirty you will have a whole new body.” J. Pilates

• Imagination- Creativity through thought, visualization, and active verbal cues.

• Intuition- Listening to one’s own body as well as tuning in to that of your clients.

• Integration- Where it ALL comes together: integrating mindful movement patterns, harnessing the power of the breathwork, engaging the body in fluid motion with control and precision!

Breath

Muscles of respiration: 

ALL muscles that attach to the rib cage have the potential to cause or assist in a breathing action. These muscles are composed of fatigue resistant muscle fibers controlled by both voluntary and involuntary mechanisms.

Muscles of inhalation help expand the thoracic cavity: diaphragm, external intercostals

Accessory muscles of inhalation: sternocleidomastoid (SCM), scalenes, pecs major and minor, serratus anterior and posterior, iliocostalis cervicis

Relaxed exhalation is mainly a passive process through elastic recoil of the diaphragm, lung and chest walls

Muscles of forced exhalation compress the thoracic cavity: abdominals, internal intercostals

The Pilates breath focuses on the exhalation to fully engage the abdominals. Be aware of over inhaling and soliciting the accessory muscles of breathing.

Reference 2. Diaphragmatic Breathing

Practice - Standing / Seated / Supine

Muscles of the Rotator Cuff (RTC)

Muscles of the Shoulder:

• RTC: Supraspinatus, Subscapularis, Infraspinatus, Teres Minor (SSIT)

• Trapezius

• Levator Scapulae

• Serratus Anterior

• Rhomboids

• Latissimus Dorsi

• Deltoid, Pecs, Biceps, Corcobrachialis, Subclavius

• 
  

Abdominals & Pelvic Floor 

The Core, the Powerhouse & the Scoop

Abdominals:

• Transversus Abdominus (TA)

• Internal and External Obliques

• Rectus Abdominus

Pelvic Floor:

• Levator Ani (pubococcygeus, puborectalis, iliococcygeus)

• Coccygeus

• Muscles of Urogenital Diaphragm

• Other muscles: External Anal Sphincter, Bulbocavernosus(males only), Ischiocavernosus

Spinal Stabilizers (CORE)::

• Multifidus 

• TA

• Pelvic Floor

• Diaphrgm

Pelvic Rotator Cuff

• Obturator Internus

• Pelvic Diaphragm

• Urogenital Diaphragm

• Ext. Urinary/ Anal Sphincters

• Hip Adductors

Practice - Supine, All Fours, Standing

Alignment

• Get a long neck instead of Pez Head!

• Shoulder Placement, “plugging in the arms”, palms down vs. thumbs up

• Neutral spine or neutral pelvis?  Practice pelvic rock or tilt, pelvic clock, spill the tea

• Connect your rib cage: soften, drop or melt sternum as you close ribs, wrapping toward the front. Watch for simultaneous pelvic tilt when students attempt to knit ribs.

• Lower Extremity Alignment and Engaging the Posterior Chain

Modified Beginner Matwork & Props: The Pilates Body 

The Hundred-            Breathe, Align, Engage and GO!

Modifications:              wedge/pillow @ upperbody or head resting on mat, feet on mat, ball b/t knees/ankles

Cueing:

The Roll-Up-              Cradle Prep

Modifications:              assistance of arms- hands behind knees or arms sliding bk

Cueing:

Single Leg Circles-   Stabilize to Mobilize!

Modifications:              Bend opposite knee to plant foot and (A) with stability

Cueing:

Rolling Like a Ball-       Stay rounded and scooped throughout- this is KEY!      

Modifications:              Find balance in the RLB alignment without rolling

Cueing:

Single Leg Stretch-   Stabilize upper body to mobilize lower.

Modifications:              Head resting on mat or bolstered with wedge/pillow

Cueing:

Double Leg Stretch- Maintain ribs to hip and scoop throughout without “crunching”

Modifications:              Head resting or bolstered

Cueing:

Spine Stretch Forward-        Maintain scoop belly without falling forward onto thighs      

Modifications:              Back up to a wall or partner up back to back 

Cueing:

Mermaid-                    Hip work, spinal side flexion

Modifications:              Z sit

Cueing:                       Lifting tall through the center, arm reaching up and to the side

Shoulder Bridge-      Spine is a strand of pearls peeling up and then articulating down.

Modifications:              Pelvic tilt OR stable spine hip lift without articulation

Cueing:

Plank-                         Head in natural alignment of the spine, belly scooped upward, 

                                    engage glutes

Modifications:              On elbows, pelvis on ball

Cueing:                       Plug in the armpits

Mobility Issues and The Pilates Matwork

Postural Assessment & Therapeutic Issues 

Postural Assessment:          Partner up and start from the top or the bottom depending on the issues; addressing head, shoulders/arms/hands, spine, hips, knees, feet/toes

Therapeutic Issues and Considerations for Matwork:

Cervical Issues-           

Neck pain, forward head, limited ROM, tightness/weakness of cervical musculature, fusion, h/o trauma or sx., instability

Shoulder/RTC Rotator Cuff (Mobility/Instability)-        

Pilates “plugging in of the arms” i.e. scapular stabilization is the BEST part of this work! Stabilize to mobilize, work within pain free range, do not force overhead reaching, pay attn to alignment of shoulders 

Iliopsoas -       Primary hip flexor complex. 

LBP, SIJ pain, hip flexor tightness, increased lumbar lordosis, weak abs causing “hanging on the hip flexors, pain in lower quadrants unrelated to intestinal discomfort   

Lumbopelvic Instability-          LBP, increased lordosis/chronic post tilt, hip hiking, subluxing SIJ, SIJ pain, hip pain, pelvic obliquity (uneven pelvis), glute medius weakness

Sciatica-          Radiating pain, numbness or weakness traveling along the sciatic nerve (L5, S1, S2) down the back of the leg; usually affecting one side of the body.

Piriformis syndrome-sciatic nerve goes through this muscle, herniated disc(s), spinal stenosis, injury

Pelvic Floor Weakness-          Characterized by urinary/fecal incontinence, a contributing factor to protruding lower belly

Mat Pilates Program:

Mat Pilates Program:

1.         The Hundred

2.         The Roll Up

3.         The Rollover

4.         Leg Circles

5.         Rolling Like a Ball

6.         Single Leg Stretch

7.         Double Leg Stretch

8.         Single Straight Leg Stretch

9.         Double Straight Leg Stretch

10.       Crisscross

11.       Spine Stretch Forward

12.       The Saw

13.       Single Leg Kicks

14.       Double Leg Kicks

15.       Shoulder Bridge

16.       Spine Twist

17.       Side Kicks/Side Leg Series

18.       The Teaser

19.       Hip Circles

19.       Swimming 

20.       Leg Pull Down

21.       Leg Pull Up

22.       Mermaid (Basic)

23.       Push Ups Modified

Videos:

Previous Weekend's Videos:

Chakras & Sun Salutations & Sequencing

https://youtu.be/T3gFOKL9g80

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzqdcXfOaJo

Saturday:

Themes & Sequencing

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Yw54OFO7Oc

Movement Principles: