Control Is a Pilates Principle. So Is Knowing When to Let It Go.

Control is one of Joseph Pilates' founding principles. And I believe in it completely. But I've also learned when to set it aside.

Control matters. It builds awareness. It creates safety. It develops the kind of precise movement that Pilates is known for. And for many clients in many moments — it's exactly the right tool. But here's something I've discovered that took me a long time to trust — sometimes control is actually getting in the way. When a client is gripping too hard, thinking too much, trying to perform the perfect rep — the nervous system tightens around that effort. And movement stops flowing. It stops adapting. It stops being alive. Those are often the moments where I'll introduce a brain game instead. Something playful. Something that demands reaction rather than control. A drill where the brain has to figure something out rather than execute something perfectly. And what happens in those moments is fascinating — movement that was locked and effortful suddenly becomes fluid. Not because we stopped caring about quality. Because we gave the brain a different kind of challenge to unlock it. Control and experimentation aren't opposites. They're partners. And knowing when to use each one — that's where the real artistry of teaching lives.

Sometimes the most controlled thing you can do as a teacher is let go of control for a moment.

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