It’s when standing up on the chair seemed like an unattainable reach. But then you do it. And everything is fine.

It’s when closing the reformer carriage with no springs felt impossible. But then you do it. And you feel powerful AF.

It’s when moving between supine and standing without support from your hands seemed to be an unachievable dream. But then you do it. Every day.

The truth is that most of us can do more than we think. And I don’t mean that in an “I’m encouraging you to cross boundaries” kind of way. The problem is that our habits have a way of becoming our identities. Our sense of selfhood is typically reliant on our actions. I am who I am because I have that one route to work or that one favorite coffee shop or that unspoken routine with my partner that we watch Love Island at 9pm Eastern Time everyday (except Wednesdays and Saturdays) from mid-May to mid-July. These habits become my world. They shape my perception.

But what happens when we try a new cafe or route or nighttime routine? Our worlds get a little bit larger. Our stories about who we are and the environment around us get a little bit bigger. We no longer interact with the exact same people or go on autopilot rounding the corner. We become reminded, perhaps, of our size—of how small we are in this infinite place we call Earth. We remember the diversity of the lives around us. Our narrative and our sense of possibility expand.

My lifelong work is in problem solving. I have been creating, solving, and questioning movement/dance and business problems since a very young age. What excites me most is finding ways around the rules without disregarding them; I love fucking up a structure. I see the space between the rules (or assumed rules) and find plenty of room to play or…fuck about. It’s not about disrespecting the rules so much as it is about knowing your rights. I ask a lot of Why Not’s. Like: “Why not use the back of the apparatus?” “Why not let the undergrad make a thesis that is the same length as the grad students’?” “Why not start the dance outside of the theater?” Observing structures and getting good as sensing the space between the scaffolding is an effective antidote to stuckness.

That feeling of stuckness is particularly prevalent right now as we are all bogged down by the load that comes with living under authoritarianism. Of course, if you are spending too much time at work and making too little money, getting creative with the route of your commute feels pretty superfluous. I get it, we want to get it over with. But I think that those little choices—those small moments of autonomy and choice-making—are really what life is about. Yes, it sucks that we have to work as much as we do (capitalism is the structure we’re trying to work around here) but how can we breathe life into the space around our obligations?

For many people, Pilates (and yoga and dance and fitness) fulfills some of their right—yes, it’s a human right—to creativity and motion. When I put “creativity” and “Pilates” in the same sentence, it is easy to imagine wild Instagram-ready movement sequences and tricks on the reformer. [Side bar: Controversial, I know, but I am not totally against those things.] However, what I really mean is presence and awareness as a creative practice: the ongoing, never-ending act of intentionally engaging with one’s agency in order to experience the fullness of the moment. It is hard work to resist complacency’s siren call.

The key question is, “Where is the choice?” When we reframe everything we do as a choice, big change can happen. Sometimes this question feels a little silly; maybe you would be profoundly injured if you had not made the choice you made. Nonetheless, you made a choice. You prioritized life.

In the Pilates studio, one of the simplest ways that we can burst our worlds open is to try something that initially seems impossible. This is truly one of my favorite feelings when taking a class and it is the reason why Pilates spoke to me from the get. The act of engaging with a task that, at first, your brain can’t figure out how to organize around is an essential world-expanding practice. The creative problem-solving needed to attend to the how brings you into the present. And, when it turns out that you actually could indeed do the thing (or even something simply reminiscent of the thing), you learn that who you are is bigger than you had known.

It is such a treat, in adulthood, to still be in the process of getting to know ourselves.

All I am going to say is that I have a lot to announce soon.

All of escalating, unprecedented levels of excitement.

The kinds of things that one has to first tell people about in person before one starts leaking them to the internet.

So stay tuned. I will be back very soon.

In the meantime, below is a workshop to attend (your clients will thank you) and a nice, long video class to take (your spine will thank you).

August Continuing Ed Workshop Announced!

Designed for movement educators who are interested in integrating consent practices into their work, this two-hour session can be attended live online or via recording and will include time for lecture, practice, and discussion. Topics will include: consent beyond sex and touch, quality of touch, power dynamics in the studio, tools for saying and receiving ‘no,’ and more. Practitioners of Pilates, yoga, dance, personal training, group fitness, somatics (Alexander Technique, Bartenieff, BMC, Feldenkrais, etc.), and the like are all welcome.

INVESTMENT (Substack Paid Subscribers take 10% off):

Sliding Scale for POC, disabled practitioners, and LGBTQIA+ folks: $65-200 USD
Sliding Scale for allies: $115-200 USD

No one turned away for lack of funds. All will receive recording; recording will be available through September 30th. No refunds.

Sign Up for the Workshop

VIDEO CLASS: Mobilizing the Spine (43 minutes)

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I had chosen the studio because it didn’t seem to be leaning into current aesthetic Pilates trends … although, on the flip side, lying directly on thick grey carpeting in lieu of a mat in an exercise space is pretty odd, right?

However, one of the things that stood out to me most was how the teachers’ cueing tended to live in the extreme:

• “Do not let your arms bend.” Why??

• “If your legs are turned out at all, fix them because that means you are not using your gluteus medius.” What??

• “Don’t let the tower springs make any sound.” How??

This languaging was not that atypical of a Pilates environment but it was a reminder of how binary thinking around movement can prevent us from experiencing somatic nuance and complexity.

For one, this dichotomous mindset can be fear-inducing; for god’s sake, what will happen if my arms bend or the tower springs have some reverb? When these kinds of all-or-northing instructions are given without explanation, movers become overly dependent on their teachers for direction. When we don’t provide education via the how and why, movers have less access to their own autonomy. It is a lot harder to understand a cue as an invitation rather than a rule when we don’t know the purpose behind it. Cues that induce fear are a way of—intentionally, or not—maintaining authority and power structures in the studio. They push people to conform by positioning the space outside of conformity as Bad, Unknown, and even Unsafe.

This is not to say that I don’t value specificity or clarity. However, I am interested in a rephrasing. Perhaps “Do not let your arms bend” becomes: “Try to keep your arms lengthened” or better yet, “Can you keep your arms lengthened so that this movement is more about your shoulders?” These alternatives provide direction and focus without the implication that a bend of the arm would be Bad. And they acknowledge the hard, lifelong work it requires to engage with these kinds of cues rather than fixating on some perfect, imagined destination.

Teaching beyond the binary requires acknowledgment of the messy soup that lies between, around, and behind the dichotomous landmarks.

Let’s practice squeezing the ball with 20% effort.

Let’s practice opening our arms 45% of the way.

Let’s practice lowering our legs 90% of the way toward the ground.

Let’s practice drawing our pubic bones toward our bellybuttons 10%.

Let’s practice leaving a 3% bend behind our knees.

How can can movement classes exist as anti-fascist containers for exploration?

Most modern adults are fairly self-conscious about how they move their bodies. This is vulnerable shit. Just the idea of being witnessed doing the “wrong” thing by others elicits fear and embarrassment. Sometimes I think that it’s really a wonder they show up at all.

However, by erasing the binary of good and bad while maintaining clarity, we, as teachers, can begin to craft environments where modern adults become empowered not just to move but to sense, question, and experiment.

Writing Exercises for Movement Facilitators

It is not a personal failing if you are a movement facilitator who tends to lean on dichotomous language when teaching. This is the world around us and this is the way just about all of us were trained to teach. What follows are three writing exercises to help you reimagine your verbal cueing beyond the binary.

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I just landed home from the Italy Retreat.

Despite being a words person, I am having some trouble forming language to adequately describe the beauty and impact of this week. I will say, though, that I do not take the trust these folks put in me lightly.

During our time together, there was something so comforting about traveling while having a vast home-base explicitly designed for the comfort and safety of queer folks. This group crossed oceans based on the premise that I could design a week for them full of movement, community, and cultural connection that would feel worth the investment of time and resources. I feel confident to say, it was.

Next year’s retreat registration will go live very, very soon so stay tuned. To more truffle hunting, biking, moving, playing, and swimming!

VIDEO CLASS: All-Fours Heat Builder (7 min)

You can find more classes like this one (up to an hour in length!) on my Video Library.

QBP Video Library

Class Announcements

Come cultivate an adaptable, responsive body while honing your ability to be present and listen with care. This practice offers an opportunity to create deeper awareness and understanding of the systems and structures that make up our bodies. We will build support for our joints (our sites of internal connection) and grow our ability to expand, pivot, turn, ground, locomote, respond, and perceive.

Sofia’s methodology draws inspiration from Joseph Pilates classical teachings, rehabilitative and embodied kinesiology practices, queer theory, and modern dance.

“Sofia is doing vital work at Pilates for the Revolution: body positive, gender affirming, and utterly inspirational.” -S.D.

Zoom Mat Pilates for the Revolution

Tuesdays 8:15-9am Eastern Time: July 7th - August 11th (six-week commitment)

Centering queer and trans movers, allies welcome. Sliding Scale for Six-Week Series: $90-210 ($15-35 per class).

​No one turned away for lack of funds. Must sign up for full session. Recordings provided of all classes so participants can have extra practice and make up for days missed.

Register for Zoom Class

In-Person Mat Pilates for the Revolution (NYC)

Tuesdays 2-3:15pm: July, August, September, December 2026 at Gibney 280 through Movement Research​

Drop In: $18 per class

Access Info: Gibney 280 Broadway is accessible via elevator from the main entrance at 53A Chambers Street. For access requests or inquiries, please contact our Operations team, by calling our Center at 646.837.6809.

Register for Class in NYC

And, before you go, PILATES FOR THE REVOLUTION muscle tanks are now back in stock in both BLUE and BROWN:

Shop

I spent my undergraduate years at Smith College. Like many other historically women’s colleges in the United States, students can venture into the college’s Archives to discover a disturbing practice from the institution’s not-so-distant past.

From 1880 into the 1960s, postural class…

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An Industry That Markets Conformity

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We tend to fall into binary thinking. It is e…

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I was raised to be an atheist. Which is not to say that I was raised without religion so much as to say that I was raised to religiously question organized spirituality and reverence of all kinds. Perhaps unintentionally, through atheism, my parents taught me to question all men and all authority figures. And if the a…

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