For more than 40 years, I have been involved with the method Joe and Clara Pilates shared with their students, called "Contrology." I spent my life studying the exercises and the thread between the exercises. For over three decades, I have applied this knowledge as a teacher of clients, teachers, as well as teachers of teachers. I have had the gift and blessing to have studied under the best of Joe and Clara's students, some of whom they personally trained and certified to continue his legacy. Their goals were the same as mine: to define, clarify, share, protect and proliferate this body of work.

This book not only shares detailed, clear photos and instructions for the Pilates Mat work, as I personally teach, but also notes about how my teachers taught these exercises, both in their studios and in their teacher training programs. The book covers how Joe Pilates taught the work in his book and also what he verbally passed on and taught to his teachers Lolita San Miguel, Kathy Stanford Grant (through the eyes of Blossom Leilani Crawford), and Romana Kryzanowska (through the eyes of Kathryn Ross- Nash) and shares notes on those vantage points.

Each of these teachers instructs with a unique voice, perspective, and way of communicating. Although each of these teachers utilizes different models of the method, they all share a common thread. This book celebrates that thread, these incredible teachers, and the legacy Pilates has given us.