Lost Treasures on the Cadillac – Virtual Workshop

By Trey Fry

The Cadillac, according to first-generation teacher Mary Bowen, was Mr. Pilates favorite apparatus; and often this penchant for the Cadillac is shared enthusiastically by our own students. It’s a fabulous apparatus complemented by a syllabus that ranges from post-rehabilitative material to strong athletic endeavors. The Cadillac can allow us to meet our diverse client populations, yet often as teachers, we find ourselves leaning into the more familiar and commonly taught curriculum standard we all know and love.

There is literally a treasure trove of classical material that exists beyond the curriculum standards and certification syllabus that we can employ to breathe new life into our lessons and personal practice. The material that I present in my virtual workshop “Lost Treasures on the Cadillac” will overflow with exercises and sequences that are lesser-known in most studios nowadays! This potent mixture of Part C/Individual Needs & Part D/Endings exercises will load your teacher toolbox for many years to come as well as give you newfound favorite exercises to give your students on a regular basis.

There will be a strong emphasis on material with an upper body strengthening component done supine, seated, kneeling and standing – which allows us to empower a wide-range of clientele with specific needs, goals and desires.

We will also bring the hip and leg strengthening work of the Leg Springs to both seated and standing environments – perfect material to work with specific populations like pre-natal, osteopenia/osteoporosis, and seniors.

I also suspect you’ll fall in love with the Push Through Bar material. There are so many rich exercises here, including with the Push Through Bar setup from the outside of the Cadillac that can be done seated, kneeling and standing. Most teachers aren’t aware of these exercises but won’t be able to live without them after this workshop!

Many of us have seen variations of the “Fluffy” or Ballet Stretches, but those tend to be reserved for our more flexible clients. Let’s specifically revisit the kneeling variations, as they are quite feasible for many clients and differ slightly in their bias towards a balance in hip/leg strength and stretch. I’ll also offer a lesser-seen version of the standing series (circa the 1980s) that has been forgotten.

Just like we would wind down a lesson with an ending, we will close the workshop with endings. I want to pay particular attention to the series commonly known as the “Traditional Ending,” in which there is a strong emphasis on regressions (to build upper body strength) and integration (needed to execute traditional exercises). I’ve found both in my own teaching and observing others, that we tend to shy away from some of this stronger material; yet we can build upon it over time with the practice of full body regressions/preparations.

I hope you can join for this three-hour virtual workshop, either live or through the recording. It will surely be a source of abundant inspiration and material you can immediately implement into the studio with your clients.

Lost Treasures on the Cadillac – Virtual Workshop 

Date and Time: May 24, 2024 – 1:00pm – 4:00pm (Central)