STOTT PILATES®

About the STOTT PILATES® Method


STOTT PILATES® is a contemporary approach to the original exercise method pioneered by the late Joseph Pilates. Co-founders Moira and Lindsay G. Merrithew, along with a team of physical therapists, sports medicine and fitness professionals, have spent over two decades refining the STOTT PILATES® method of exercise and equipment. This resulted in the inclusion of modern principles of exercise science and spinal rehabilitation, making it one of the safest and effective methods available. This clear and detailed approach forms the basis for STOTT PILATES® training and certification programs. It’s used by rehab and prenatal clients, athletes, celebrities and everyone in between.

Using Contemporary Pilates Principles to Achieve Optimal Fitness
Article by Moira Merrithew, STOTT PILATES® Executive Director, Education

The Introduction of the Five Basic Principles
Principal 1 Breathing
Principal 2 Pelvic Placement
Principal 3 Rib Cage Placement
Principal 4 Scapular Stabilization
Principal 5 Head and Cervical Placement

Five Basic Principles
The aim of contemporary, anatomically-based Pilates training, such as STOTT PILATES,® is to develop optimal neuromuscular performance by focusing on core stability, while safely balancing muscular strength with flexibility. Whether performed on a mat or on specialized equipment, Pilates that incorporates modern theories of exercise science and spinal rehabilitation should
involve the following biomechanical principles: breathing, pelvic placement, rib cage placement, scapular movement and stabilization, and head and cervical placement.

By introducing these principles and reinforcing them over time, awareness of how the body moves is developed. This mind-body awareness ensures focus on precision and control to realize the full benefits of any exercise program.

Visit each one of the The Five Basic Principles accompanied by simple exercises to help illustrate them.

Principal 1 Breathing
Principal 2 Pelvic Placement
Principal 3 Rib Cage Placement
Principal 4 Scapular Stabilization
Principal 5 Head and Cervical Placement

Article by Moira Merrithew, STOTT PILATES® Executive Director, Education
After a rewarding career as principal dancer with the City Ballet of Toronto and the Atlantic Ballet Company, Moira Merrithew became interested in the fitness advantages of Pilates and eventually gained her certification as a Pilates instructor under the mentorship of Romana Kryzanowska at the late Joseph H. Pilates’ original studio.
Moira Merrithew and her husband Lindsay opened the first STOTT PILATES® studio in Toronto, Canada. Through their work, they recognized that Pilates had become an exercise regimen reserved for the social elite, so the entrepreneurs began an outreach program designed to demystify the method and make it available to everyone. Mr. Merrithew has been the dynamic strength behind the evolution and expansion of Merrithew Corporation, and its foremost brand, STOTT PILATES®.
Building on the Merrithews' initial successes and rigorous tradition of excellence, the STOTT PILATES® faculty and staff have worked meticulously to establish the premier quality and high-precision curriculum, apparatus and reputation that is renowned across the industry and throughout the world. Over the past 20 years, the brand has grown exponentially by diversifying its offerings across a full range of related components.
Together Lindsay and Moira realized the extensive benefits of the Pilates concept and in collaboration with physical therapists and sports medicine professionals they reduced the practice down to its fundamental elements. In doing so, they transformed this unique type of exercise into a fully realized, methodically modern re-creation of the original agenda of Joseph H. Pilates.
The refined method resulted in the inclusion of contemporary principles of fitness science and spinal rehabilitation - making it one of the most safe and effective fitness regimens available. STOTT PILATES® systematic and intuitive approach forms the basis for STOTT PILATES® training and certification programs and is used by rehab and post-rehab patients, celebrities, athletes and everyone in between. www.stottpilates.com