"Physical fitness can neither be achieved by wishful thinking nor outright purchase."
Joseph Pilates
Initially with matwork, Joseph formed the basis of his method which ran as a formulaic system to improve circulation, breathing, muscle balance, movement precision, coordination, grace, stamina, and overall physical and mental vitality. He called his method The Art of Contrology and advocated regular practice to gain control – self-mastery – of one’s own muscular form.
While interned during WW1, Joseph taught his method to fellow inmates which maintained their health during the 1918/19 flu pandemic. He also served time working in a hospital on the Isle of Man, where he experimented with bed springs attached to the bed frame above to aid wounded soldiers in their rehabilitation – these spring-based exercises became the basis of what we now know as pilates equipment repertoire.
Throughout his life, Joseph invented various apparatus and devised an entire system of exercises. This extended his matwork to a full studio repertoire, enabling his method to be widely adaptable to any body.
Joseph married, and he and his wife Clara established Pilates’ studio in New York City in 1926. ‘All walks of life’ – from office workers to ballerinas – attended his studio to learn how to master their movement and grow strong!
Joseph believed ‘our muscles should obey our will’. He gained a devout following over his lifetime – and now, his legacy lives on in how we practice the fundamentals of pilates today.
Our Studio
Pilates promises profound ‘results’ with routine practice. Essentially, it’s the basis of the pilates method – the way it inspires self-awareness and self-care at any age and fitness level – that develops and preserves core body and mind. Pilates is about looking after yourself – knowing yourself.
Pilates was originally designed to bring us back to centre, condition deeper musculature of the body, improve coordination and circulation, and support us in being accountable for our own strength and fitness – when you know how this feels you feel more empowered to live up to your potential! This is pilates, regardless your ‘skill level’.
We are Rodney Searle and Jennifer Pohlman. From a ballet background, educated in various styles of pilates, with decades of experience practising and teaching pilates, we remain dedicated to working directly with the individual. We understand how pilates done well rewards you with muscle control, increased suppleness, core connection, increased circulation, movement economy, and a clearer mental outlook.
Our teaching experience spans many years teaching a variety of people – all kinds of postures, ages, stages, and ailments. Personally and professionally we’ve seen how modern life can impact body and mind. We believe, if you’re willing and able you can benefit from pilates! Our aim is to support you in developing better understanding of your core and how to re-balance body and mind, both in studio with us and in learning basic home practices.
Our fully-equipped pilates studio utilises the Matwork, Reformer, Cadillac, Wunda Chair, Barrels, and various small equipment. Wear clean socks and flexible clothing with no zips or buckles. Please don’t wear strong fragrances to the pilates studio. You may prefer to bring your own small towel and water bottle during the warm weather.
About Us
Rodney Searle
Rodney’s pilates experience began while at the Australian Ballet School under Andrew Baxter. Pilates was a part of Rodney’s ballet training, which proved especially effective in rehabilitating various injuries and re-conditioning his whole body and mind for return to the stage. Rod enjoyed some successful years with ballet, represented Australia in Japan for the RAD’s 75th Anniversary, and later danced and toured with the Queensland Ballet Company. Once retired from ballet it was natural instinct for Rod to build himself a reformer and acquire instructor certification.
Injuries while striving to maintain fitness is often the reality for a dancer or athlete, and Rod now draws on a wealth of knowledge, gained from personal experience, industry research on injury prevention and recovery, and extensive experience working with individuals from all walks of life – for remedial pilates, rehabilitation, pre- and post-surgical conditioning, pregnancy fitness, conditioning for elite athletes and dancers, and more.
Qualifications
• Diploma of Professional Pilates Instruction (91491NSW), PITC, 2010
• Certificate IV in Pilates Instruction (91121NSW), PITC, 2006
• Stott Pilates Matwork, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair, Barrels Lvl 1, Stott Pilates Int, 2004
• Reformer Fundamentals, Pilates Institute, 2003
• Certificate IV in Workplace Training Category 2 (CNCAB016), 2001
• Fundamentals Matwork, Sally Anderson, 2000
• Massage Therapy, Australian Institute of Applied Sciences, 2000
• Advanced Diploma of Dance, Australian Ballet School, 1996
Jennifer Pohlman
Jennifer bee-lined for a pilates studio upon moving to Melbourne, having heard it was ‘the way’ to strengthen a ballet body. Pilates – under Craig Phillips then Robyn Fynmore – became a necessary routine for Jen while at the Victorian College of the Arts, to manage recurring back and hip problems due to fracturing her spine at 11 years old. She continued dancing to attain her dance degree then had to stop – only to realise months later that ballet and pilates had actually been keeping her back strong…
Serendipitously, Jen was in the right place at the right time, and trained apprentice-style with former ballerina and pilates instructor/sports physiotherapist Nicole Vass. During this time, Nicole established one of Brisbane’s first pilates studios, and under Nicole Jen gained invaluable insight and knowledge about pilates and rehabilitation, specifically relating to the spine and pelvis as new research was then emerging from the University of Queensland about correct spinal-core muscle recruitment patterns.
By 2002, Jen and Rod had opened their own studio in Coolangatta on the Gold Coast, and Hinkler Books requested Jen provide ‘pilates in a nutshell’ for the international market – they wanted an ‘Aussie accent’. She wrote ‘Simply Pilates’ and filmed a basic video, which sold worldwide and was translated into other languages. Hinkler Books published three other titles with Jen, but it was ‘Simply Pilates’ that remained a #1 best seller on the cusp of pilates gaining worldwide popularity – years before pilates hit the internet.
Partly due to the success of ‘Simply Pilates’, and of course because of the one-to-one work Jen does with clients, she is convinced it’s the foundations of the pilates method that seekers want and need. No matter how fancy or ‘new’ we make pilates the real benefits are in learning properly in the first place.
Qualifications
• Certificate IV in Pilates Instruction (91121NSW), PITC, 2006
• Stott Pilates Matwork, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair, Barrels Lvl 1, Stott Pilates Int, 2004
• Functional Anatomy for Massage Therapy, TAFE NSW, 2002
• Pilates Instructor Training Course, The Pilates Edge, Nicole Vass, 2000
• Bachelor of Dance, Victorian College of the Arts, 1997