MatFit Lab at Everybody Pilates Southsea
September 10-12, 2026 | Southsea, UK
MatFit Lab is a three-day continuing education experience rooted in the original principles of Joseph Pilates’ Contrology system. Designed for movement professionals, this workshop explores how assessment, joint mobilization, fascia integration, and nervous system awareness enhance the Pilates practice at any level.
While grounded in Classical Pilates, the concepts presented apply across all exercise modalities and benefit both general clients and professional athletes.
Michael’s approach centers on three pillars: Assess, Mobilize, and Heal — using tools and principles Joseph Pilates introduced in the early 1920s.
Who This Classical Pilates Workshop Is For
Pilates teachers, apprentices, and movement professionals seeking to:
- Deepen their understanding of joint mechanics
- Improve client intake through meaningful assessment
- Optimize apparatus programming
- Integrate nervous system regulation into practice
- Apply the 10 Point Fitness Test at any age
Classical Pilates Workshop Overview
Day 1: Assess & Foundations of Contrology
Explore the origins of Contrology and its emphasis on motor control and locomotion. Participants will examine:
- Joint space and safety vs. threat
- Joseph Pilates’ Eye Chart and its modern applications
- Blind spot exercises for nervous system optimization
- The 10 Point Fitness Test and joint angle assessment
- Why assessment is essential for every client and every body part
The afternoon introduces mobilization principles including:
- Tensegrity and fascia connection
- Hands and feet integration
- Elbows and knees: glides and rotations
- The role of isometrics in healing
Day 2: Mobilization in Your Pilates Practice
Apply mobilization strategies to the upper and lower body through apparatus work.
Morning focus:
- Scapula and humerus relationship
- Shoulder mechanics and rhythm
- Application on Wunda Chair and Push-Through Bar
Afternoon focus:
- Hip joint function and femur angle
- Mobilization techniques using Barrels, Leg Springs, Tower, and Reformer
- Applying 10 Point Fitness Test angles through equipment programming
Day 3: Spine & Integration in Contrology
Examine spinal mobility and posture through a Contrology lens.
Morning:
- Open posture vs. athletic posture
- Rotating core vs. braced core
- Lumbar and hip mobility
- Gait-related joint actions
- Loading and optimizing through apparatus
Afternoon:
- Thoracic spine assessment and optimization
- Cervical spine mobility and loading strategies
- Apparatus applications including short box, barrels, reformer positions, and neck work
What You’ll Leave Everybody Pilates Southsea With
By the end of the workshop, participants will understand how to:
- Assess and mobilize the entire skeleton
- Apply the 10 Point Fitness Test across all ages
- Load and optimize joints safely using Contrology equipment
- Identify safety vs. threat responses in the nervous system
- Integrate eye chart work to support regulation and healing
This workshop reframes Contrology through a mobility-focused lens — ensuring that each year of practice builds measurable function, resilience, and performance.
To register please visit Continuing Education for Pilates Teachers | Everybody Pilates.