November Apparatus of the Month
This November, our focus has been on creating space in the mind, in the body, and especially through the spine. The Small Barrel has become a quiet companion in that process, offering a supportive curve that encourages breath, openness, and ease.
What looks like a simple arc becomes a powerful tool for releasing tension, restoring posture, and deepening connection to the center. With every moment draped over the barrel, the body finds room to lengthen, unwind, and realign.
Black Small (Mini) Barrels are in stock ready to ship in one week while supplies last: View the Available Now Collection.
Community Highlights
Our community embraced the Small Barrel with creativity and intention. Instructors across the world shared videos, posts, and teaching insights that highlighted how the Small Barrel can unlock spinal mobility, strengthen the powerhouse, and restore balance throughout the body.
The Pilates Small Barrel: A Studio Essential
Taylor Kinsey writes about why the Pilates Small (Mini) Barrel is one of the most deceptively impactful pieces of classical apparatus. We explore its origins, construction, key benefits, essential exercises, and how it enhances everything from spinal articulation to powerhouse engagement. Whether you’re a beginner, advanced mover, or someone seeking relief from modern-day tension, the Small Barrel offers accessible, transformational work.
Restore Your Spine with the Pilates Small Barrel
Alisa Wyatt explains how the Pilates Small Barrel offers instant relief from modern-day posture habits caused by computers, commutes, and constant screen time. Alisa highlights the barrel’s origins, the science behind its benefits, essential exercises and classes to try, and why the Gratz Small Barrel delivers the most authentic experience. It’s a guide to using this deceptively simple tool to decompress your spine, open your lungs, and reset your entire body in just minutes a day.
Alana Wilbur shared the story of her longtime client, Jean, a reminder of the strength, trust, and learning that happen in the studio every day. Through arthritis, stroke recovery, and ongoing mobility challenges, their work together highlights how adaptable and impactful classical Pilates can be. Alana’s modified Push Through is a beautiful example of meeting a client’s body with precision and compassion.
The Small Barrel: Supporting Strength, Mobility, and Alignment
Elisabeth David shares how Pilates of Kansas City uses every piece of Pilates apparatus with intention — and the Small Barrel is one of the most valuable tools for improving posture, mobility, and spinal health.
Rocking on the Small Barrel
Em Pilates demonstrates Rocking on the Small Barrel, using the supportive curve of the apparatus to access a fuller, more refined extension. This variation builds strength, shoulder openness, and precise control through the entire spine.
Stretching on the Small Barrel
June Hines shares that the Gratz Small Barrel is essential in all three of her studios because it helps open both the upper and lower back, especially for clients with stiffness. She values its precise arc, comfortable padding, and supportive handles for relieving neck and upper-back tension and improving breathing. After long teaching days, she uses it herself to keep her upper back open and mobile. She also highlights how the leg series supports hip and lower-back release, with clients often calling the final stretch “the best part.”
December Spotlight: Airplane Board
This December, we're highlighting an apparatus that brings a different type of control to the Pilates Cadillac: the Airplane Board. It plays a powerful role in helping practitioners find secure footing, organized alignment, and deeply supported spring-driven movement.
Built with a wooden base and soft canvas straps, the Airplane Board keeps the feet stable and correctly positioned while working with the leg springs. By reducing unnecessary gripping or tension in the lower body, it allows students to focus on form, symmetry, and controlled articulation through the hips, spine, and powerhouse.
Instructors appreciate the Airplane Board because it reinforces clean technique, prevents compensation patterns, and provides reliable support for both foundational and more dynamic Cadillac work. It’s a tool that helps practitioners feel grounded, organized, and fully connected throughout the movement.
We’re excited to see how you incorporate the Airplane Board into your teaching this month. Tag @gratz_pilates to share your sessions we look forward to featuring your work throughout December.