All Posts

You know when your REBEL teacher gives you a few options and your brain immediately goes: Obviously, I should do the hardest one. Yeah. We need to talk about that. 😂 There is ALWAYS a way to make something harder on the reformer. Add resistance. Take resistance away. Add an arm. Add a leg. Make the range bigger. Balance on fewer body parts. Basically, we can keep finding ways to torture you. But harder doesn't automatically mean better. Sometimes the bigger challenge is actu

There are some things that are just better with friends. Road trips. Happy hour. Complaining about how freaking expensive groceries are. And, so is Pilates. Having someone expecting to see you makes it a little harder to bail when the couch is calling. You push each other. You laugh through the hard stuff. And somehow the last few reps suck a little less when someone next to you is doing them too. That's one of the things we love about REBEL. Yes, we're here to help you get s

September's Move of the Month is TWISTS. And a good twist is doing a hell of a lot more than just turning your body from one side to the other. There's a push and a pull happening at the same time. One side is helping create the rotation while the other side is controlling it. Add the reformer and some spring resistance, and suddenly that simple twist becomes some serious core work. And we LOVE rotational strength because you use it all damn day. Reaching into the backseat.Tu

September is bringing a couple changes to the REBEL schedule, including one we’ve been wanting to make happen for a while. REBEL Bounce is going WEEKLY! Starting in September, you can Bounce with us every Friday at 8:00 AM. If you haven’t tried REBEL Bounce yet, this is your excuse. We add the jumpboard to the reformer for a class that’s fun, challenging, and a completely different way to work your legs and core. And because apparently we’re not done messing with the schedule

We’ve got a new REBEL joining the teaching crew, and we’re excited for you to meet her! Meet Alma! Alma is a newly certified Pilates instructor who completed a comprehensive Pilates training program, and she brings a pretty unique perspective to the reformer. When she’s not teaching Pilates, Alma works as an emergency room social worker. Both roles have taught her the importance of meeting people where they are, creating a supportive environment, and helping people feel confi

Somewhere along the way, taking care of yourself got reframed as indulgent. Something you earn after everything else is handled. Something that goes on the back burner when life gets busy. Life is always busy. The back burner is a lie. Here's what I actually believe: showing up for your body consistently is one of the least selfish things you can do. Because a body that's strong, stable, and moving well shows up better for everything else. Your work. Your people. The things y

July is my birthday month, so you get the personal version of the newsletter this month. I've been doing yoga for almost 30 years. I started reformer Pilates for one very scientific reason... It looked like fun. Seriously, that was it. What kept me coming back was something completely different. I realized how much stability it was building in my body. Yoga gave me mobility, peace of mind and body awareness, but reformer Pilates helped me build strength and control in a way I

Plank is not one thing. It never was. If your wrists don't love bearing load, you go to your forearms. Problem solved. You're still planking. If your shoulders aren't ready to hold the full thing yet, you stay on your hands but we adjust the load. Still planking. Not ready for the full toe situation? Knees down. Guess what. Still planking. This is not the easy version. This is not cheating. This is your body doing the work it's actually ready for right now, which is exactly h

Plank gets filed under “ab exercise.” That's selling it short. Here's what I want you to know: plank is a full-body negotiation with gravity. Your stabilizers, the muscles whose entire job is holding you together, are all firing at once. Shoulders staying stacked. Hips staying level. Spine staying neutral while everything around it wants to sag. That's not one muscle group working. That's your whole body talking to itself in real time. This month, plank is our anchor move on

Being active and having a movement practice are not the same thing. Walking the dog. Running errands. Standing at your desk instead of sitting. That's activity, and it counts for something. But it's not training the specific strength you're going to need later. That takes purpose. This is especially true if you're Gen X, because you already know what's coming. The next decade is about getting up off the floor without a production. Carrying your own groceries. Traveling withou

Two exercises that many people avoid, dread, or swear their knees just don't like. Here's what I want you to know: your knees are usually not the problem. The problem is often a lack of information about what your body is supposed to be doing. Both lunges and scooter are single-leg exercises. That means one leg is responsible for stabilizing your entire body while the other leg moves. That's a big job. When nobody explains how to create that stability, the knee often starts c

At first glance, they don't seem all that exciting. They can feel challenging. They require balance. They make your legs work. And unlike some exercises, they don't hide the fact that one side of your body might be stronger than the other. That's exactly why we do them. They Build Real-World Strength Both lunges and scooter are single-leg exercises, which means one leg is doing most of the work while the other leg assists with movement. Why does that matter? Because life rare

Summer in Michigan hits different. People get outside. They hike, bike, paddleboard, golf, chase their kids around. Movement stops being something you schedule and starts being something you just do. Which is exactly why this is the worst time to let your Pilates practice slide. Reformer Pilates isn’t a replacement for the activities you love. It’s the foundation underneath all of them. The stability work you do on the reformer every week? That’s what keeps you upright on a p

REBEL turned one and I’ve been trying to figure out what to say about it. I had a clear vision when I opened this place. I knew what I wanted it to stand for. I knew what I didn’t want it to be. I felt prepared for most of it. What I was not prepared for was you. I was not prepared for how many people would walk through that door having never done this before. Never really done much movement at all. And then just... show up. Week after week. And get strong. Quickly. In ways t

It's almost here. This Saturday, May 30th, REBEL Reformers turns one year old - and we're opening the doors to everyone. Here's what's happening 1-4 PM: Free 25-minute intro reformer classes - no experience needed, just show up Eden Wellness - vitamin B shots and wellness shots on-site Nature's Wisdom - vibrational sound therapy Pleasant Street Bakery - hot fresh cookies (this alone is worth coming for) Bring a friend. Bring your curiosity. Come see what the reformer is actua

Every month at REBEL there is one move that gets talked about more than anything else. People ask about it before class. They mention it after. They bring it up when they are telling someone why they love the reformer. Right now, that move is short spine. If you have done it, you already know. If you haven't, here is what to expect. Short spine is a spinal articulation exercise on the reformer. You start lying on your back, feet in the straps. The springs help you float your

We've watched a lot of people try the reformer for the first time this year. People in their 30s. People in their 60s. People who work on their feet all day and people who sit at a desk all week. People who haven't moved their body intentionally in years. People who thought they were in pretty good shape. You know what they all have in common? The reformer surprised every single one of them. Not because it's complicated. Because it's honest. It shows you what's working, what

A year ago, we opened the doors at REBEL and honestly? We had no idea what was going to happen. We knew the reformer was good. We knew Pilates worked. What we didn't know was who was going to walk through that door. We didn't know it would be the woman who'd never done anything like this - and came back every single week. Or the person who said 'I'm not sure I can do this' and did it anyway, for 12 months straight. We didn't know it would be you. May is our anniversary month.

If you’ve been to REBEL before, this one’s for you. Because you already know how this feels.You ’ve walked out of class stronger.More connected.A little more like yourself again. And then… life happened. Schedules got busy.Work picked up.You missed a class… then another… and suddenly it’s been a few weeks. It happens. You’re human. But here’s the part we don’t talk about enough: You don’t lose momentum all at once.You lose it one skipped class at a time. And getting back i

I have a belly and it’s fluffy! It is not flat. And yes, if I'm being completely honest, I'd like it to be a little smaller, a little less fluffy, whatever. But here's what I know about that belly. It is strong. It is stable. It supports my spine every single day. It has carried me through years of movement, teaching, building two businesses, and showing up for my own health even when life made that hard. That belly is doing its job. And that job matters a lot more than h