Pilates Books & Manuals

There are many Pilates books and manuals on the market, but which ones are worth your time and financial resources?

Here is an annotated list of books and textbooks that I recommend. Build your Pilates library slowly over time and use the following as resources whenever you need a refresher or inspiration. More texts will be added to this list over time!

COMPREHENSIVE EQUIPMENT MANUALS

The Universal Reformer: The Apparatus and Its Uses. Karen H. Carlson. Self-published.

Karen was taught Pilates by six of the eight elders and has been teaching Pilates for 40+ years. Her encyclopedic knowledge from her time as an apprentice across elders is recorded in her training manuals, available from the Pineland Pilates website. This 233 page text encompasses the cassical repertoire on the Universal Reformer, alongside more contemporary adaptations. In addition to anatomy, biomechanics, conditions, and fascial applications, this manual includes many variations and modifications, so that the instructor can progress clients accordingly. The exercises are designed for standard reformer apparatus. There are no exercises for modern 'infinity bar' style reformers. This is by far the most comrehensive manual I have found for this apparatus. If all of her manuals are this comprehensive, then I recommend purchasing all of them. $85 at time of publication.

STOTT Meritthew

Balanced Body

PROPS MANUALS (small props)

Ellie Hermann

OPTP

ANATOMY TEXTS (including biomechanics, fascia, etc.)

Anatomy Trains

Principles of Movement

Anatomy of movementTrail Guide

HISTORY

Caged Lion