Susan Fox will be teaching and disseminating "the Ron Fletcher work" ™, at The Core Center here in Palmer Township PA, along with visiting Qualified Pilates teachers from around the world. The Core Center is the ONLY facility on the east coast of the United States to offer the Ron Fletcher Program of Study Pilates teaching certification.

TRFPOS, recognizing a need to expand and disseminate the teachings of Joe Pilates and Ron Fletcher farther and still maintain the standards and high qualities already established, saw in Susan Fox an opportunity and means to accomplish their goal and expand the school beyond the boundaries of Tucson Arizona. The school syllabus and teaching certificates will continue to come from, and granted by, The Ron Fletcher Program of Study while continuing to be taught by highly qualified teachers.

For Studio Director Susan Fox, this is an exciting time for the studio.  “The energy generated from this announcement already has local students from the Lehigh Valley and as far away as Cincinnati OH enrolled for the first session starting this November”! 

Susan Fox is a licensed, certified, and qualified teacher of Pilates, a member of the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA), and now a faculty member of The Ron Fletcher Program of Study.  Susan has 25+ years experience teaching movement, has choreographed 40+ shows, and has 30+ years dance experience.

The Core Center is a fully equipped Pilates studio that offers individual and group classes.  The equipment includes Trapeze Table (Cadillac), Reformer, Barrels (Spine Correctors), Ron Fletcher Towel_™, Magic Circles, Floor and Mat.

For more information, please contact Susan Fox at the Core Center: 610-258-0415, or visit their website at http://www.CoreCenterPilates.com.

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(Thursday, April, 14, 2005)  Headline News Article of the Today Section

Easton, PA

By April Helmer

Many people who practice Pilates don't mention losing weight, slimming down or getting in shape. The first thing they usually talk about is losing any aches or pain they once carried.

Phillipsburg resident Sarah Chauhan says she no longer has lower back pain since finding The Core Center a Pilates Studio in Palmer Township.

For Susan Fox, who danced since she was a young girl, a host of injuries have melted away.

Fox had such pain in her right hip that she could no longer sit and watch a movie, unless she sat on her left hip. She also was getting cortisone injections in her right shoulder for an injury there.

"I thought I could teach dance for a few more years and then I was finished," she recalls.

Then she started taking Pilates and found she was more flexible and her pain disappeared. She no longer gets shots for any injuries. She says she dances better now at 44 than she has in years.

That was the Wilson Borough native's inspiration to open The Core Center. Though she opened just a year ago, she's already moved to a larger space at Northwood Corner once occupied by a karate studio. Over the last few weeks, she's spent every free moment making runs to Ikea to decorate the larger space and make it "open" and "airy."

One of the big moments celebrating her move and the expansion of her studio will be Saturday when Fox celebrates International Pilates Day. Her studio is the only registered location in the region recognizing the day with activities, according to the Pilates Method Alliance's Web site.

Included in the activities will be demonstrations and "100s doing the 100s" referring to the basic movement on which German-born inventor Joseph Pilates based the entirety of his workout. He continued to end up with 34 positions of controlled movement that worked to improve flexibility and strength. According to his method, movement increases in intensity as the body strengthens.

International Pilates Day serves two purposes, says a PMA spokeswoman. The first is to educate the public about Pilates and Pilates instructors, how to find instructors and the kind of education instructors should have. The second is to raise money for the PMA through memberships, raffles, and other activities.

The PMA is a nonprofit group that is working toward uniting the Pilates community and establishing a universal certification process for instructors. The spokeswoman, Nikay Richardson, says the first portion of the standardized test, the electronic portion, will be available in May. This year the testing will cost $100,000 to put in place. By the time the practical application is completed, the entire testing will likely cost more than $200,000 for the organization to implement, she says.

Area instructors say having standard certification will be a breakthrough for their practice. Without universal licensing or certification, people are able to take a weekend course, an online course or simply call their workout "Pilates" or "Yogaliates" or a combination of some other form of workout with Pilates and give clients the impression that it is the same workout offered by instructors who have studied for 500 hours or more.

"Our theme is really pure and simple," Fox says. At the Core Center she teaches only a couple of yoga classes which are a different price than the Pilates classes and she says she may offer a dance for fitness class at some point, but she would never take her concentration from Pilates.

"I don't want to be an elitist," she adds. "I want people to move and move and move. But I want people to know if you think you may be doing Pilates ... you may not be. We don't want people hurting themselves."

Chauhan did a lot of research before she started sessions at the Core Center.

"I had read a lot of information about (Pilates)." she says. "I had a hard time finding a place offering Pilates by itself."

The mother of two now tries to go to classes three times a week when her husband is home from work.

"The major thing that stands out to me is that it's about your strengths, the strengths you have," Chauhan says, "It's a process, you can always get stronger."

(Tuesday, March, 15, 2005)

New York, NY

Popular Exercise Method Lacks Trained Teachers; The Risks of the 'Swan Dive'

By Sally Beatty

PILATES, ONE OF the fastest growing fitness activities in the country, is facing a problem: The number of people signing up for classes is outstripping the pool of people qualified to teach them. Because a number of Pilates exercises engage in neck and spine, the quality of the instruction is more critical than with many other forms of exercise...

... Some seasoned Pilates teachers say novices should begin by using Pilates equipment, rather than mat exercises...

... "The apparatus can be intimidating," says Cheryl Mueller Jones, vice president of programs and services at Town Sports International...

You can read the article in its entirety, and have a copy of it, in the studio's "living room".

Studio Owner/Director and teacher, Susan Fox, said that offering Yoga classes at the Pilates studio is a natural balance and blend to what the studio already has to offer.  Quoting the magazine 'Yoga Journal' in the March/April 2004 edition p.80, “Some Yogis are finding that Pilates focus on building and engaging a strong core can propel their yoga practice into new realms.”

“The Pilates Method is an exercise system that focuses on improving strength for the total body without building bulk.”

Karen Stachura is a registered Hatha Yoga instructor and 22 year yoga practioner.  Her teaching methods are inspired by a blend of traditional Hatha as well as Kripalu and Astanga yoga techniques.

Susan Fox is a licensed and certified teacher of Pilates and a member of the Pilates Method Alliance and has 20+ years experience teaching movement, a choreographer of 40+ shows, and has 30+ years dance experience.

The Pilates Studio is fully equipped and offers individual and group classes.  The equipment includes Trapeze Table (Cadillac), Reformers, Barrels (Spine Correctors), Ped-a-Pul’s, “Wunda Chair”, Ron Fletcher Towel_™, Magic Circles, Floor and Mat.

For more information, please contact Susan Fox at the Core Center: 610-258-0415, or visit their website at http://www.CoreCenterPilates.com.

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The Prize’s and winners are

1^st prize (One free 7-week session – value $120) Ellen Smith

2^nd prize (Two free private sessions – value $80) Gabriella Penzez

3^rd prize (One free Introductory to Pilates Class – value $25) Terry Leiberman

Studio Owner/Director Susan Fox gave tours of the facility and provided free food and refreshments to all those who visited the ‘Grand Opening”.  Demonstrations on the various pieces of equipment were continuously provided by some of the studios existing clientele.

 “The Pilates Method is an exercise system that focuses on improving strength for the total body without building bulk.”

Susan Fox is a licensed and certified teacher of Pilates and a member of the Pilates Method Alliance and has 20+ years experience teaching movement, a choreographer of 40+ shows, and has 30+ years dance experience.

The Pilates Studio is fully equipped and offers individual and group classes.  The equipment includes Trapeze Table (Cadillac), Reformer, Barrels (Spine Correctors), Ron Fletcher Towel_™, Magic Circles, Floor and Mat.

For more information, please contact Susan Fox at the Core Center: 610-258-0415, or visit their website at http://www.CoreCenterPilates.com.

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For Studio Director Susan Fox, this is a much-anticipated event.  “I am attempting to provide an avenue which fosters the growth of the arts through the art of movement by teaching Pilates.  I want my clients to have a better life through Pilates and just have FUN in the process.  Try the “Introduction to Pilates” class and I promise you will not be disappointed!”

“Come and strengthen the core of your body. The Pilates Method is an exercise system that focuses on improving strength for the total body without building bulk.”

Susan Fox is a licensed and certified teacher of Pilates and a member of the Pilates Method Alliance and has 20+ years experience teaching movement, a choreographer of 40+ shows, and has 30+ years dance experience.

The Pilates Studio is fully equipped and offers individual and group classes.  The equipment includes Trapeze Table (Cadillac), Reformer, Barrels (Spine Correctors), Ron Fletcher Towel_™, Magic Circles, Floor and Mat.

Come to the September 12^th grand opening, and you will:

·          Have the ability to interview Susan Fox, the studio’s Director

·          Get a tour of the Core Center Studio

·          Watch as students exhibit exercises on various equipment pieces

·          Enjoy light snacks and beverages

For more information, please contact Susan Fox at the Core Center: 610-258-0415, or visit their website at http://www.CoreCenterPilates.com.

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