Here’s an idea for going green in your studio: choose Pilates equipment made from sustainable, eco-friendly materials. A new Pilates equipment brand, Root Manufacturing, has made that just a bit easier to do with its inaugural line, the first-ever made from bamboo.

“It’s a brand-new offering,” says Root founder and president Vic Hart. “There’s innovation going on, particularly with the bamboo, which offers not only sustainability, but also beauty, strength and hardness.”

Bamboo is technically a grass, not a wood, and Hart says it’s very hard yet lightweight, and stronger than actual wood because of the multiple laminations required to engineer it, thus making for durable and easier-to-move Pilates apparatus.

Root is the first Pilates apparatus line direct from Colorado’s Hart Wood Incorporated, which has been making equipment for the past 13 years for other Pilates brands. Hart says the company has prototyped and finessed many of the Root designs with ample feedback from the Pilates community over the years. Design highlights include locks instead of knobs for adjusting high Ladder Barrels, and multiple sizes and configurations for Reformers, including two standard widths, four standard lengths—combinable in any form and compatible with pole systems for converting to Cadillacs and Towers.

“We have a lot to offer the Pilates community, in terms of product,” Hart says. “We’re also trying to help studios grow and sustain themselves. We realize equipment is not inexpensive, sometimes ‘grow as you go’ is the only way to make it happen.”

Root Manufacturing also offers oak and maple products sourced from suppliers who use sustainable forestry practices. The equipment is all hand-crafted, and there is plenty of information about Root’s materials, as well as a nifty color selector on the company’s Web site. “We’re trying to make a product that is going to last a lifetime and also at the same time be good a citizen of the world,” Hart says.

By Lauren Charlip, Managing Editor

STOTT PILATES® will hold its biennial conference for its global Licensed Training Centers in Toronto Oct. 21–24, 2009, but this year’s gathering has a new twist. Named Community of Excellence 09, the event was expanded to include STOTT PILATES equipment distributors, all Instructor Trainers and a final day of programming open to all fitness professionals. 

This year’s gathering is the first to be called Community of Excellence, though according to STOTT PILATES president and CEO Lindsay G. Merrithew, that “has been a living organic philosophy for about 10 years or so” for the company.

“We’ve grown tremendously in the past couple of years, and want to focus on the STOTT brand and what it means and how we can all work together,” he said. “This is a time for all of our business partners to come together and share best practices and experiences.”

The conference will feature updated Pilates programming for rehabilitative and aging populations, both growing sectors of the STOTT PILATES client base, among other Pilates workshops. One of the event’s featured speakers is Colin Milner, founder and CEO of the International Council on Active Aging, who will discuss business ideas for that market. There will also be plenty of business-building sessions, and new STOTT PILATES equipment will be introduced, though the specifics are still under wraps.

There will also be a lot of exchange about the economy this year, Merrithew predicts. Enrollment hasn’t dropped, she said, but there is continuing conversation about how to draw people into studios and how to establish Pilates as something other than a luxury.

“This an opportunity to connect and take advantage of the fact that Pilates keeps growing and growing,” he said. “The economy may not be ideal, but the industry is growing.”

Happy Friday, everyone. We’ve found a few Pilates Internet goodies lately we wanted to share.

Joseph Pilates for Everyone!
Thanks to Paul of Vertex Physical Therapy in Los Angeles, a few more Joseph Pilates video clips have made their way on to YouTube. They are extremely fun to watch, especially this one of Joe teaching a beginning student Reformer exercises, which also shows his progress 6 months later. (I just wish they had audio!) You can view more Pilates videos on our new Pilates-Pro.com YouTube channel. (If you’d like us to feature your video on our channel, send it to editor@pilates-pro.com.)

Free Podcasts
Balanced Body recently launched new free podcasts, available in a variety of formats, featuring some top Pilates experts such as Brent Anderson, PhD, Dawn-Marie Ickes and Christine Romani-Ruby. They plan to release new podcasts each week in four categories: Instructor, Rehabilitation, Enthusiast and Elizabeth’s Corner (from Elizabeth Larkam).

Madeline Speaks
This online freebie is a hidden gem. On Madeline Black’s blog, you’ll find a three-part intereview with the Sonoma, CA, instructor in which she talks about how she found Pilates as a young dancer and talks about Pilates and feet and her new workshop, Sole to Spine. (Also see her article Pilates for Feet for more!)

Happy Earth Day! Have a great, green day and enjoy these Earth Day specials. If you know of others, leave them in the comments.

Peak Pilates: Purchase over $2,000 in merchandise today and get 5 tons of CO2 offsets to help reduce your carbon footprint. Also, receive 15% off Peak’s Studio Equipment line until May 8. (I couldn’t find the offer on their Web site, but received an email about it.) peakpilates.com

Omala: Receive 20% off all bamboo products through April 30 from this fitness clothing company. Use the code BeEARTHY at omala.com or shop at their Brooklyn boutique.

Lucy: Bring in your “well-loved” workout pants to any Lucy store. They will donate them to a local charity and you’ll get $10 off any regular Lucy bottom.

Asana Activewear: Bring in old fitness wear to this Charlotte, NC, activewear store and get $10 off for every pair of pants and $5 off for every top donated. Items will be donated to a local charity. asanaactivewear.com

Gaiam: Shop from Gaiam’s 25 greenest products list. Get 20% off these eight items with the code EDEMC.

Also, check out this list of 10 ways to green your studio, from the Bay Area Pilates Collective.

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Going Green in the Studio

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), in cooperation with EB Brands, of Yonkers, New York, announced a voluntary recall of about 3 million fitness balls sold under the Bally Total Fitness, Everlast, Valeo and Body Fit brands. The balls, if overinflated, can unexpectedly burst while in use, causing the user to fall to the floor. EB Brands has received 47 reports of fitness balls unexpectedly bursting, including reports of a fracture, and multiple bruises. The recall includes 55-, 65- and 75-cm diameter sizes.

Consumers should contact EB Brands to receive a copy of the updated instructions on how to safely inflate the ball. For additional information, contact EB Brands at (800) 624-5671 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, or visit ebbrands.com. The CPSC is still interested in receiving incident or injury reports that are either directly related to this product recall or involve a different hazard with the same product. Please tell them about it by clicking here.