The Method by ROUX™
Prepare Your Practice
The books and props we teach with, and what we would buy first
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Before you begin
Essential Reading
One book, and it is the one we teach palpation from. The link opens on Amazon Australia.
Trail Guide to the Body
Teaches you to find the landmarks under your hands, not just name them on a diagram. The palpation reference underneath everything in Mat Level 1.
Build gradually
Props for Home Practice
Everything here is for practising at home. If you are certifying with us, it is what you will use between your live training days. If you take our on demand classes, it is the kit we cue for. Either way you do not need to bring any of it to the studio, we have it all there. Build it gradually, in the order below.
Pilates Mat
Thicker and wider than a yoga mat, and it comes with a strap. If you are practising on floorboards at home this is the difference between finishing your rolling work and abandoning it.
Pilates Ball
The most useful thing you can own for home practice. Between the knees, under the sacrum, behind the low back or under one hand. Part-inflate it; most people over-inflate on the first go, and a hard ball is the wrong ball.
Resistance Band
Two tensions cover most of what you will practise at home. Latex-free if anyone in your household needs it. Packs into nothing, so it travels.
Magic Circle
Worth owning once you are past the first weeks. Padded handles inside and out, and firm enough to give you real feedback rather than folding.
Foam Roller
Full length, not the short travel size. You will use it for alignment and self-assessment at home as much as for release.
Light Hand Weights
Lighter than instinct suggests. These are for arm chain work, not strength training, and heavier weights will teach you the wrong pattern.
Starter Set
A budget way to get most of the kit at once. The bands and ball are fine. The ring in these sets is softer than a studio one, so upgrade it later if you find it folds under you.
Alongside your training
From The Method by ROUX
The course that sits alongside your certification.
Anatomy of Movement
The anatomy foundation that opens the pathway, and the groundwork for everything you will do on the mat. Enrolled separately from a certification seat. Some intakes include it as part of a joining offer.
The Method by ROUX™
Two ways in
This page is the reading and kit we teach with. Take our classes on demand and practise at home, or train to teach: the certification starts with Anatomy of Movement, then Mat or Reformer.
A note on copies
We ask our students to buy their own books. Scanned copies circulate, and we do not share them. Books of Discovery is a small independent publisher, and the reason a book this good exists is that people pay for it.
It is the same standard we hold our own material to.