Modern Body: Pilates & Movement for Life

Aly sits down with fascia movement educator Kath Pent to explore the underestimated importance of facial health. Kath shares what current research reveals about fascia as a body-wide sensory network, why force travels between structures far from where discomfort actually shows up, and why the field keeps outpacing anyone's ability to master it fully. She and Aly dig into where fascia work diverges from muscle-focused practices like Pilates, touching on slings, elasticity, and the gap between training strength and training glide. Kath shares practical, low-lift ways to weave fascia care into everyday movement, including a simple expand-then-soften technique built on what she calls the sponge principle. Small shifts in attention and approach can unlock changes that muscle-focused training alone tends to miss.Follow Modern BodyStay connected with Aly DiRoma and the Modern Body community: https://link.me/alydiromaGet the Modern Mover's Guide Here:https://modernmoversguide.com/guideConnect with Kath Pent: https://www.kathpent.com/

It’s almost Week 3 of Summer Camp at Modern Body and Aly kicks it off by making a case for strength training that goes beyond lifting heavy. Instead of chasing progressive overload alone, she breaks down how muscle fibers, weight loads, and planes of motion all work together on a spectrum, and why Pilates and heavier lifting complement rather than compete with each other. The week ahead mixes body weight, bands, and everything from light to heavy loads across five classes, all built around the idea that strength isn't one dial set to max, but a range you learn to move through depending on what your day actually asks of you.Follow Modern BodyStay connected with Aly DiRoma and the Modern Body community: https://link.me/alydiromaIf you aren't already a member of the Modern Body Online Studio , you can experience Summer Camp with a free 7-day trial. Explore the full catalog of classes for free for the first 7 days.Get the Modern Mover's Guide Here:https://modernmoversguide.com/guideReferenced Episode: Ep. 67: Are you training all muscle fiber types in your movement practice?

Kids don't second-guess a somersault. Adults do. Aly launches Modern Body's Summer Camp series by exploring how we can recapture that child-like confidence and trust in how we move by unveiling Week One's theme, Remembering the Body. She digs into why so many of us have been trained to override bodily signals in favor of data, comparison, and cultural "shoulds." Aly invites listeners to reconnect with themselves through playful movement, inspired by researcher Angela Hanscom and choreographer Ohad Naharin. Expect gross motor work, proprioception drills, and whole-body integration designed to rebuild trust between mind and body, all pulled from watching how naturally, and fearlessly, kids move.Follow Modern BodyStay connected with Aly DiRoma and the Modern Body community: https://link.me/alydiromaIf you aren't already a member of the Modern Body Online Studio , you can experience Summer Camp with a free 7-day trial. Explore the full catalog of classes for free for the first 7 days.Get the Modern Mover's Guide Here:https://modernmoversguide.com/guideReferences:Balanced and Barefoot by Angela J. HanscomGaga Movement Language, Ohad Naharin https://www.gagapeople.com/en/

Aly welcomes back holistic nutritionist McKenna Garrison for a deep dive into reproductive health. Together they map the groundwork for improved fertility: tracking your cycle, understanding ovulation windows, and taming chronic inflammation. McKenna breaks down how sleep, movement, and blood sugar tie into hormone health, why thyroid function matters for ovulation, and which nutrients and supplements actually earn a spot in your routine. Even if pregnancy isn't on your radar right now, this episode offers a blueprint for steadier cycles and stronger hormone health at any stage of life.Get the Modern Mover's Guide Here:https://modernmoversguide.com/guideListen to Other Episodes with McKenna Garrison:Ep 15: “Fueling Your Body Well” - Holistic Gut Healing, Hormone Support, and Blood Sugar Balancing Practices to Fuel Your Body Long TermEp. 43: Are You Supplement Savvy? Find What's Right for You-A Conversation with Holistic Nutritionist McKenna GarrisonEp. 87: Support Your Hormones through Perimenopause: A Conversation with Holistic Nutritionist McKenna GarrisonConnect with McKenna: https://btbwithmckenna.com/Follow Modern BodyStay connected with Aly DiRoma and the Modern Body community: https://link.me/alydiromaIf you aren't already a member of the Modern Body Online Studio , you can experience that too with a free 7-day trial. Explore the full catalog of classes for free for the first 7 days.Want help with production of your podcast? Contact Michelle Sanchez [[email protected]]

Follow Modern BodyStay connected with Aly DiRoma and the Modern Body community: https://link.me/alydiromaIf you aren't already a member of the Modern Body Online Studio , you can experience that too with a free 7-day trial. Explore the full catalog of classes for free for the first 7 days.In this Episode:In this replay episode Aly shares her home Pilates equipment picks, ranking each piece from must-have to optional and she explains exactly why it earns its spot. Aly walks through some staple props to enhance a home movement practice, and she weighs each against versatility, cost, and storage space, while offering household swaps for anyone not ready to buy. In addition to offering a curated list of recommendations, this episode also serves as a preview for Modern Body's upcoming Summer Camp series, where much of this gear will show up in class. Recommended Equipment: These links are suggestions. You can find similar, effective products from other vendors too.Resistance Bands https://amzn.to/4oY4jfiMini Ball https://amzn.to/4vkPJAkBlocks https://amzn.to/3SVgOwbLight weights https://amzn.to/3QXA0J3 (This company has a wide variety of weights 2lbs and beyond)Wrist/ankle weights https://amzn.to/4vKoIqI

Get the Modern Mover's Guide Here: https://modernmoversguide.com/guideIn This Episode: Aly kicks off a 3-part mini-series by naming something most movers feel: the wellness world is overwhelming, even for the people inside it. Information about choosing the right workouts can be confusing, and often conflicting, but in this episode Aly offers focus and clarity. She breaks down the first of three essential ingredients her movement system is built on: support. This foundational layer of Pilates-based "Groundwork" classes develops breath mechanics, joint awareness, and core strength from the inside out, without the conflicting noise that clouds most movement spaces. Aly invites listeners to join the Modern Body community and discover her strategy for a well-rounded movement routine made simple.Follow Modern BodyStay connected with Aly DiRoma and the Modern Body community: https://link.me/alydiromaIf you aren't already a member of the Modern Body Online Studio , you can experience that too with a free 7-day trial. Explore the full catalog of classes for free for the first 7 days.

Follow Modern BodyStay connected with Aly DiRoma and the Modern Body community: https://link.me/alydiromaIf you aren't already a member of the Modern Body Online Studio , you can experience that too with a free 7-day trial. Explore the full catalog of classes for free for the first 7 days.In this Episode:Aly challenges the popular notion that correcting postural imbalances means cutting certain movements out of our routine. A recent social media post prompted Aly to counter the message being served in that post: that some movement should be excluded when you are trying to correct postural imbalances. Aly asserts that by understanding the body's natural patterns we can unlearn habits that contribute to those postural imbalances. Instead of avoiding certain ranges of movement, the key is learning to support our bodies through all movements.Want help with production of your podcast? Contact Michelle Sanchez [[email protected]]

Follow Modern BodyStay connected with Aly DiRoma and the Modern Body community: https://link.me/alydiromaIf you aren't already a member of the Modern Body Online Studio , you can experience that too with a free 7-day trial. Explore the full catalog of classes for free for the first 7 days.In this Episode:That nagging tension in the lower back during a bridge or hip thrust might not be a mystery. It might be because the quadratus lumborum is doing all the work. Aly takes listeners inside one of the most misunderstood muscles in the body, the QL, tracing its anatomy, its habits, and the domino effect that happens when the surrounding system stops pulling its weight. Aly walks through exactly how she would prepare a client with an overactive QL before ever attempting a bridge, and offers a practical checklist anyone can apply in their very next class that includes how to use breath as a preparatory tool, what pelvis position to look for at the top of a bridge, and when a resistance band or block might be the missing piece.Want help with production of your podcast? Contact Michelle Sanchez [[email protected]]

Follow Modern BodyStay connected with Aly DiRoma and the Modern Body community: https://link.me/alydiromaIf you aren't already a member of the Modern Body Online Studio , you can experience that too with a free 7-day trial. Explore the full catalog of classes for free for the first 7 days.In this Episode:Perfectionism has a way of keeping us exactly where they are. We wait for the right time, the right space, the right conditions. And in the meantime, life moves on. Aly gets candid about something she wrestles with herself: the way perfectionism disguises itself as preparation and ends up morphing into the biggest obstacle to a consistent movement practice. Drawing from her own experience as a new mother navigating an unpredictable schedule, she unpacks how the pressure to do it all perfectly can lead to doing nothing at all.Aly walks listeners through three of the most common hang-ups that hold people back. When we chase the ideal routine, get locked into all-or-nothing thinking, or suffer paralysis for fear of doing it wrong, those habits end up stalling any progress that imperfect small steps could achieve. Aly offers refreshingly honest, low-barrier strategies for moving past that perfectionist thinking.Referenced Modern Body Classes: Coffee Pilates SeriesBook Aly mentioned: Art & FearWant help with production of your podcast? Contact Michelle Sanchez [[email protected]]

Follow Modern BodyStay connected with Aly DiRoma and the Modern Body community: https://link.me/alydiromaIf you aren't already a member of the Modern Body Online Studio , you can experience that too with a free 7-day trial. Explore the full catalog of classes for free for the first 7 days.In this Episode:Small pieces of equipment can make a surprisingly significant difference in how we feel movement in our bodies and Aly shares the details about how introducing a simple prop in an exercise can help you tap into the move’s essence. She walks listeners through what these tools actually do mechanically including how they shift load, change the relationship between the body and gravity, amplify muscular emphasis, and open up a wider range of modification options for every fitness level and life stage. Aly explains the reasoning behind each prop so that listeners feel empowered to use them in order to achieve the maximum benefit of any exercise. This episode is the third installment in Aly's ongoing series designed to help us get the most out of any exercise.Related EpisodesEp. 109: Stop Forcing Your Body to Fit into the Exercise Mold - Understanding Muscular Emphasis to Discover What Your Body NeedsEp. 110: Modifications - The Most Powerful Too You Haven't Been UsingWant help with production of your podcast? Contact Michelle Sanchez [[email protected]]

Follow Modern BodyStay connected with Aly DiRoma and the Modern Body community: https://link.me/alydiromaIf you aren't already a member of the Modern Body Online Studio , you can experience that too with a free 7-day trial. Explore the full catalog of classes for free for the first 7 days.In this Episode:Every body is different, and so is every body's experience of movement. In this episode, Aly kicks off a new series by exploring one of the most common questions she hears from movers at every level: "Am I doing this right?" She answers that question by introducing two foundational concepts: the muscular emphasis and essence of an exercise. That shifts the focus from how a movement looks to what it is actually doing inside the body. Aly walks listeners through familiar Pilates exercises like breaststroke, shoulder bridge, and the hundred to illustrate how understanding what a movement is designed to accomplish can completely change the way it is experienced.This episode is the first in a three-part series, with upcoming episodes dedicated to modifications and props. What ties it all together is Aly's passion for helping others understand their bodies so that they can navigate any class, in any setting, with confidence in what their body is telling them.

Follow Modern BodyStay connected with Aly DiRoma and the Modern Body community: https://link.me/alydiromaIf you aren't already a member of the Modern Body Online Studio , you can experience that too with a free 7-day trial. Explore the full catalog of classes for free for the first 7 days.In this Episode:Season changes are more than a shift in temperature. They signal a time for pausing, taking stock, and realigning. In this episode Aly guides listeners through a spring movement inventory, a practical and surprisingly clarifying exercise inspired by a recent closet clean-out. Using three simple categories (like, need, and want), Aly helps us examine what our current movement practice actually contains, what it might be missing, and whether the habits we have built still reflect who we are today.Rather than prescribing a one-size-fits-all approach, Aly draws from her own honest experiences as a mother, runner, and Pilates practitioner to illustrate how these three baskets work together. You’ll come away from this episode with a framework you can complete in as little as five minutes. It’s a streamlined inventory that brings clarity, reduces overwhelm, and opens the door to a movement routine that genuinely fits your life right now, not the life you lived five or ten years ago.

Follow Modern BodyStay connected with Aly DiRoma and the Modern Body community: https://link.me/alydiromaIf you aren't already a member of the Modern Body Online Studio , you can experience that too with a free 7-day trial. Explore the full catalog of classes for free for the first 7 days.In this Episode:Movement skills have a way of quietly fading in the background of busy lives if we don’t keep up a consistent movement practice. In this episode, Aly recounts how a spontaneous return to the dance floor became the spark for a candid, science-informed conversation about the "use it or lose it" principle and what it actually means for the body we live in today. Aly draws on concepts from thermodynamics and psychology to reframe how listeners think about lost mobility, faded strength, and the movement patterns that once felt effortless.The message here is reassurance: the body holds memory, and decline is not a destination. Aly walks listeners through the concept of reversibility — the idea that the body, like any complex system, can be restored — and offers a grounded, realistic roadmap for reclaiming movement capacity bit by bit. Whether it has been one year or twenty since a skill felt natural, this episode makes a compelling case that consistent, intentional movement, even just five minutes a day, is enough to start turning the tide.Want help with production of your podcast? Contact Michelle Sanchez [[email protected]]