Teaching Tough Spines Workshop

Pilates is for Everybody, but not every Pilates exercise is for everybody.

We all know that Pilates is trendy, it's expanding, and more people than ever are doing Pilates. I think this is a good thing. And I think it makes comprehensively, well trained instructors stand out even more. Inevitably, folks are going to get injured in the “Wild West Pilates era” in which we are living. Eventually those clients will move to more educated and better trained instructors who are able to work with them and allow them to have a “positive movement experience without pain.” Pilates shouldn’t cause pain but we know now that every Pilates exercise is not for every body.

I am a physical therapist and a certified Pilates instructor and am teaching a new course called “Teaching Tough Spines” which teaches certified instructors and Pilates trainees more about Osteoporosis, low back pain, and spinal conditions like stenosis, scoliosis, and spondylolisthesis. Going back to my previous statement, that Pilates is for everybody: we have learned more since Joseph Pilates was teaching that exercises like rolling like a ball and short spine are not safe for women with Osteoporosis. We also know that exercises like swan and swimming probably aren’t going to feel great for someone who has stenosis. So, not every Pilates exercise fits everyone, but everyone can do Pilates. 

I am extremely lucky to work in a studio where the instructors have excellent training and know what’s safe but there are Pilates classes springing up everywhere where the instructors may not have comprehensive training. Pilates certifications can be very brief and often don’t spend enough time teaching indicated and contraindicated exercises for different people. Many photos and videos of Joseph show him working with younger -able bodied clients but we want to ensure that Pilates can be enjoyed by people of all ages and abilities. 

I believe that additional training is important for instructors so that they feel confident that they can teach anybody that happens to walk in the door, which is what Joseph Pilates would have wanted too.

“Positive Movement Experience without pain” is a term coined by Brent Anderson, co-founder of Polestar Pilates Education