Are there any instructors here who used their boutique certification to teach abroad in Paris? I’m Canadian and would love to use my certification somewhere in Europe. I read that in France you must get a recognized qualification like a French fitness certification. Has anyone done this? I’m so interested to hear all about this lol.
Cheers!
I’m currently subscribed to b the method, but I’m looking to change it up. I haven’t been consistent so not sure if I need something new or what. Does anyone have an opinion on Amanda Blauer’s app? I like that it looks like she includes some heavier weights. Or do I just stick with BTM? Thanks!
It took about 5-7 days (intermittently) and cost under $1,000. A lot of mistakes that had to be corrected on the initial design. Sourcing wheels was a challenge, but managed. Definitely room for improvement, and I need to make a “real” footbar - though purists will be happy to know that the design I settled on is pretty much the same as a version of the footbar Joseph Pilates marketed in the 1940s (non-purists will scoff at a footbar with a single position, but that’s common to almost all classical reformers.) There’s only one gear because there’s only one user (me.) For now.
Hi all, I’m a beginner but really enjoying it. However I’m having troubles with the staggered leg lift. Despite having a pretty thick cushy mat (Manduka pro), lifting the bottom leg feels painful as it basically pushes the top part of my femur perhaps? into the mat. I asked my teacher for advice and they said just don’t do it if it hurts lol.
I would like to do this exercise. Can anyone suggest a modification to help? Should I try more padding under the hip and shoulder?
Right now it can work if I roll back a little so my weight is more on the side of my glute than hip but that’s def bad alignment.
I know there are tons of different companies that provide Pilates education and certification, but are there any that are better/ more respected and recognized in the Pilates community? I’ve heard great things about PeakPilates and Basi. The teacher that I have been going to at a boutique studio has now started her own teacher training for $3000 dollars for 4 days of in person teaching, and the rest is on your own time. You can become reformer certified in just one month. She asked me to join it, and I’m having mixed feelings. Always wanted to be a Pilates instructor, but is one woman’s “method” the same caliber as peak or basi? I feel like everyone is doing teacher trainings at boutique studios, but as educated Pilates instructors/ studio owners would you trust a training like this to give you the full anatomical, cueing, transition, and actual form instructions or would you prefer to hire a candidate with a more widely recognized certificate?
This week I went back to the little studio where I’ve been a member for a year or so. I had surgery two months ago and this was the first time doing Pilates since surgery. I was surprised by the overwhelming kind response I got from the instructor and the owner of the studio. For the first time I actually felt like I was a member of a community. Over the years I’ve tried to get this feeling from yoga studios, book clubs and even churches but this was the first time I actually felt like I was in a real community of kind and caring people.
The dramatic part of me wants to say I will be now conducting all meetings from my bed & if anyone needs me they can visit me there for the foreseeable future. Holy cow, that was the toughest thing I have ever done. I was more active and used to play sports in HS but now I have a low to moderate activity level, I’m 26, 155 lbs, 5’6” and am incredibly sore. I can easily and honestly say that was the hardest workout I’ve ever done but I absolutely love the feeling of sore abs, yes uncomfy at times, but ultimately such a foreign feeling that I like it. If anyone is on the fence or worried about a later-in-life start, take this as a sign to go for it. I have friends that wanted to try it but our schedules weren’t matching so I ripped the bandaid off and am so proud of myself!!! Starting with once a week fundamental classes at JetSet!! P.S. there were some some experienced women in the class but also about 5 other beginners too so that was great to not feel so out of place.
Instructors,
Do you spend the entire class cuing your students? If you see everyone is doing the movement accordingly, are you still cuing?
I understand that keeping cues simple is sometimes better and I try to do that. But do I really need to talk the entire time? Whether that be cuing or counting?
Please give tips so I can get better 🙏
Thank you
One of my primary motivations for signing up for a Pilates membership in January was to help increase my core strength/“erector” muscles so I wouldn’t feel like I was dying at music festivals. We attend about three four day music festivals every year and every year my back/core are on fire from standing and walking and carrying a hydro pack.
Here to say: 4.5 months later and 48 classes later IT WORKED. We are at sonic temple this weekend and yesterday was day one. I went from gate open to gate close and my feet are sore (bad shoes), and weirdly my glutes but my back and core do not hurt!!!! I felt great at the end of the day yesterday and could have kept going. And I had NO ISSUES standing in the crowds for hours yesterday!
It’s the little things y’all. 🙌
Edit: end of day two, still going strong but my feeeeeet are killing me. No noticeable issues with standing again today. Did some stretching this am to limber up and that helped a LOT.
I’m a trans man and for most of my life, I’ve had a toxic relationship with my body. Focusing too much on what I can’t do, my body will never do, never look like, etc. Pilates has caused a total shift for me. I love seeing results in terms of focusing what I CAN do and CAN accomplish. Every workout I do, I find some amazing new advancement. Like, wow, I can’t believe my hamstrings got so strong, etc. Or it’s a new move I can do. I posted in here a few months ago asking for rollover advice. Well, now, I can almost do a rollover.
I have a history of chronic pain and it’s made my pain so much better. I have a history of stiffness and my mobility is drastically improved. My muscle imbalances are completely gone now. The most noticeable differences is improvement in my posterior chain strength, hip strength, and of course, ab strength. My gait is the best it’s ever been. And thats saying something since I broke my leg in my teens.
I do have heel pain and I noticed in reformer class that calf raises are hard for me. So I’m working on that now. I’m really trying to do my own rehab and sticking to it. I feel like the magic of Pilates is that areas you need to work on are easily revealed and become apparent without a lot of mystery or guessing. I like that Pilates is so simplistic in this way in a world where exercise and health are increasingly viewed in overly complex ways.
I began my practice a little over a year ago when I ordered one of those mini boards. And I just began ordering more props. I now do reformer classes occasionally but mostly do mat at home with Move With Nicole or Amanda Blauer subscription service.
I sometimes do overdo it. I am trying to find that sweet spot and stick to a practice of 2-3x per week, just as Joe Pilates recommended. I am also trying to throw in some resistance band training and cardio.
Pilates is amazing. I feel like I found a movement that will keep me moving well for the rest of my life. And that I love this way of moving, this way of being.
I am curious to know. Teachers, how many years have you been teaching and how many teacher training programmes have you done?. If more than one when and why did you decide on getting recertified.
I have completed teacher training and genuinely realised i am now so deeply interested in just digging deeper but might be that workshops or continuing education is preferable but curious to learn other teachers journeys in Pilates.!
If you trained just once. Do you think your qualification equipped you well enough to understand the method deeply.!
I started pilates last year and have gone to 10 different studios. I categorize CP and most recent studios as 'sculpt' pilates fitness/strength x pilates reformer.
I've only had 2 instructors that were teaching me pilates via the classical order. Can you believe I only learned about the 'hundred' 6 months in...
My question is, are there 'graded' style studios? that teach you pilates from A to Z and you progress... like when my kids take karate for example and move up belt levels? I think this would be awesome!!! Thoughts anyone? Hard to get a consistent spot in my local studio and the other studio just does random sculpt on a reformer.
Re sculpt, I enjoy this for the fitness aspect and like that CP is consistent atleast. My local studios have no consistency.
Are you new to the subreddit? Do you recall that when you pressed "join," you got a popup advising you to read the rules, which are on the sidebar/top (browser/mobile), as well as a DM that also told you to read the rules, which, again, are on the sidebar/top? The first two are paramount: USE THE SEARCH FUNCTION and PARTICIPATE AND CONTRIBUTE BEFORE STARTING YOUR OWN POST. If you just joined the subreddit five seconds ago and tried to start a new post, that means you failed to follow those two rules. Your post was or will be deleted. You can only start a new post once you have amassed some community karma and shown yourself to be someone who understands what "community" means.
Full acknowledgment and ownership that I am being bitchy in the intro to this post. I'm really sad about the trend of aliteracy growing in the world and sick of receiving modmail that amounts to "I'm a special boy/girl/they; please let me break the rules because I couldn't be bothered to read them and I'm the special-est person." I promise in pretty much any other context, I am a warm and welcoming and quirky and nerdy person, but being bombarded with the same "I'm special and shouldn't have to follow the rules" message and refusal to read rules every day mounts up and wastes the (unpaid) time of the mod team. You think your message is unique because it's the first time you have written it; I promise it's not the first time the mod team has read it.
This sub, mod team included but especially the members, is full of highly knowledgeable and experienced Pilates practitioners, fans, and instructors who often gladly share their experience with newbies. It is honestly insulting to everyone who is already in this sub when you join, refuse to read the rules, and don't spend anytime perusing what is already available to you. This sub is a wealth of knowledge and resources, and you should treat it as such! It is not a personal advice forum; there are other places on Reddit for that. The leadership of the sub feels that consolidation of information and topics in a handful of threads is a better use of everyone's time than clogging up the feed with the same five questions over and over again.
Please use the search function. I promise you, you are not the first person to want to know what a good YouTube channel is for beginners or what "engage your core" means. Many people feel uncomfortable going to their first class; you should feel welcome and supported no matter your body, gender, disability, race, or religion, and if someone makes you feel otherwise, they are the problem, not you. You are not the first person to seek equipment recommendations. There will always be people who find hot Pilates fun and harmless and also people who hate it with the fire of a burning sun; you should do whatever you want that your doctor says is okay for you. Yes, instructor training is long and expensive, and there is a good reason for that. No, Lagree is not Pilates. Nobody cares about your thirst traps and we restrict posts that mention body measurements, calories, "toning," and similar diet culture-related concepts for good reason. There is nothing new under the sun! Search your question. Read the !wiki that we made expressly for you to find answers to your most commonly asked questions.
If you still cannot find an answer to your question or if any posts related to it are outdated, please, for the rest of 2026, POST YOUR QUESTION HERE. If you are an old head, please post your answers here and help a newbie or beginner out!
Rule exceptions for this post only:
What does a studio with a high turnover rate tell you?
I’m currently going to a studio where a lot of the trainers I loved have left in the span of a year… what does that tell you?
All the instructors who have left have been able to flourish in the careers since leaving.. sucks they had to leave but I’m glad they’re all doing well. I have no problem trying out the new instructors it’s just odd how nobody seems to stick.
do you have recommendations for youtube pilates instructors that make videos without musical background or with something very mellow (mostly instructional)? i really like Isa Welly but i’m ready for something more advanced:) thank you
Hey Pilates friends, something really cool happened the other day.
TL;DR: A core movement in my powerlifting class had the body builders falling on the floor, while I thought it was way too easy.
Details:
I've been doing classical pilates regularly, mostly reformer and springboard for 14/15 years. Now that I'm in my 50s and concerned about bone loss, I've begun taking powerlifting classes 3x week. Think deadlifts and bench presses with barbells.
I'm the novice in the class. Many of the men and even women in there are bench pressing 200+ lbs while I'm seriously challenged at 65lbs.
Monday we were told to do 5 sets of 10 Russian twists. That's basically teaser while you hold a dumbbell and twist side to side. I could have done that for 5 minutes while carrying a relaxed conversation
Meanwhile all those body builders were falling out of it constantly. Most couldn't make it through 3 without putting their feet down.
I got concerned that I must be doing something wrong because it seemed too easy, so I asked the coach what I was missing.
She said nothing.
So there it is, pilates family. Pilates might not prepare you for heavy lifting, but that core strength is legit!
hey , I‘m a Pilates instructor that has the opportunity to attend The Pilates Journal Expo in my hometown this year , has anyone here had a chance to attend any of these events ? The admission is a wholesome price that I wonder may or may not be worth paying? Is this event typically more inclined for Studios to advertise and network , or is there hefty knowledge being shared ? what was it like for you ? the best and not so great parts about it ? or is it just fun to experience ( how I’m seeing it )
would love to hear about it , thanks !
A client of mine struggles to do roll up, how do i cue better to help her and which muscle needs to be strengthen ?
I tried my first beginner reformer Pilates class today and I’m curious if what I experienced is normal or if others with low blood pressure/lightheadedness issues have experienced something similar.
During some of the slower movements, especially leg extensions/tabletop work, I felt like the breathing cadence was almost too slow for my body. For example:
“Inhale prep, exhale extend legs, inhale hold, exhale return.”
I felt like I needed multiple extra breaths between movements just to catch up. Like literally in the middle of the set. Pause where I’m at to take a few breaths to continue for the same set. When I do mat videos at home, I literally have to pause to catch my breath.
This was a true beginner reformer 30 min class and there was little to no resistance for some of these exercises, which is partly why I was surprised by how strongly my body reacted.
For context, I do tend to have lower blood pressure and occasional lightheadedness already. Add in, I am not “conditioned” per se nor of much aerobic ability.
Is this something others experienced when first starting reformer Pilates? Did your breathing adapt over time? Or does this sound more like my body/low blood pressure not tolerating the exertion normally?
Would especially love insight from instructors, healthcare professionals, or anyone with low BP/POTS/orthostatic intolerance experience.
Anyone here NOT do this? Idk… I’m not the biggest fan. A lot of the classes I go to rather than being intentional and controlled the instructor cares more about the beat and music and it ends up feeling like we are flinging our bodies
Anyone have upbeat music but NOT teach to the music / beat