Every Pilates teacher will tell you that: ‘Pilates is for everyone’. I am going to disagree and tell you: ‘Why Pilates isn’t for everyone’. Most people have now heard of the term; ‘Pilates’ with the massive explosion and boom worldwide, mainly with reformer studios. Now Pilates is a generic term and can be stuck on the end of anything, like the word wedding and funeral. There is ‘NO’ governing body like physiotherapy, accreditations are big business and mean nothing (only that you’ve lined someone else’s pocket), quality of apparatus and training varies.

But this is the thing, everyone is coming from their own perspective, education , location, affordability and angle rather like a pair of shoes. In the old days, Pilates studios were something exclusive, this was due to supply, training options, affordability and demand. Post lockdown and with the rise of social media, we are bombarded with fitness trends and Pilates. According to the sports and fitness association (SFIA), since 2019, Pilates has grown from 9.2 million to 12.9 million, that’s a 40% increase.

Popularity Has Its Pitfalls

Pilates is an amazing buzz word that is getting people moving and creating community around the world . However, popularity has its pitfalls. Pilates is a system, not just matwork, not reformer , but a system of movements and shapes including flexion, extension, lateral flexion and rotation. It includes a varied variety of apparatus with springs that enhances the body including the chair, tower, Cadillac, ladder barrel, baby chair, ped -pull, toe corrector, foot corrector, high chair, reformer and many other apparatus.

An apprenticeship was the original method you learnt your trade and this took place in the studio.  Apprentices had the option to work with real life clients as well as the elder (master trainer). Now with large chain gyms jumping on the trend like fast growing coffee houses, training can be delivered in as little as four hours where as the original classical schools were 600 hours and contemporary schools anything from 350 hours upwards.

Newspaper articles and media continue to promote news grabbing attention seeking headlines with all the accidents that have happened. There is no negative without positive.

Now this is my own personal experience on why: ‘Pilates is not for everyone’ (1.Sean Gallagher).
  1. Not everybody will gel with the work and style of the teacher.
  2. Other forms of movement may be more appropriate such as Tai chi, Chi kung and yoga may be more suitable
  3. The clients expectation that the method will fix all their ailments and help them lose weight – all movement must be combined with sleep, diet, breathing, mindset, nutrition and hydration
  4. The client has disc issues and some of the moves and sequences will actually make the disc worse
  5. Their body just wont go into the position, meaning it does not have the ROM , therefore they are straining rather than improving
  6. Their central nervous system is already sympathetic and they need other work first, such as manual therapy to release
  7. They are looking for a HIT workout and not prepared to slow down, go for attention to details and turn up regularly in order to see results
  8. They are looking for a quick fix and not prepared to do the work
  9. They need to address other things first such as diet, sleep, nutrition, breathing and mindset before movement
  10. They are trying different crazes and are now onto padel
  11. The skeletal system needs to be released then loaded to change sheer, compression and torsion, so weight training and myofascial release can be a perfect compliment. Claim your free Ebook here:

Having said all of the above, you buy into the teacher and their optimism. I use Pilates and other movement modalities to enhance client movement patterns and quality of life.

Now here is the opposite conversation on how I’ve made Pilates suitable for everyone.
  1. Pilates is a system, so whether you have fibromyalgia, knee replacement or recovery from breast cancer, you can find exercises to do that will assist your rehabilitation and help you get strong.
  2. It can help people connect to the earth by staying grounded and going slower. Such examples could be the focus on the feet, the pelvis the spine, the hands, the shoulder girdle and so on
  3. It helps with breathing, you can focus on the inhalation and exhalation
  4. People who are sat at desks all day, can find great relief from the movement after a long day at work
  5. It has helped many back care clients, but only those who have taken a holistic approach
  6. It can compliment other forms of movement such as weight training, martial arts and general walking
  7. I have many professional athletes who come to me, in particular footballers and aspects of the system can take their attention to what’s weak , dominant and what they need to work on
  8. Learning the order and the sequence can become a movement meditation
  9. Spring tension represents the eccentric/concentric phase of the muscle
  10. Matwork can be done anytime and anywhere
Our Studios

Our studios have two programs running , contemporary Pilates and Garuda ,which are amazing movement modalities and also the Paul CHEK system which is extremely thorough, looking at root causes, HAQ stress levels, the story behind the symptoms, the habits, belief systems and choices that are keeping them stuck. The CHEK system treats the person, not the symptom, we are living spiritual, mental, physical and emotional human beings.

We are all trying to navigate through life with the tools in our toolbox. My job is not to fix you, but to empower you so that you heal yourself and have the tools in the tool box to move forwards.

‘The world will ask you who you are, and if you do not know, the world will tell you’. – Carl Jung

Bibliography

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