Perinatal Pilates Vs. The Pilates Method

Why do so many Pilates teachers feel the need to supplement their foundational training with a perinatal certification? 

One course that I briefly advised on (until the program creator realized I was unwilling to sign off on what was, essentially, an attempt to change the Pilates work and repackage it into something more marketable) claims to help certified teachers learn when and how to modify exercises. The course tagline reads: “Get ready to feel completely confident the next time a pregnant or postpartum member walks into your Pilates class.”

Read: Get ready to not teach Pilates.

Another course—one that comes with a hefty price tag—promises to prepare Pilates instructors for successfully guiding their prenatal clients through release techniques that can be taken into labor and delivery. The company offers additional training—much of it incoherent and wholly unrelated to the Pilates method—in pelvic floor and diastasis recti recovery. 

My thoughts? Dangerously edging toward a scope of practice issue.

One other example, a course that asserts itself as, “the only comprehensive, science-based prenatal and postnatal training.” 

Science-based, huh? Oh, I love a good buzzword. 

This same course also boasts inclusion of the full Mat and Reformer repertoire. Whoa, there. Color me … impressed? What about other equipment? Am I to believe everything else in the studio is unnecessary for teaching Pilates to pre- and post-natal clients? 

It would seem these perinatal Pilates courses and many others out there are selling confidence cloaked in promises of knowledge transfer. At its core, they appear to offer nothing more than a diversion tactic, preying on instructors who don’t know any better. Based on the course content and delivery alone, I wonder whether many of these course creators know much better themselves. 

Both for teachers looking to enhance their skillset and for clients hoping to experience Contrology through knowledgeable instruction, this presents a real dilemma. 

Let’s unravel the marketing spin; but first, let’s establish a baseline agreement on what the Pilates method actually is. Brief sticking points should include acknowledgement that Pilates, or Contrology, is a comprehensive system; not a random list of exercises. The method should, ideally, include access to the full suite of apparatus created by Joe Pilates; not just the Mat and Reformer. And lastly, teaching Pilates as a method (as Joe intended it) allows for built-in personalization. Personalization. As Joe intended. No need to innovate where it isn’t necessary. 

Pilates Certifications and the Perinatal Fallacy 

There is a clear link between supplemental Pilates certificates like the perinatal courses described above and inadequate Pilates teacher training. Most Pilates certification programs do not teach Pilates as a method and that presents a real problem in maintaining a throughline for passing down Joe’s work with intention and direction. 

What I have consistently observed is that a truly skilled Pilates teacher—one who understands the method in its entirety and knows how to teach it to ANY BODY—won’t feel the need to supplement their Pilates training like this in the first place.

Modification

Early on, I mentioned the word “modify.” It’s an oft heard term in the fitness industry, usually meant to signal troubleshooting techniques in the form of exercise adaptations. The word, however, is synonymous with change, and consequently, that’s what I’ve observed from most perinatal Pilates certification courses. 

What is often labelled as “modification,” is, in practice, a departure from the method, rather than a deeper understanding of it. When modification replaces understanding of the method, the work is no longer Pilates. 

Perinatal Pilates – What Skillful Instruction Looks Like

Truly knowledgeable teachers understand that the perinatal practitioner is not a separate category requiring a different system. In fact, the requirement is actually a more skillful application of the same method. Thus, the proficient, well-trained Pilates teacher understands how to pivot within the method; that is, to navigate within what should be understood as an extensive and clearly defined Contrology system. Within this framework, competent teachers use ongoing assessment, communication with clients, adjust intensity as needed, and use different apparatus as appropriate–rather than inventing unnecessary new exercises and approaches. 

A skilled Pilates teacher approaches a perinatal client just like any other. Uniquely. There is no need to make up new exercises or modify existing exercises into oblivion. One can simply apply critical thinking and problem solving skills to address the body in front of them. 

Learn to Pivot – Learn Contrology

Consider the pregnant client who experiences balance issues: a likely scenario, with respect to how often the center of gravity can change during the gestational period. This same client also needs to maintain posture and build strength in preparation for labor, delivery, and the postpartum period. 

Let’s use the following Reformer exercises as examples: chest expansion and arm circles. A less experienced teacher trained to “modify” may go the route of adjusting these familiar exercises by adding a box for the client to sit on. While seated on the box, the client can now not only do chest expansion, but also throw in some bicep curls and maybe a few tricep exercises. She can also face the other way for arm circles and top it off with some shaving, saluting, and hugging. Seems like a win, no? 

That’s right, the answer is no. 

A key consideration: are we still working the whole body, as Joe Pilates intended? Or did we just alter the mechanics so much that the exercises have now lost their essence? 

Is it arm day now? When is leg day?  

Let’s take the same client with a skilled Pilates teacher. Our knowledgeable teacher understands that traditionally, both exercises are performed in a kneeling position, the orientation and demand of which requires whole body participation. This teacher also acknowledges the importance of keeping the client safe and instead of reinvention, chooses to omit contraindicated Reformer exercises altogether, opting for achieving the same end elsewhere in the studio, perhaps seated on the Arm Chair or standing exercises outside the Cadillac to encourage a stable reach through the low body into the ground. The Pedipole could be a good fit as well, depending on client skill level. There’s also the Wall. This is Contrology troubleshooting and it's methodic by design. 

Perhaps your prenatal client doesn't feel good lying on her back. The unskilled teacher might add a wedge or pillows to the Reformer in order to keep the heart more elevated than the pelvis. The skilled teacher wants to preserve the full body intention of exercises like footwork and running and may choose an exercise in a supported upright position on the Electric Chair to achieve a similar goal. 

A skilled teacher doesn't change exercises: they select different ones, or a different apparatus that achieves a similar objective while respecting the client’s current needs. 

Also, know you can still teach the Pilates method with limited apparatus. Remember, where there’s a Wall (or a 2×4, a towel, small arm weights, etc.), there’s a way.

Each Perinatal Client Is Unique 

It’s equally important to acknowledge that perinatal clientele are capable and individual. You can’t oversimplify this population any more than you can anyone else. 

I, for one, had a terrible time lying on my back through both of my pregnancies. I don’t think I even made it to the second trimester before the lightheadedness and overall feeling of ick set in. There was a lot I could do, but lying on my back for longer than 30 seconds was not one of those things. 

And, while I’m grateful for the knowledge acquired through firsthand experience with pregnancy, I would be a fool to think my personal experience is identical to anyone else. 

Above all else, think critically and listen to your clients. 

Where Continuing Ed Has Value: Pilates Continuing Education, Good – Reinventing and Repackaging Pilates, Bad

Looking for ways to enhance your skillset through continuing education is a sign of commitment in advancing your education and expertise. That alone is a worthwhile endeavor. The problem stems from a logical fallacy that credits perinatal course offerings as a solid substitute for Pilates education. Call it a hasty generalization—or at least, putting the perinatal cart before the Contrology horse/carriage. If you know the method like I do, you will see right through this. 

Continuing education is valuable after completing a true foundational education in Pilates. There is no substitute for learning Contrology.