By Claire Baker, Director YBFIT
It is so rewarding to see people move more freely from practicing and mastering the principles of Pilates.
Pilates really is one of those things where you don’t really appreciate how good it is for you until you stop doing it! As all the while someone is practicing Pilates exercises regularly they are often more mobile and pain free or in less pain than when they first started. Sometimes what happens is that when we stop doing these exercises our body soon reminds us of why we started doing them in the first place.
Back pain in one way or another effects so many of us these days and often is posture and lifestyle related for example if people spend long periods of time standing or sitting it can effect their posture and subsequent muscle imbalances.
As a Pilates instructor you will learn all about different posture types and how you can choose exercises that will help those with stiffness or a weakness related to that posture type and the way that person may move.
Remember our posture is often the way it is due to a habit we have formed or a movement pattern that has become habitual.
So as a Pilates instructor you will learn to recognize these faulty movement patterns and be able to give appropriate exercises to reduce stiffness, strengthen weak muscles and create more mobility in the body where needed.
There is also an element of someone coming to your class or 121 session and thinking you can fix them! (I mean I’ve even had people show me their x rays before and asking me for an opinion!) Be aware of that, we can do great things to improve our client’s function but ultimately we are not miracle workers and if it’s structural or mechanical within their body then medical intervention may be needed. Never be afraid to turn someone away or refer them to someone more qualified. Especially if you are not sure about any symptoms they have or even display symptoms of a specific spinal pathology that you are not qualified to deal with. Don’t worry this is rare (but can still happen) as most people will come with a case of non specific undiagnosed low back pain which is often due to muscle imbalances, over training and postural issues that we as Pilates instructors can deal with.
A lot of people train in Pilates to purely specialise in that but it’s also a great compliment to a Personal Trainer to have the qualification and give their clients a little bit more rather than the typical personal training session they may be used to. Also group exercise instructors love to give their participants these exercises as a compliment to the faster more movement based studio based classes. Gaining a Level 3 Pilates qualification will enable you to teach group classes and 121 sessions so the scope for employment and setting up your own Pilates business is vast and very achievable.
I have been teaching Pilates for about 15 years now and still love everything it not only gives my participants but me as an instructor too
You will play a big part in seeing someone not only move better but look and feel better too…
For information on how you can get qualified as a Pilates Instructor check out the course page here: https://ybfittraining.com/courses/diploma-in-instructing-pilates-matwork/
While you are there check out the video with a lady that could be just like you, has qualified in Pilates and here what she has to say about the course
Claire J
