APPI Pilates courses equip participants with an extensive repertoire of modified Pilates exercises to incorporate into rehab programs and exercise classes for their patients.  There are exercises to address lumbo-pelvic control, abdominal and gluteal activation, spinal mobility and total body strength amongst others.  But Pilates is a lot more than a repertoire of exercises to address mechanical requirements.  Health professionals with Pilates training can apply many of the concepts gained from attending Pilates training into other areas of clinical practice to improve health outcomes for their patients.

On average, how many clients in an outpatient setting or private practice would need to receive postural education? Probably the majority.  It's certainly possible a proportion of these clients may not embark on a Pilates programme per se, however; teaching the 5 key elements to these clients would constitute postural education - the visual imagery used in teaching this key alignment makes it easy for clients to remember and incorporate into their daily life, regardless of what position they spend most of their day in. This functional application is relevant to pretty much any patient we see.

As well as arming your patients with the knowledge of the 5 key elements to assist in their static postures while sitting at their desk during work hours for eg., Pilates teaches a sense of body awareness that is highly valuable in many other forms of exercise beyond the Pilates studio. This knowledge can contribute to improved sports performance as well as an improved technique which has implications for injury prevention and management. Technique in the gym can be dramatically improved through understanding Pilates alignment, breath and movement quality,  maintaining "rib-hip" connection can keep dancers more balanced as they turn, a swimmer can benefit from learning how to rotate through their thoracic spine to become more streamlined in the water, the list goes on.

More and more, mindfulness is being recognized as a powerful technique in the management of pain.  Certainly, yoga is acknowledged as being beneficial for this reason - but some of the benefits people achieve from Pilates can definitely be attributed to mindfulness.  The level of concentration required to accurately execute Pilates means that our patient's focus is 100% on the process of the movement, rather than thinking of other things that may have happened during their day or their to-do list. For some clients, undertaking their Pilates programme might simply be for the reason of dedicated "me time" rather than addressing a muscle imbalance or strength deficit, and that in itself can lead to a multitude of benefits.

So perhaps your primary motivation in becoming trained in Pilates is to be able to offer a Pilates service to clients at your practice, but remember how much more you will be able to offer them apart from a repertoire of exercises.

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