Do I really need a private lesson before joining a reformer class?

If you are brand new to Pilates, you may wonder why in the world you can’t just take a reformer class and try it out. We understand your frustration with our request to have a few private sessions under your belt before joining group equipment classes and just want to explain why in a little more detail.

I’m guessing that you are pretty healthy with no major injuries and have probably tried a lot of different types of exercises over the years, so it seems silly that you wouldn’t be just fine to join this Pilates Reformer class.  The reality of it is that you would be fine and I’m sure you could make it through class just fine.  The reason we don’t suggest just jumping into a Pilates Reformer Class without Pilates reformer experience really has to do more with the other participants in class than you.

You see… Pilates is a mind body practice that involves learning a sequence of exercises, the breath associated with each exercise and the proper form to execute the exercises properly.

Clients who are taking a Reformer class are practicing the reformer sequence  in order to further their practice and get feedback from the instructor so they continue to progress.  Clients who are taking classes have a good basic understanding of Pilates, they understand how to stay safe in their own body and know the basics of how the equipment works.

One of the number one rules as an instructor in a group setting is that you must teach to the lowest level and understanding in your class.  Safety is always first! When clients have a good understanding of the Pilates fundamental movements and basic safety precautions it makes it a non issue to work with varying abilities in a class.  It’s fairly easy for a trained instructor to give modifications and adjustments to different levels so that everyone can be challenged appropriately.

When a client joins a class who hasn’t learned the Pilates fundamentals, isn’t familiar with safety or even how the equipment functions an instructor has no choice but to tailor class around that student.  Often this means that the instructor must stay close to the new client to ensure their safety (which takes away from the instructor being able to give cues to all clients) and class flows at a slower pace to accomodate the beginner student.

If you are new to Pilates and really want to make a practice out of it we highly suggest starting off with some private sessions so that you can create a practice.  Once you have a basic understanding of Pilates and how the equipment works, you will have no problem joining a Pilates Reformer Class or any of our other classes.  If private sessions aren’t in your budget we often suggest starting out with our Fundamental Pilates Mat class.  This class will teach you the fundamentals of Pilates and how to use them in your body.  Once you have a good grasp of the Fundamentals you will be able to try out some of the Pilates equipment work in a much safer way.