Why it’s important to fill out your health intake completely…

If you’re new to Pilates you might find it a little strange that on your first visit to the studio we ask you to fill out a health intake form.  After all, you are just going to work out right?  Why do we need to know about your health ailments, surgeries, illnesses or past injuries? It’s not a doctor visit!!   Well, Pilates is a little bit different from traditional exercise and your health history and your current physical health highly effect how your instructor teaches you the Pilates Method.

As Pilates instructors we are trained to teach the Pilates method to the body in front of us.  What this means to you as a client is that every movement we teach you is taught in a way that is appropriate for your body.  When you fill out your health intake form completely it gives your instructor a great starting place to teach you from.Here’s a few things that people often forget to write down:

• Old injuries (even those that happened as a child) can effect how your body moves and your movement patterns.  Old injuries that don’t bother you at all may seem silly to list, but as a movement instructor that information can help us decipher movement patterns we are seeing in your body and help us find the best way to help you improve your movement.
• Occasional aches and pains can tell us a lot.  Don’t feel bad about telling us your low back occasionally hurts when you’ve been sitting for long periods of time or that knee you injured in college bothers you when you take a step in a certain way.  The Pilates method of exercise is designed to create balance in your body and telling us about those occasional aches and pains can help us figure out things like what muscles we need to strengthen, what muscles may need more flexibility and also what kind of movement tips we could give you to use when you are not at the studio.
• Past surgeries even if they were a long time ago can effect your movements patterns and your muscles.  Depending on the type of surgery, incisions that were made, and what procedure was done this information can give your instructor a lot of information.

We know that for most people telling your fitness instructor your health history is not the normal and really just want you to know why we ask!  We also want you to know that the information is completely confidential and only used by our instructors to help tailor your movement practices to your body.