Glossary Of Pilates Terminology – Preparing For Your Training!

Pilates is an exercise form that depends heavily on language; the ability to describe movement as much as a visual demonstration. The simple reason being that students are often lying on their back and as a result can’t easily see the teacher. You can demonstrate before commencing an exercise set which visual cues are often more powerful than verbal cues but this can also impede on the flow of the class as the student can be left passively waiting. As a result, we hope to impart some common and shared Pilates language, but also encourage descriptive thought imagery and language to lead an outstanding class. Here is a glossary of terms to get you started.

This is not an exhaustive list but rather practical words that can help to build a common language between you and your clients and across the industry. Some are scientific terminology used to describe positions across industries and others are exercise names given by either Joseph Pilates or other practitioners that have become widely known.

POSITIONS