Finishing our interview, Dr. Anderson offered this sage advice for Pilates instructors, especially new ones, working with people who have sciatic pain:
You want to increase awareness of the core, increase mobility of the hips and become efficient movers, minimizing over recruitment of the body's musculature. Teachers can use an exercise like segmental bridge to teach awareness of segmental movement.
The motto I use when teaching a special needs class: The purpose of this class is to have a successful movement experience, without pain. I think if that could be the motto of all of our classes we would be surprised at how our teaching style evolves to be much more proficient and accurate. Rather than just following a sequence, we can teach our students to be responsible, and say to them if something feels uncomfortable, please let me know so I can modify it or give you something else to do.
The more I learn, the more I know I don't know. And the reverse of that is true: The less we know, the more we think we know. I would caution young Pilates teachers against thinking they know too much. Be humble and don't be afraid to ask professionals or more senior teachers for help.
In our office we say: Your primary objective is to do the best you can by the client. If your objective is to look like you know what you are doing or to show how much you know, then you have failed as a Pilates teacher. It's always better to take a little bit more cautious approach as we grow as practitioners. You'll see more advanced practitioners being more aggressive but that's because they've been doing it for 20 or 30 years and feel confident in their experience.
Polestar Pilates offers Pilates instructor training around the world. Their programs include comprehensive certification for rehabilitation as well as extensive continuing education classes.
