If you're all in on gaining a comprehensive understanding of Pilates, Foundational Reformer for Rehab is designed specifically for you! This course assumes no prior Pilates teacher training and teaches you everything you need to know to confidently integrate clinical Reformer work into your physiotherapy practice. This course focuses on the therapeutic applications and clinical reasoning rather than solely traditional Pilates choreography, so you'll learn exactly what matters for rehab populations.

Yes, if you haven't completed a Reformer training program elsewhere, Foundational Reformer is a prerequisite for the pregnancy and postpartum courses. You need to understand the core principles of Reformer-based rehab, exercise progressions, and clinical assessment before applying these skills to the specialized needs of prenatal and postnatal populations. The pregnancy and postpartum courses build directly on the foundations established in the first course.

If you're a Pilates instructor without healthcare training, this course will likely challenge you in new ways. While you may be familiar with Reformer exercises, we focus heavily on clinical assessment, pathology considerations, contraindications, therapeutic progressions, and soft tissue release - skills that aren't typically covered in fitness-based Pilates certifications. If you're looking to work with rehab populations or collaborate with healthcare providers, this course will give you the clinical insight you may not already have.

Conventional Pilates certifications focus on teaching group classes and working with generally healthy populations in fitness settings. These courses are designed specifically for healthcare professionals who want to use the Reformer as a clinical rehab tool. They emphasize pathology, contraindications, clinical reasoning, individualized assessment, evidence-based progressions, and integration into physiotherapy treatment plans. 

You can start even before you've finished the course. It's designed to give you practical, ready-to-implement skills. You'll learn key exercises with clear clinical applications, appropriate progressions and regressions, and how to assess client readiness. Many physiotherapists report using Reformer exercises with clients within the first week after completing the course. That said, like any new clinical skill, your confidence and refinement will continue to grow with practice.

While the answer may vary depending on where you are located in the world,  the Reformer can be considered to be a health and rehabilitation tool in many places.  As long as you are working towards a therapeutic goal, the inclusion of Clinical Pilates in the treatment plan is justified in my opinion. Completing the Foundational course provides you with the skills and knowledge to utilize Clinical Pilates as part of your services.  In other words, the client is still receiving PT, however your session could either partially or fully consist of Clinical Pilates. 

The Clinical Playbook course provides sample treatment strategies for seamless integration, including how to incorporate Reformer exercises into standard treatment sessions. Regardless of how long or short your appointment times, discover ways to combine Reformer work with your existing manual therapy and exercise prescription. The Reformer becomes another tool in your clinical toolkit, not a separate service.

Integrating new learning from education courses is easier said than done. That said, consider the following to see if a comprehensive Clinical Pilates course could be a good fit for you. 


1) How passionate are you about adding Reformer Pilates to your skill set? If you're a huge fan of the Pilates method, you've done some Pilates classes, and you know for certain that Pilates is in your future, then a full certification course may be most suitable for you. The Foundational course is quite robust with an optional exam.  On the other hand, if you're unsure that a Pilates approach would blend well with your treatment style, you may be better off with a mini course to test the waters. 

2) Are you certain that the online learning format is right for you? Or would you be better off with an in-person weekend course with hands-on feedback? Please note, learners who complete their Foundational course certification exam receive a private 1:1 Zoom debrief. 

3) Do already have active exercises incorporated into your treatment sessions? For some, it can be difficult figuring out where Reformer work fits into their sessions and making a shift takes a bit of effort. This is where being a Pilates fan really helps with knowledge translation.