Why Every Pilates Teacher Needs to Understand Pelvic Health
If you teach Pilates, yoga, strength training or group fitness, chances are you've worked with women experiencing pelvic floor symptoms, whether they've told you about them or not.
Maybe a client quietly mentions leaking during a jumping exercise. Someone else asks whether they should avoid abdominal work because they've had a baby. Another tells you she feels pressure or heaviness during a squat, and you're not entirely sure what that means or how to respond.
These situations aren't limited to specialist pregnancy or postnatal classes. They can happen in almost any fitness setting, with women at many different stages of life. And that's why I believe pelvic health education needs to become a much bigger part of how we train fitness professionals.
At Nest, our Family Wellness Centre in Glasgow, supporting women through pregnancy, postpartum and beyond is central to what we do. But the more I work in this industry, the more convinced I become that pelvic health knowledge shouldn't be something only pre and postnatal specialists are interested in. If you teach women, pelvic health is relevant to your work.
Why Is Pelvic Health Important for Pilates and Fitness Teachers?
When we talk about core strength in Pilates, we often focus on the abdominal muscles, posture, alignment and breathing. Yet the pelvic floor is part of that same interconnected system.
The pelvic floor muscles support the pelvic organs, contribute to bladder and bowel control, and work alongside the diaphragm and abdominal muscles as we move, breathe and manage pressure. But understanding the pelvic floor isn't simply about knowing the anatomy or reminding clients to squeeze their muscles during an exercise.
It's about understanding how that system responds to movement, how symptoms might present and when the way you're teaching needs to change. A woman might be strong, active and capable of lifting significant weight, yet experience leaking during exercise. Another might be returning to Pilates after pregnancy and notice doming through her abdominal wall. Someone approaching menopause may be experiencing pelvic floor symptoms for the first time.
These women don't all need the same exercise prescription, and they certainly don't all need to be told to stop exercising. As movement professionals, we need enough knowledge to respond appropriately, adapt where necessary and recognise when someone would benefit from an assessment with a pelvic health physiotherapist.
Pelvic Health Isn't Just a Postnatal Issue
I think one of the biggest misconceptions in our industry is that pelvic health only becomes relevant once someone has given birth. Pregnancy and childbirth can have a significant impact on pelvic floor function, but they're not the only reasons women experience symptoms.
Pelvic health concerns can also arise among women who have never been pregnant, women who train at high intensity and women moving through perimenopause and menopause. That means this conversation belongs in mainstream Pilates studios, gyms and fitness classes just as much as it does in specialist postpartum settings.
And the responsibility for learning doesn't sit only with female instructors. Male personal trainers, strength coaches and Pilates teachers also work with women throughout these stages. Pelvic health education should be relevant to anybody whose professional role involves coaching female bodies.
We wouldn't consider it unusual for a fitness professional to learn about shoulder injuries, spinal mechanics or knee rehabilitation principles within their scope of practice. Understanding women's health should be approached with the same seriousness.
What Should Pilates Teachers Know About the Pelvic Floor?
There's a difference between knowing that the pelvic floor exists and knowing how to apply that understanding when you're teaching. A pelvic-health-informed instructor should understand how the pelvic floor interacts with breathing and movement, recognise symptoms that warrant referral, and know how to adapt or progress exercises rather than relying on blanket restrictions.
For example, many instructors have heard that women with diastasis recti should avoid sit-ups, that squats are bad for prolapse or that everybody needs to do more Kegels. But real bodies are rarely that straightforward.
A particular exercise may be appropriate for one person and too demanding for another. Breathing, load, range of movement, symptoms, confidence and individual goals all influence the choices we make. Good pelvic health education moves us beyond lists of exercises to avoid and towards understanding the principles that help us make better coaching decisions.
It also teaches us to stay within our professional scope. A Pilates teacher doesn't become a pelvic health physiotherapist by completing a weekend course. But they can become significantly better informed about supporting their clients, recognising concerns and working alongside healthcare professionals.
What Happens When a Client Mentions Leaking During Exercise?
Imagine you're teaching a circuit or Pilates class and somebody tells you she leaks urine when she jumps, coughs or does a particularly challenging exercise. What do you say?
Do you tell her it's normal because she's had children? Suggest more Kegels? Remove jumping from her programme indefinitely? Or do you feel unsure and hope she doesn't ask any more questions? I think these are exactly the situations where education changes how we teach.
Urinary leaking during exercise deserves to be taken seriously, and appropriate pelvic floor muscle training can help many women. NICE guidance recommends supervised pelvic floor muscle training delivered by suitably qualified healthcare professionals for certain types of urinary incontinence.
As a fitness instructor, your job isn't to diagnose the cause of the leaking or prescribe clinical treatment. But you can acknowledge what your client has shared, encourage appropriate assessment and make considered adjustments to the exercise session. You can also help create a teaching environment where women feel comfortable telling you when something doesn't feel right. That's enormously valuable.
Pregnancy and Postpartum Exercise Require More Than a List of Modifications
If you work with pregnant or postpartum clients, you've probably encountered conflicting advice about what women should and shouldn't do. One person says avoid all abdominal exercise. Another recommends continuing everything as normal. Someone else insists that every woman should wait until her six-week postnatal check before returning to movement.
Neither pregnancy nor postpartum recovery follows one universal timetable. We need to understand how the body adapts during pregnancy, how birth and recovery influence movement, and how to progress exercise based on the person in front of us.
That includes core function, pelvic floor symptoms, pressure management, Caesarean recovery and the transition from early postpartum movement back towards strength and impact. At Nest, this is a huge part of our work. Our postpartum classes are designed around progressive movement rather than the idea that women must either avoid everything or return immediately to their pre-pregnancy routine.
And it's precisely the kind of knowledge I want more movement professionals to have access to.
Pelvic Health Education for Pilates and Fitness Professionals in Glasgow
This is why I'm so excited to welcome Nikki Bergen, founder of The Belle Method, to Nest Glasgow in February 2027. Nikki is bringing her Belle Method Level 1 Teacher Training to Scotland for a 16-hour immersive weekend exploring pelvic-floor-informed Pilates and movement.
The training is designed for existing Pilates teachers, yoga teachers, personal trainers, strength coaches and other movement and health professionals who want to deepen their understanding of pregnancy, postpartum and pelvic health.
Across the weekend, Nikki will explore pelvic floor anatomy and function, core biomechanics, diastasis recti, pressure management, pregnancy modifications, postpartum exercise progressions, coaching, cueing and practical teaching applications.
Importantly, this isn't just theory. The training includes hands-on practice, case studies, practice teaching and opportunities to explore how the principles apply to real clients and classes. It's continuing professional education rather than a standalone Pilates qualification, designed to deepen the knowledge you bring into your existing professional practice.
Learn Directly From Nikki Bergen at Nest Glasgow
Nikki's background combines professional dance, Pilates, movement coaching and years of experience working with women through different stages of life. Through The Belle Method, she has developed an approach that integrates Pilates, functional strength, core education and pelvic floor awareness. Now she's bringing that teaching to Glasgow.
The Belle Method Level 1 Teacher Training takes place at Nest, Bridgeton, Glasgow, from 26–28 February 2027. The 16-hour immersive includes in-person teaching across the weekend and a pre-training online session.
Places are available at an early-bird rate of £519 until 1 November 2026, increasing to £600 afterwards.
For movement professionals looking for pelvic health training in Glasgow, Pilates continuing education in Scotland or more specialised knowledge in women's health and postpartum exercise, this is a fantastic opportunity to learn from an internationally recognised educator in person.
Let's Raise the Standard of Women's Health Education
Ultimately, this is about the women who come into our classes. I want them to feel that their instructors understand how their bodies change throughout life. I want them to feel comfortable talking about symptoms without embarrassment. And I want movement professionals to have the knowledge and confidence to coach appropriately, instead of relying on outdated rules or avoiding conversations they don't feel qualified to have.
Pelvic health is not a niche subject that only matters to a handful of specialist teachers. If you work with women, it belongs on your learning agenda.
Join Nikki Bergen for The Belle Method Level 1 Teacher Training at Nest Glasgow, 26–28 February 2027. Explore the full course details, weekend timetable and booking options on the Nest website:
Comments