Pelvic Floor & Pilates: Empowered Bodies

This is not another pelvic-floor exercise course

Targeted Training

Our course focuses on specific muscle groups often overlooked in general fitness routines.

Expert Guidance

Learn from experienced instructors who specialize in pelvic floor health and Pilates.

Empowered Bodies

Gain strength, improve posture, and enhance your overall well-being.

Pelvic Floor & Pilates: Empowered Bodies

A comprehensive pelvic health education program for Pilates teachers.

The pelvic floor is more than a group of muscles to strengthen.

It is part of a dynamic system involving breathing, pressure management, posture, movement, continence, bowel function, pelvic organ support and sexual health.

And for Pilates teachers, understanding that system can transform the way you teach.

Pelvic Floor & Pilates: Empowered Bodies is a comprehensive, evidence-informed education program designed specifically for Pilates teachers who want to develop a deeper understanding of pelvic health and confidently apply that knowledge to their teaching.

From pregnancy and postnatal recovery to perimenopause, menopause and ageing, you'll learn how the pelvic floor changes, how different presentations may affect movement and exercise, and how to adapt Pilates appropriately for the individual client.

This is not simply a course about pelvic floor contractions.

You may already know how to cue a pelvic floor contraction.

But what happens when your client has:

An overactive pelvic floor?
Pelvic pain?
Urinary urgency?
Stress incontinence?
Pelvic organ prolapse?
Constipation or difficulty emptying their bowel?
Symptoms during running or jumping?
Pelvic heaviness during exercise?
Menopausal changes affecting bladder or pelvic health?
Difficulty relaxing their pelvic floor?

Do you know what questions to ask?

Do you know when to modify an exercise?

Do you know when strengthening is appropriate—and when it may not be?

Do you know when your client needs referral to a pelvic health professional?

This course is designed to help you answer those questions with greater knowledge and confidence.

Who is this course for?

Is this course suitable if I have already completed your Pilates for Pregnancy & Postnatal course?

Do I need to be a qualified Pilates teacher to enrol?

Will this course teach me to assess or treat pelvic floor dysfunction?

Is the course only relevant to women?

What will I be able to apply immediately to my Pilates teaching?

Is the course evidence-informed?

What if I have a client with pelvic floor symptoms?

Is there a practical component?

Will I receive professional development points?

Go deeper into pelvic health

If you've already completed Pilates for Pregnancy & Postnatal, this course takes your pelvic health education significantly further.

Pregnancy and postnatal pelvic floor considerations are included, but Empowered Bodies is not a repeat of your pregnancy and postnatal training.

Instead, you'll explore pelvic floor function and dysfunction across the lifespan, including:

Anatomy & Function

Understand the anatomy of the pelvic floor and its relationship with the diaphragm, abdominal wall, spine, hips and broader core system.

Pelvic Health

Explore bladder, bowel and sexual function, pelvic organ support, continence, pelvic pain and common pelvic floor presentations.

Pelvic Floor Physics

Develop a practical understanding of pressure, load, breathing, resistance, position and movement—and how these factors influence pelvic floor function during exercise.

Exercise & Pilates

Learn how to analyse Pilates exercises through a pelvic health lens and make appropriate modifications rather than simply labelling exercises as "good" or "bad" for the pelvic floor.

Programming

Develop strategies for working with different presentations, including underactive, overactive and poorly coordinated pelvic floors.

The Female Lifespan

Explore pelvic health through pregnancy and postnatal recovery, perimenopause and menopause, and healthy ageing.

Special Populations

Consider pelvic health alongside hypermobility, osteoporosis, chronic conditions, athletic populations and return to exercise.

Lifestyle & Medication

Understand how bowel health, hydration, lifestyle factors, medications and other health considerations can influence pelvic health.

Case Studies

Apply your knowledge to realistic client presentations and develop your clinical reasoning and programming skills.

What will you learn?

By completing Pelvic Floor & Pilates: Empowered Bodies, you will develop a deeper understanding of:

Pelvic floor anatomy and function
The relationship between breathing and the pelvic floor
Intra-abdominal pressure and pressure management
Pelvic floor strength, endurance, coordination and relaxation
Underactive and overactive pelvic floors
Stress urinary incontinence
Urgency and overactive bladder
Pelvic organ prolapse
Constipation and bowel dysfunction
Pelvic pain
Sexual health considerations
Pregnancy and postnatal pelvic health
Perimenopause and menopause
Pelvic health and ageing
Resistance training and pelvic floor function
Impact exercise and return to activity
Pelvic-floor-friendly Pilates repertoire
Exercise modification and progression
Programming for different pelvic health presentations
Red flags and referral
Working alongside pelvic health physiotherapists and other health professionals
Nutrition and lifestyle considerations
Medications that may influence pelvic health
Communicating confidently and respectfully about pelvic health

Learn to think differently about the pelvic floor

One of the most important concepts throughout this course is that pelvic floor health is not simply about strength.

A healthy pelvic floor needs to be able to:

Contract.
Relax.
Lengthen.
Support.
Respond to pressure.
Coordinate with breathing.
Adapt to movement.
Generate force when required.
And let go when it needs to.

Your role as a Pilates teacher is not to diagnose pelvic floor dysfunction.

Your role is to understand movement, recognise relevant symptoms and considerations, modify and progress exercise appropriately, and know when to refer.

From anatomy to application

This course bridges the gap between knowing about the pelvic floor and knowing what to do with that knowledge in a Pilates session.

You'll explore:

UNDERSTAND

Anatomy, physiology, research and clinical guidelines.

↓

RECOGNISE

Common symptoms and different pelvic floor presentations.

↓

ANALYSE

Breathing, pressure, load, movement and exercise selection.

↓

ADAPT

Modify Pilates exercises according to the individual client.

↓

PROGRAM

Develop appropriate sessions and progressions.

↓

REFER

Recognise when a client requires assessment or support from another health professional.

Pilates Repertoire Through a Pelvic Health Lens

We will take pelvic health into the Pilates studio.

Explore how pelvic health considerations may influence:

Matwork

From the Hundred and abdominal work to bridging, side-lying, quadruped and plank variations.

Reformer

Footwork, bridging, Long Stretch, Elephant, standing work, running, jumping and loaded movement.

Wunda Chair & Cadillac

Standing work, resistance, balance, strength and functional loading.

Small Apparatus

Magic Circle, bands, balls, weights and other tools.

Rather than creating a list of exercises that clients "shouldn't do", you'll learn to consider:

Position → Breath → Load → Resistance → Range → Repetitions → Speed → Fatigue

and adapt accordingly.

Pelvic Health Across the Lifespan

Pregnancy & Postnatal

Go beyond the basic pregnancy pelvic floor conversation and explore pelvic health through pregnancy, birth and postnatal recovery.

Understand:

Changes in pelvic floor function
Birth and pelvic floor considerations
Continence
Pelvic organ prolapse
Pelvic pain
Postnatal recovery
Returning to exercise
Progressive loading

Already completed my Pilates for Pregnancy & Postnatal course?

You'll find new content here. The focus of this course is the pelvic floor itself, allowing you to build on your existing pregnancy and postnatal knowledge rather than repeating it.

Perimenopause & Menopause

Hormonal changes can influence tissues, bladder and bowel function, pelvic health and sexual health.

Explore:

Oestrogen and pelvic health
Urinary symptoms
Vaginal and genitourinary changes
Pelvic organ prolapse
Pelvic pain
Sexual health
MHT/HRT considerations
Exercise and resistance training

Ageing

Pelvic health doesn't stop being important as we age.

Explore the relationship between:

Strength
Continence
Balance
Functional independence
Falls
Resistance training
Bladder and bowel health
Healthy ageing

Learn how pelvic health can become part of a broader approach to helping clients maintain strength, confidence and independence.

Real Clients. Real Presentations. Real Programming.

Understanding the theory is only the beginning.

Throughout the course, you'll work through case studies designed to help you apply your knowledge to realistic Pilates clients.

For example:

"I leak when I jump."

What questions would you ask?

What might you modify?

What would you avoid assuming?

When would you refer?

How could you progressively build capacity?

"I constantly feel like I need to brace."

Could this client simply need more strengthening?

Or could relaxation, breathing and down-regulation be part of the picture?

"I feel heaviness after exercising."

How would you respond?

What information would you need?

How could you modify the session?

When is referral appropriate?

"I'm 55 and suddenly experiencing bladder urgency."

How might perimenopause or menopause influence the conversation?

What belongs within your scope?

What might require referral?

Learn From the Research

This course is grounded in current evidence and clinical guidance.

You'll explore:

What current research tells us
What clinical guidelines recommend
Where evidence is strong
Where evidence is still developing
How to translate research into practical Pilates teaching

The goal isn't to turn Pilates teachers into pelvic health physiotherapists.

It is to help you become a better-informed Pilates professional who understands your scope, recognises relevant presentations and can work effectively alongside pelvic health professionals.

Your Pelvic Health Toolkit

By the end of the course, you'll have a practical framework you can take directly into your studio.

ASK

Know what questions to ask.