How I Use Cueing in Private Pilates Instruction

When I began teaching, I relied closely on the exercise order and the framework I had been taught. That gave me a necessary starting point: the sequence, the setup of each exercise, the relationship between one movement and the next, and the safety considerations of the apparatus.

Experience did not make that structure unnecessary. It changed how I work within it. I became less dependent on delivering the same instructions in the same order and more attentive to what a particular client could use at a particular moment.

Cueing, as I use the word, is the language of that attention. It includes what I say, when I say it, how much information I give, when I simplify, and when I allow the client to continue without interruption.

Preparation Without a Rigid Script

I do not prepare a fixed lesson plan that must be completed regardless of what happens in the session. I do prepare. I know the client’s movement history, review relevant notes from previous lessons, and work within the structure of the method and the apparatus available in the studio.

What remains open is the exact route through the session. A client may report that something has changed since the previous lesson, or I may observe that a familiar exercise is being organised differently. I ask rather than assume the reason. The sequence, range, pace or apparatus may then be adjusted within the limits of my training and the client’s current circumstances.

This is not the absence of a plan. It is preparation that leaves room for observation.

The Same Exercise Can Require Different Information

An exercise has a recognisable structure, but the information a client needs to perform it is not identical for everyone.

In the Roll Up, one client may need less speed. Another may need a smaller range or a different starting position. A client who is new to the movement may first need to understand the direction of travel, while a more experienced client may be ready to work on timing, breathing or the quality of the return.

The exercise has not become arbitrary. The instruction has been selected for the person performing it.

Layering Information

Even a straightforward exercise such as Reformer Footwork involves more than opening and closing the carriage. I may be observing the client’s position on the carriage, the distribution of pressure through the feet, the path of the knees, the relationship of the pelvis and trunk, breathing, and the way the carriage returns.

I do not give every observation as a cue. A new client first needs enough information to move safely and understand the basic task. Additional detail is introduced over time, when it can be used without interrupting the movement completely.

Too many instructions can turn a physical task into a memory test. My aim is to give the smallest amount of information that makes the next useful change possible.

Adapting the Route Into an Exercise

There are exercises a client may not be ready to perform in their complete form. Repeatedly asking for the same unsuccessful attempt is not useful teaching.

In that situation I may alter the position, reduce the range, choose a supported variation, use a preparatory exercise, or move to another apparatus that develops part of the required organisation under different conditions. The choice depends on the exercise, the client, the equipment and what can be performed with reasonable control.

A preparation is not automatically identical to the full exercise. Its purpose is to create an accessible route towards a movement quality or capacity that can be developed further.

Words, Timing and Tone

I try to use ordinary language. Anatomical knowledge is important for the instructor, but technical terminology is useful only when the client understands it. The purpose of a cue is not to display knowledge. It is to direct attention in a way that can be acted upon.

Timing matters as much as wording. A useful instruction delivered after the relevant part of the movement has passed may have little effect. A long explanation can also compete with the client’s attention while they are moving.

For that reason, many of my cues are short. I may repeat the same instruction across many sessions because familiarity is often more useful than novelty. I also leave periods of silence. Not every repetition needs correction, and a client sometimes needs the opportunity to experience the movement without continuous commentary.

Direct Instructions, Images and Corrections

In my teaching, I often find it useful to tell a client what action to take rather than only what to avoid. For example, instead of repeatedly saying not to shift weight towards one part of the apparatus, I may direct attention towards the part of the body that can organise the movement differently.

This is a preference, not an absolute rule. Some clients respond well to a direct correction. Others respond better to an image, a change of setup, a demonstration, a simpler instruction or more time with the exercise.

Imagery can be helpful when it gives the client an immediate and understandable reference. It is not useful when the client has to stop moving in order to decode what I meant. The image has to suit the person receiving it.

When a Cue Does Not Work

A cue that worked previously may not work on another day, and a cue that helps one client may mean little to another. When an instruction does not produce a useful response, I do not treat that as the client failing to follow it.

I may change the words, reduce the task, alter the apparatus setup, demonstrate the idea, allow further repetitions, or offer a hands-on cue after explaining its purpose and obtaining the client’s permission. Touch is optional. A client may decline it, and the lesson continues through other forms of instruction.

Sometimes the best decision is to leave the detail for another session. Understanding develops at different rates, and forcing a refinement before the underlying movement is familiar can create more confusion than progress.

Cueing Changes as Practice Develops

A new client usually needs clear information about what to do, where to begin and how to use the apparatus safely. As familiarity develops, the cueing can move towards finer questions of timing, coordination, breathing and movement quality.

Experienced clients may learn exercise names, transitions and aspects of apparatus setup. Where appropriate, they may participate in adjustments under supervision. Responsibility for selecting a safe and suitable configuration remains with me as the instructor.

The long-term aim is not silence for its own sake. It is a client who understands more of the work, notices more independently and needs less constant direction to remain engaged with the movement.

How I Communicate

My communication is direct and specific. Conversation remains secondary to the movement work during the lesson, but directness does not remove the client’s right to question, pause, decline touch, report discomfort or ask for clarification.

Cueing is not a performance by the instructor. It is one part of an exchange between observation, language and the client’s response.

The most useful cue is not the most elaborate one. It is the instruction that the client can understand and use at the moment it is given.