Copyright © 2026 BarSculpt® | Powered By 
A good Reformer class can look beautiful. The transitions are smooth. The exercises flow together. The teacher sounds confident. The clients are moving. The music is working. Everyone appears to be having a good experience. But when you are evaluating someone for a Reformer teaching certification, there is a much bigger question: Does this teacher actually understand what they are teaching?
That is the difference between being able to lead a workout and being able to teach Pilates.
A practical exam is not designed to see whether you can memorize a list of exercises and put them together in a pleasant order. It is an opportunity to demonstrate your understanding of the Reformer, your ability to make appropriate decisions for your clients, and your ability to recognize when something is not quite right. And sometimes, the most important things an instructor needs to demonstrate are not the things that are most obvious to the person taking the class.
Flow Is Important. But Flow Isn’t Everything.
One of the things I look for in a Reformer practical is flow. Can you move clients from one exercise to another without creating unnecessary stops and starts? Can you manage the springs, straps, and equipment efficiently? Can you create a class that feels organized rather than like a series of disconnected exercises? Absolutely. Flow matters. But flow can sometimes hide a lack of understanding.
A teacher can create a very impressive sequence while missing the purpose of an individual exercise. They can move clients through a beautiful transition while allowing their pelvis to move when it should be stable. They can demonstrate an exercise confidently while unknowingly demonstrating incorrect technique. That is why I am always looking beyond the choreography. I want to know what you see.
If your client is doing something incorrectly, do you recognize it?
If they are compensating, do you understand why?
If an exercise isn’t producing the intended result, can you change something?
And perhaps most importantly:
Can you explain why?
That “why” is one of the biggest differences between someone who knows the exercises and someone who knows how to teach them.
Spring Choice Should Have a Reason
Let’s take something as seemingly simple as footwork. A client gets onto the Reformer. You choose a spring setting. They begin moving. Did you simply choose the springs because that is what you were taught to use?
Or did you choose them because they serve a specific purpose for this client and this class?
Spring selection changes the experience of the exercise. For example, increasing resistance can create a greater demand for muscular engagement, including through the thighs. Decreasing resistance may make an exercise more accessible or require a different type of control. There isn’t one magical spring setting that is correct for every person. But there should always be a reason behind your choice. And I want to hear that reason.
“Put your feet on the bar and push.”
is very different from:
“Let’s start with this spring setting because I want you to feel your thighs working as you press the carriage out, while maintaining the stability of your pelvis.”
The second teacher is teaching. The first teacher is directing. Both may produce movement. They are not necessarily producing the same understanding.
I Want to Know Where the Client Should Feel the Exercise
Another common issue I see in practical exams is a lack of cueing around sensation. A client may be performing the exercise correctly, but the teacher isn’t telling them what they should be experiencing. If I ask someone to perform an exercise, I should be able to answer:
What is the purpose?
What muscles or areas should be working?
What should remain stable?
What should be moving?
What should the client avoid?
This doesn’t mean every exercise requires a five-minute anatomy lecture. It means your cues should demonstrate that you understand the movement. For example, in footwork, I may want to hear something about the thighs working while the pelvis and spine remain steady. In a rotational exercise, I may want the pelvis to remain stable while the trunk rotates. In an exercise requiring hip movement, I want the teacher to understand that the movement should come from the hip rather than simply from the arms. These are not random details. They are the exercise.
Your Client Can Be Doing It “Right” and You Can Still Need to Teach More
This is an important distinction for teachers taking practical exams. Sometimes your clients will execute an exercise beautifully. That does not necessarily mean you have demonstrated everything I need to see as an evaluator. If the client is moving correctly, but you haven’t demonstrated that you understand why they are moving correctly, I may still need more from you. Teaching is not just getting people from Point A to Point B.
It is understanding the movement well enough to:
Your clients’ success is important. But your ability to teach them is what is being evaluated.
Your Demonstration Is a Cue
This is one of my favorite things to talk about with teachers. When you get onto the Reformer to demonstrate something, you are not taking a break from teaching.
You are teaching visually. If you bend your wrists, your client may bend their wrists. If you shift your pelvis, your client may shift their pelvis. If you use your shoulders to create a movement that should be initiated from the core, your client may copy exactly that. This is especially important when demonstrating an exercise in a practical exam because the evaluator is watching both you and your clients. Your body is part of your cueing system. So before you demonstrate, ask yourself: “If they copied exactly what I am doing, would I be happy with that?” If the answer is no, change your demonstration.
Watch the Carriage, Not Just the Person
One of the things I want Reformer teachers to become extremely comfortable with is watching the carriage. A client hitting the stopper repeatedly is information. It may tell you that they are not controlling the springs or that the spring tension is inappropriate. It may tell you they have lost muscular engagement or that they are using momentum. It may tell you they are compensating. The stopper isn’t simply something the carriage happens to hit. It can be feedback. For example, during arm circles, if a client repeatedly allows the carriage to hit the stopper, I want the teacher to recognize that they may not be maintaining control through the movement. And if that same client begins leaning forward in order to move the carriage, I want the teacher to recognize that as another compensation. Don’t just watch whether the carriage moves. Watch how it moves.
Is it controlled?
Is it continuous?
Is the pace consistent?
Is the client maintaining the intended position?
Is the spring doing the work, or is the client controlling the spring?
These are the questions a Reformer teacher should be asking constantly.
Correcting Is Not About Stopping Everything
A correction doesn’t always need to be dramatic. Sometimes a client needs a small verbal reminder. Sometimes they need a change in spring tension or move within a different range of motion. Sometimes they need a completely different exercise. The important part is that you recognize what is happening and know what to do about it. Consider bridging. If a client is creating a large arch through the spine and carrying too much weight toward the upper back and neck, that is not simply an aesthetic issue. The teacher needs to recognize the position and understand how to help the client change it. A cue such as “close the ribs” may help. You may also remind the client that because their feet are elevated relative to their head, it is easy to lift too high. One useful check is whether the client can comfortably move their head from side to side. If they cannot, they may be too high. The point isn’t that there is one magical cue. The point is that you understand what you are looking at.
Don’t Let Creativity Replace Understanding
I love creativity in a Reformer class. I want teachers to develop their own voices. I want you to create interesting transitions, combinations, sequences, and experiences for your clients. But creativity needs a foundation. Sometimes an instructor creates a beautiful variation of an exercise, and as an evaluator, I am left wondering: Do they understand the original exercise?
That is particularly important during an exam. If you are going to modify, layer, or creatively transition an exercise, I need to see that you understand what the exercise is supposed to be doing first. Learn the foundation. Understand the purpose. Understand the mechanics. Then make it your own. Creativity should demonstrate understanding, not cover up the absence of it.
Continuous Movement Doesn’t Mean Fast Movement
Another important Reformer skill is learning to recognize continuous movement. This came up with exercises such as Leg circles. A circle should feel like a circle, not a series of four separate stops connected together. The same is true of carriage work. If the carriage moves quickly in one direction and then slows dramatically in the other, ask yourself why. Could the client maintain a more consistent pace? Could they control the springs more effectively? Could the movement be smaller? Could the spring setting be different? Sometimes slowing down isn’t the answer. Sometimes the answer is better control. And that is something I want to see teachers recognize.
Know the Difference Between the Movement You Cue and the Movement You See
This is another reason I watch practical exams closely.
You may say “twist.” But the client may be side bending.
You may say “use your hips.” But the client may be moving primarily through their arms.
You may say “keep the pelvis still.” But the pelvis may be moving significantly.
As teachers, we have to learn to separate what we intended to teach from what the client is actually doing. Your words do not make the movement correct. The movement has to match the intention of the cue. If you cue a twist and I see a side bend, I need you to recognize that. If you cue a hip movement and I see the shoulders doing the work, I need you to recognize that. This is where observation becomes teaching.
Equipment Is Part of Your Classroom
This may seem like a small thing, but it matters. If your Reformer is making an unusual clicking or knocking sound, fix it. Not just because your microphone picks it up. Because your clients hear it too. Your equipment is part of your teaching environment. You should know your machine well enough to recognize when something is not functioning as it should. This is part of being a professional instructor. You are responsible for creating an environment where clients can focus on their movement, not wonder what is wrong with the equipment.
Required Components Matter
Sometimes a practical exam doesn’t go poorly because the teacher can’t teach. Sometimes it doesn’t pass because something required simply wasn’t included. This is why I recommend creating a checklist before your practical.
Don’t rely on memory.
Don’t assume you’ll “get to it.”
And don’t become so focused on your beautiful flow that you forget a required movement category. For example, if extension is a required component and you don’t include an extension exercise, it doesn’t matter how beautiful the rest of the class was. A missing required component is still missing. This isn’t meant to be punitive. It is meant to make sure that a certified teacher leaves the training with a complete understanding of the curriculum.
What I Am Really Looking For
When I evaluate a Reformer practical, I am looking for much more than whether you can perform an exercise. I want to see whether you can teach it. That means I want you to demonstrate that you understand:
The Exercise
What is it?
How is it performed?
What is the intended movement?
The Purpose
Why are we doing it?
What are we trying to accomplish?
The Body
Where should the client feel it?
What should be working?
What should remain stable?
The Springs
Why did you choose this spring setting?
How does changing the springs change the exercise?
The Client
What are you seeing?
Are they performing the exercise correctly?
Are they compensating?
Do they need a modification?
The Correction
Can you recognize the problem?
Can you give a useful cue?
Can you change the exercise if necessary?
The Flow
Can you organize the class effectively?
Can you transition efficiently?
Can you maintain momentum without sacrificing technique?
The Professional
Can you manage your equipment?
Can you demonstrate safely?
Can you create an environment where clients feel supported and successful?
That is what I mean when I say I am looking for technical understanding behind the flow.
You Don’t Have to Be Perfect
There is one final thing I want every teacher to understand about practical exams:
I am not looking for perfection. I am looking for understanding. If a client makes a mistake, that is not necessarily a problem. Clients make mistakes. If you recognize the mistake, understand why it happened, and know how to help them, that can actually demonstrate strong teaching. If you choose a spring that isn’t ideal and recognize it and adjust it, that demonstrates teaching. If your first cue doesn’t work and you find a better one, that demonstrates teaching. The goal is not to create a class where nothing goes wrong. The goal is to become the teacher who knows what to do when something does.
The Best Teachers Don’t Just See Movement. They See Meaning.
This is ultimately what I want from a Reformer teacher. I don’t want you to look at a client and think:
“Their legs are moving.”
I want you to think:
“Their legs are moving, but are they controlling the springs?”
I don’t want:
“They’re doing the bridge.”
I want:
“Where is their weight? What is happening in their ribs? Are they creating the intended extension? Are they comfortable through the neck?”
I don’t want:
“The carriage is moving.”
I want:
“Who is controlling the carriage, the client or the springs?”
And I don’t want:
“My class flowed.”
I want:
“My class flowed because I understood where I was going, why I was going there, and what my clients needed along the way.”
That is the difference between performing Pilates exercises and teaching Pilates. A practical exam is not simply a test of memory. It is a demonstration of your ability to see, understand, communicate, and respond. And when those four things come together, your flow becomes more than choreography. It becomes teaching.