When folks are looking for rehab and see Clinical Pilates, they probably think, “Why do I have to do that? Why can’t I just get regular physio?”
As the owner and lead therapist at Embodied, you can probably guess I have a bias toward using Pilates in my practice. But here’s why it continues to be part of what I do as a clinician.
In sport, we’re always trying to achieve flow. That moment when everything else drops away and it’s just you and the sport. The movement. The ball. Whatever it is for you. As athletes, we spend our whole careers trying to get back to that place. It’s where the magic happens. You make the nearly impossible shot. You land your routine. You read the field without even thinking.
When we’re injured, we lose that. We get stuck in frustration over what we used to do and how we used to do it. I’m not a tennis coach. Or a hockey coach. Or a soccer coach. I can’t be on the field with you every day. But I am kind of like a rehab coach, and I work in a studio. My job is to help clients find their flow again. Sometimes that’s through something as small as moving one joint with morecontrol.
We have “ah ha” moments. We laugh. Sometimes there are tears. But we work to find that spark in movement again. The one you had when things clicked on the field.
The great thing about Clinical Pilates is I don’t have to coach your sport to support your recovery. I can break down movement into its parts and make sure you can do each one. Then we work to connect them again. Think about it. You wouldn’t try to play a song on the flute if you couldn’t hit a B-flat. Someone, including you, is going to notice. My job is to help you re-learn the coordination to get back to that note.
In something like swimming or running, I can’t hold your ankle, knee, or shoulder as you move. But on the equipment, I can. Think of it like training wheels on a bike. Or like crutches in the first few weeks after a rolled ankle or had a fracture. It’s just here for a short time until you gain the strength back. Pilates makes movement accessible again, wherever you are in your rehab. And it works.
Clinical Pilates is more than just a rehab tool. It teaches you how to move with control, awareness, and confidence. Instead of having something done to you passively, you build skills and strength that create lasting changes long after the sessions end. By breaking down movement and helping you reconnect with how your body works, Pilates builds both physical resilience and self-efficacy. You can trust your body again and return to your sport with flow and confidence.