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Cuing is Essential to Teaching a Great Pilates Class
By Christina | December 6, 2008
In order to teach an effective group exerise class of any sort you must have excellent cuing skills. The ability of a Pilates Instructor to cue is vital because there is so much going on in a Pilates class. An experienced, quality instructor will be able to lead a class with different types of cues do that students who learn in different ways can benefit.
Some participants need cues that are tactile or touch based, others prefer auditory or verbal cues and still others are and visual learners who need to see a demonstration. People do not learn with just one type of cue, but rather a combination of cues, sometimes offered simultaneously. The remainder of this post will differentiate between the types of cuing.
Touch Cuing
The use of touch can be a real asset to those who do not understand what “tuck your hips under” might mean. With tactile or touch cuing you gently position the participants body into the position they need to be so they can “feel” it. It’s very important to know the exact location and direction of the muscle fibers so that the instructor’s touch encourages the muscle fiber to contract or release.
Auditory Cuing
Auditory cuing is about speaking the directions so that they are clear and easy to visualize and follow. If you are in a large room or have music playing you will need a microphone so that the words are easily heard. Injuries can occur if there is a miscommunication.
Visual Cuing
As the name implies, when you cue visually, you are demonstrating the movement for the class or client to see and imitate.
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