Pilates Terminology 101: What Your Instructor Actually Means

Walking into your first Pilates class and hearing an instructor say "find your powerhouse" or "scoop your abs" can feel like a different language. It kind of is. Here's your cheat sheet.

The equipment

Reformer: The sliding bed-like machine with a carriage, springs, and a footbar. The most common piece of equipment you'll see in a studio.

Carriage: The moving platform on the reformer that you lie, sit, or stand on. It slides back and forth against spring resistance.

Footbar: The bar at the end of the reformer you push against with your feet or hands to move the carriage.

Cadillac (or trapeze table): A larger apparatus with a frame, bars, and straps hanging overhead, used for a wider range of assisted and suspended movements.

Wunda Chair: A compact, chair-shaped apparatus with a spring-loaded pedal, used for balance and strength work in a smaller footprint.

Magic Circle: A flexible ring, usually held between the thighs, ankles, or hands, used for added resistance in mat classes.

The body language

Powerhouse: Joseph Pilates' original term for your core, but it actually includes your abs, lower back, hips, and glutes together, not just your abs.

Neutral spine: The natural, slight curve of your spine when it's properly aligned, neither flattened nor overarched. You'll hear this constantly.

Scoop (or hollowing): Drawing your lower abs in and up toward your spine, the core engagement cue used in almost every exercise.

C-curve: Rounding your spine into the shape of a C, used in exercises like rolling like a ball or the teaser.

Imprint: Pressing your lower back gently into the mat to stabilize your pelvis, usually cued during ab work lying down.

Articulation: Moving through your spine one vertebra at a time, rather than as one stiff unit, most noticeable in roll-ups and bridges.

The moves you'll hear by name

The Hundred: A classic warm-up exercise, pumping your arms while holding your legs and upper body in a curled position, for a count of 100 (in sets of five breaths).

Roll-Up: Slowly rolling your spine up and down off the mat, one vertebra at a time, classic core and spine mobility move.

Teaser: A balance exercise where you hold a V shape with your body, core screaming the entire time.

The Box (on reformer): A padded box placed on the reformer carriage for certain exercises that need extra height or support.

The one term you actually need to know

Here's the truth: you don't need to memorize any of this before your first class. Every instructor worth their certification will cue you through it in real time, and it clicks fast once your body actually feels the movement. The only vocabulary that really matters walking in is "I'm new, can you help me with the terms as we go," and any good studio will happily do that. 🤍

Come solo, we promise you'll leave with new ones. This is open to everyone. 🎀

Ready to actually feel what a scoop and a C-curve mean? Check out our upcoming Miami events and come find your Pilates community.