Marie-Sophie Wernicke
Certified Pilates instructor · Berlin
Writes the specialist articles at Pilates Plans — on class planning, cueing and what actually happens in a reformer class when twelve people are lying in front of you.
What gets written about here comes from what most often goes wrong in teaching:
Cueing
Why instructions do not land and what language works instead — from breath cues to the difference between internal and external focus.
Class planning
Structure, timing and transitions. How a collection of exercises becomes a class with a thread running through it.
Reformer equipment
Springs, props, jump board. What each setting does to an exercise — and when it gets in the way in a group.
Teaching groups
Mixed level, new participants, progressions across weeks. The everyday work training courses rarely have time for.
How these articles come about
Every article starts with a situation from a real group class — not with a theory. When a cue falls flat for eight people out of ten, that is the beginning of a text.
Technical claims come from teaching practice. Where studies are cited they are linked and their limits are named — a small sample stays a small sample, even when the result points the way you were hoping.
What does not happen: invented numbers, borrowed authority, jargon standing in for clarity. If something is uncertain, the article says so.
31 specialist articles, most recent first.
- Christmas Reformer Class Ideas: 5 Festive Flows That Still Teach Something.Class Design
- Pilates Instructor Burnout: When Teaching 15 Classes a Week Stops Working.Mindset
- A Complete Reformer Class Plan Example, Written Out in Full.Planning
- A Reformer Class Plan for Beginners, Start to Finish.Planning
- The 5-Minute Warm-Up: What to Do When Time Runs Short.Class Design
- Teaching Reformer Pilates: The Complete Guide.Guide
- Cueing in Pilates: The Complete Guide for Reformer Instructors.Guide
- The Reformer Explained: Springs, Carriage, Footbar and Props.Guide
- Reformer Footwork Variations: 14 Ways to Teach the Same Five Minutes.Reformer
- Jump Board 101: How to Teach Cardio on the Reformer Safely.Reformer
- Internal vs External Cues: What Actually Changes Your Clients’ Movement.Cueing
- Spring Settings for Group Classes: How to Program Resistance, Not Just Set It.Reformer
- Teaching Your First Reformer Class: A Start-to-Finish Walkthrough.Mindset
- 25 Reformer Pilates Class Themes Your Regulars Will Love.Class Design
- Free Reformer Class Plan Template — And How to Actually Use It.Planning
- Qualified but Not Ready? Every Pilates Instructor Feels It.Mindset
- Pilates Class Plan Length: How to Get the Timing Right.Planning
- How to Plan New Reformer Flows — Without the Blank Page Panic.Planning
- 10 Habits to Drop as a Pilates Instructor.Mindset
- Why Your Pilates Cues Don't Land: 5 Reasons and What to Do Instead.Cueing
- Reformer Pilates Exercise Variations: The 6-Variable Framework for New Instructors.Planning
- 5 Reformer Class Planning Mistakes New Instructors Make.Planning
- Pilates Cueing Techniques: Why Your Voice Changes Movement Quality.Cueing
- Reformer Pilates Warm-Up Exercises: 4 Phases for Every Class.Class Design
- Reformer Pilates Class Planning: Structure, Timing and Exercise Selection for Groups.Planning
- How to Structure a Pilates Class That Actually Works.Methodology
- 5 Cueing Mistakes Even Experienced Instructors Make.Cueing
- Teaching Reformer Groups: What Truly Makes the Difference.Reformer
- Mastering Mixed-Level Classes: Tips for Inhomogeneous Groups.Planning
- Why Progression Decides Everything — And How to Plan It.Planning
- Spinal Mobility and Stability: The Core Concept in Pilates.Methodology
Get in touch
Questions about an article, disagreement with a claim, or a topic missing here? Just write. hello@pilatesplans.com
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