There has been a lot of talk about core stability lately, prompted in part by the publication of Professor Eyal Lederman’s paper The Myth of Core Stability and other rumblings in the media about the validity and safety of core training.

On Aug. 10, Peta Bee wrote an article in the London Times (requires payment) stating that the founding principles of Pilates are flawed. Glenn Withers, founder of the Australian Physiotherapy and Pilates Institute, followed up four days later by posting an excellent, detailed response on the APPI website. All of these are worth reading to educate yourself on the arguments.

But what does this all mean to you? As a Pilates instructor, you instinctively know that the work is incredibly valuable if taught correctly. But clients who have read these articles may have questions. Nuala Coombs, a founding director of the Pilates Institute UK and owner of The Pilates Consultant, tackles this issue below. We also invite your ideas on how to talk to clients about this issue in the comments section.

Following the publication of the article by Peta Bee, I received several emails from teachers wondering how they would respond to their clients should they refer to the article. My advice was simple. If they don’t mention it, there is no point in bringing it to their attention. For those clients who did not read the article, it will only create confusion. Of course for those clients who have questions, we need to be able to give them clear, satisfactory answers.