If you've been teaching Pilates for any length of time, you've probably said it. 

"Switch on your core."

"Engage your glutes."

"Activate your hamstrings."

They're cues that have been passed down through generations of movement education. Most of us have used them at some point in our teaching career, and many Pilates professionals still do.

But here's the question worth asking:

Is that actually how humans move?

If our goal as Pilates professionals is to improve movement outside the studio—not just inside it—perhaps it's time to rethink how we cue our clients.

Muscles Don't Need Verbal Commands

Imagine you're making yourself a cup of coffee.

Do you consciously think:

"Okay biceps, now it's your turn."

"Triceps, switch on."

"Core, engage before I pour the kettle."

Of course not.

Your nervous system coordinates thousands of muscular contractions automatically. Walking, reaching, bending, climbing stairs, carrying shopping, or picking up your child all happen without consciously activating individual muscles.

So why do we teach Pilates differently?

This isn't to suggest that muscle function isn't important—it absolutely is. But movement is rarely created by isolating one muscle at a time. Instead, it emerges through coordination, timing, sensory feedback, and the body's remarkable ability to organise itself around a task.

Perhaps our cueing should reflect that.

Are We Improving Function—or Interrupting It?

One of the greatest gifts Pilates offers is improved function.

Clients come to us because they want to move more easily in everyday life. They want to walk without pain, lift grandchildren, play golf, surf, garden, travel, or simply feel more confident in their own body.

Yet many of our verbal cues bear little resemblance to those real-world movements.

When clients leave class believing they should consciously contract their glutes while walking or constantly brace their core throughout the day, we have to ask ourselves whether we've unintentionally created dependence on muscular control rather than confidence in natural movement.

Our role isn't to teach people how to consciously switch muscles on.

Our role is to help their bodies rediscover efficient movement.

Cue Awareness, Not Contraction

One of the biggest shifts that occurs as teachers gain experience is moving away from cueing muscles and towards cueing awareness.

Rather than telling clients what to contract, we can invite them to notice what they're feeling.

Questions such as:

• Can you feel how your body supports you here?
• Where do you notice the weight travelling?
• What changes if you adjust your pelvis slightly?
• Can you feel your feet creating support from the ground?

These types of cues encourage exploration rather than instruction.

Instead of chasing one muscle, clients begin understanding how their whole body organises itself during movement.

That awareness often leads to more efficient muscle recruitment without ever asking someone to "switch anything on."

Position Often Changes Everything

Many movement "problems" aren't actually muscle problems.

They're position problems.

Take a plank, for example.

Rather than repeatedly telling someone to engage their core, it may be more effective to help them organise their pelvis, rib cage, shoulders, and head.

As alignment improves, appropriate muscular support often emerges naturally.

The same principle applies throughout Pilates.

Joint position changes load.

Load changes sensory input.

Sensory input changes motor output.

Sometimes the body simply needs better information—not louder instructions.

Use the Equipment to Create Better Feedback

One of the greatest strengths of Pilates equipment is that it provides information.

Rather than using the reformer, mat, or props simply as resistance, they can become powerful teaching tools.

For example, instead of saying:

"Switch on your hamstrings."

You might ask the client to gently press the back of their heel into the footbar, the floor, or even your hand.

That simple change creates a sensory experience that often encourages the entire posterior chain to participate more effectively.

The client hasn't consciously contracted a muscle.

They've responded to meaningful feedback.

Better Imagery Creates Better Movement

Pilates has always been rich in imagery.

Sometimes imagery achieves what anatomy never can.

Imagine lying in a hook-lying position.

Rather than instructing someone to activate their transverse abdominis, you could invite them to imagine a stack of bricks gently resting between their hip bones, becoming heavier with every exhale.

Or perhaps their lifted leg is floating upwards because a helium balloon is attached to their knee.

These images encourage the body to organise movement naturally.

Clients stop chasing muscles and begin experiencing movement.

That's where meaningful motor learning occurs.

Great Cueing Evolves Throughout Your Career

Perhaps the most reassuring message for Pilates professionals is this:

You don't have to get it perfect.

Every experienced teacher looks back on earlier versions of themselves and smiles.

As your understanding of anatomy, fascia, motor learning, pain science, and human movement deepens, your language will evolve too.

The best teachers aren't the ones who think they've mastered cueing.

They're the ones who remain curious enough to keep refining it.

Ask for feedback.

Observe more closely.

Experiment with new language.

Be willing to change.

Because the way you teach today shouldn't be the way you teach in ten years' time—and that's a good thing.

The Future of Pilates Cueing

As Pilates continues to evolve alongside contemporary movement science, perhaps the question is no longer:

"Which muscle should I cue?"

Perhaps it's:

"How can I help this person experience better movement?"

That small shift changes everything.

When we prioritise awareness over contraction, function over fixation, and curiosity over correction, we give clients something far more valuable than a perfectly performed exercise.

We give them the opportunity to move more naturally—not just in the studio, but for the rest of their lives.

Want to Learn More?

If this topic resonates with you and you'd like to explore the principles behind functional cueing in greater depth, listen to Episode 86: How to Cue Muscles Without Cueing Muscles.

In this episode, Katie Crane shares practical examples, teaching strategies, and the mindset shifts that have transformed her cueing over more than two decades of teaching Pilates. Whether you're a new instructor or an experienced educator, you'll come away with practical ideas you can apply in your very next class.