Scoliosis training is barely covered in most Pilates certifications and movement education programs. Instructors meet these clients constantly, and most feel underprepared to help. That gap is an opportunity: clients with scoliosis look specifically for qualified specialists with scoliosis-specific training, travel further for them, and stay with them longer.
Scoliosis clients are looking for you.
Professional training in scoliosis exercise is a deep dive into the complexities, nuances and interconnections of the spine. It is a rewarding, even exhilarating, professional path. Join Scolio-Pilates for a method used in hospitals and taught in more than 20 countries. Join us!
Explore the trainingSee upcoming dates
Why Scolio-Pilates® Scoliosis Training for Professionals
Scoliosis affects millions of people, and they are actively searching for movement professionals who understand their spine. Most never find one.
The need is real
The company you'll keep
Scolio-Pilates® is an evidence-based method adopted by Dayton Children’s Hospital, partnered with Balanced Body, and affiliated with the National Scoliosis Clinic. Practitioners teach in more than 20 countries. When you train here, you join a recognized, supported, worldwide method.
Who becomes a Scolio-Pilates® practitioner
Practitioners come to this work from different directions. Most recognize themselves in one of these four.
The Pilates instructor building a specialty
You want to specialize, and have a clientele that seeks you out. Scoliosis-specific exercise is a practice that sets you apart.
The clinician adding scoliosis-specific tools
You’re a physical therapist or movement clinician who wants evidence-based scoliosis-specific corrections and exercise progressions to use alongside your clinical training.
The instructor who already has scoliosis clients
They’re already on your schedule, and you feel out of your depth. You want to stop guessing and know exactly what to do with each curve.
The person who lives with scoliosis
You know this condition from the inside, and you want to help others the way you wish someone had helped you. Some of our practitioners started here too.
The training path
Three modules, taught in sequence, take you from understanding scoliosis to confidently assessing and working with scoliosis clients. The path ends with Module 3, and with your place as a Scolio-Pilates® Authorized Practitioner with a professional scoliosis certification.
Module 1 · Professional Seminar · 8 hours · 8 CECs
Understand scoliosis
An experiential approach to understanding scoliosis, and the foundation for everything that follows. This scoliosis training for professionals builds a strong base in the anatomy of scoliosis so you understand what’s happening beneath the skin, the changes you see and your clients feel on the surface and in movement. With that understanding, you’ll make better scoliosis-specific exercise choices from day one.
Eligible students include: certified Pilates instructors, physical therapists, physiotherapists, medical doctors and nurses, and anyone with general knowledge of anatomy who wants to understand scoliosis and movement theory more deeply.
See Module 1 dates
What you'll learn
- What scoliosis is, who it affects, and its effects on the systems of the body
- Experience scoliosis: what it feels like to do Pilates with scoliosis
- The musculoskeletal changes that accompany the scoliosis syndrome
- Functional vs. structural scoliosis, and defining the convexities and concavities
- The three dimensions and asymmetries of scoliosis
- The Adams Test using the Scoliometer
- Theories and laws of movement that apply to scoliosis
- The first 7 exercises for scoliosis, taught with and without Pilates equipment
Module 2 · Professional Seminar · 16 hours · 16 CECs
Assess and correct
Taught in concert with Module 1, Module 2 goes deeper into the anatomy of scoliosis and puts it to work. You’ll define your client’s curves, understand how to guide them toward neutral, and apply scoliosis-specific corrections and exercises, the same approach now used by children’s hospitals, physical therapy clinics, and Pilates studios worldwide to help with the management of scoliosis.
Prerequisites: completion of Module 1, and a desire to work with scoliosis clients.
See Module 2 dates
What you'll learn
- Full-body assessment for clients with scoliosis
- Curve patterns and classifications
- Curve correction toward neutral with scoliosis-specific alignment
- Corrections in prone, supine, side-lying, seated, and standing, then adding movement on the mat or with Pilates equipment
- Exercise and strengthening of scoliosis-specific corrections
- Course programming and contraindications for scoliosis
Module 3 · 24 hours · 24 CECs
Master the work
Module 3 is where you become an Authorized Practitioner. Building on your hands-on experience after Module 2, it develops your critical thinking in scoliosis exercise and movement challenges, deepens your ability to accurately assess a client and build a documented, exercise-based management program, and adds the business practices of a successful Scolio-Pilates® practice.
See Module 3 dates
Acceptance requirements
- Completion of Modules 1 and 2
- A minimum of six months of hands-on Scolio-Pilates experience with clients
- A completed Scolio-Client case study
- Four study halls and 25 hours of observation through our online platform
- Acceptance into the Module 3 by the Course Director or Principal Educator
- Acceptance of the Authorized Practitioner Memo of Agreement
Knowing the requirements up front means no surprises: everything on this list is achievable within the training path itself.
Become a Scolio-Pilates® Authorized Practitioner
Completing the Module 3 earns you the title, and everything that comes with it.
Clients find you
A listing in the worldwide Scolio-Pilates® practitioner directory, the map clients search when they’re looking for qualified scoliosis help near them. Your profile shows your training and specialties, so clients know you’re qualified before they ever reach out.
The name behind you
Authorization to use the Scolio-Pilates® name in your practice, a protected, recognized trademark that tells clients and referring providers you trained for this. You’ll also receive a marketing kit, ready-made material for your website and practice, to help you put that authorization to work.
A team, not a certificate
An ongoing place in the Authorized Practitioner community: continued education, collaboration on cases, and a team that keeps improving the method together. Quarterly meetings keep you learning and connected to that community.
A practice, not just a skill
Practitioners build the business side alongside the clinical side: client management, documentation, and the practical skills of running a scoliosis-focused practice.
Ready to train?
Courses take place online and in-person around the world. Find the next Scolio-Pilates training for professionals that fits your schedule, registration is quick through our course platform.
See upcoming training dates
Enhancement courses and webinars
Specialized sessions that deepen your knowledge and expand your skills with scoliosis, for different curve patterns, body types, and ages. This scoliosis training for professionals is pre-recorded and available on demand. Courses marked with CECs carry NCPC continuing education credits for professionals who need them; everything is open to anyone who wants to learn.
By life stage
- Scoliosis & Children-Teens, with Patti Green
- Adults and Scoliosis, with Danielle Valette
- Scoliosis & Pregnancy, with Amber Keyes
- Post-Menopausal Scoliosis, with Gwen Miller (2 CECs)
- Daily Life with Scoliosis, with Karena Thek
By topic
- Understanding Pain, with Karena Thek
- Scoliosis & Breathing, with Karena Thek
- Scoliosis Spinal Fusion, with Bethany Headland
- Pilates & Hypermobility, with Jennifer Milner (2 CECs)
- Sex and Scoliosis, with Jeanine Yutani
CEC courses and bundles
- Take Action For Scoliosis, with Karena Thek (1 CEC)
- Scoliosis Strong (2 CECs)
- Fusion Series (1 CEC)
- The Core Movement Bundle (4 CECs)
CECs are awarded on completion of the full class and course assessment.
What practitioners say
From the people who took this path before you.
Questions professionals ask
Do I need to be a certified Pilates instructor to start?
Modules 1 and 2 are open to certified Pilates instructors, physical therapists, physiotherapists, and medical doctors and nurses. You don’t need to be a Pilates instructor specifically; movement and healthcare professionals train side by side. Module 1 is also open to people with general knowledge of anatomy who want to understand scoliosis and movement theory more deeply.
How long does it take to become an Authorized Practitioner?
Modules 1 and 2 total 24 course hours and are taught in concert. After Module 2, you’ll need a minimum of six months of hands-on Scolio-Pilates experience with your own clients before applying for the 24-hour Module 3 Mentorship. Most professionals complete this scoliosis training for professionals in about a year, and you’ll be using the work with clients from your very first course.
What does the training cost?
Pricing varies by region and course format, so we don’t publish a single price list. Current pricing for every upcoming course is shown on its listing on our schedule page. Registration and payment are handled through our course platform.
Is Module 3 acceptance guaranteed?
No, and that’s deliberate. Module 3 is where you become an Authorized Practitioner, so acceptance is by the Course Director or Principal Educator, with the requirements listed in the Module 3 section above. They protect the quality of the work, and your clients feel that quality.
Do I need my own studio or equipment?
No. You need a place to work with clients, but many practitioners teach in shared studios, clinics, or clients’ homes. Scolio-Pilates corrections work on the mat, with props, and on full Pilates apparatus, so the method adapts to the equipment you have access to.
Do the courses carry continuing education credits?
Yes. Module 1 carries 8 CECs, Module 2 carries 16, and the Module 3 Mentorship carries 24. Many enhancement webinars and courses carry NCPC CECs as well, noted on each listing. Regional accreditations may also apply to individual events and are listed on the event page.
