Motion sickness or dizziness when doing Pilates on the reformer

People experiencing vertigo, motion sickness or any other vestibular balance disorder can sometimes feel motion sickness of dizziness when doing Pilates on the reformer.  

Reasons for dizziness when doing Pilates on the reformer:

• There are exercises where your head is lower than your heart.
• There are exercises where you are moving and not able to fix your eyes, sending conflicting signals to your brain and sensory systems.
• There are many repetitive movements in Pilates
• If you have low blood pressure.
• Quick position changes
• Dehydration or eating too much or too little before class
• Inner ear imbalance

Things you can do to try minimize the dizziness

• Keep eye gaze on a fixed spot
• Drink more before class
• Try to eat more before class or at least enough.
• Avoid overly repetitive movements (vertigo)
• Grab onto something (dizziness)
• Try using the wedge or raising your headrest up.
• Take medication for nausea and motion sickness before class

It is very discouraging when you feel sick after something you were looking forward to trying.  Before you give up, try some of the above options.  Keep in mind, Pilates on the reformer isn’t the only way to do Pilates.  There is mat pilates, and many other pieces of equipment that can be very exciting and beneficial to use.  Equipment such as the springboard, chair, cadillac where many exercises can be performed without motion.   A private sessions is a place to try these other types of equipment and allow for a chance to try reformer work without lying down and moving.

References

Dizziness, Pilates, and Hope, VEDA, URL: https://vestibular.org/spotlight/dizziness-pilates-and-hope/