Aerial Pilates: Exercises, Benefits, and How to Use the Columpio in Your Classes

Aerial Pilates: Exercises, Benefits, and How to Use the Columpio in Your Classes

Aerial Pilates expands the possibilities of Pilates by taking part of the practice off the ground.

With the Columpio, students can explore suspended movements that challenge strength, mobility, balance, coordination, and body control in ways that differ from traditional equipment.

For instructors, this also means expanding their exercise repertoire and finding new ways to work on goals that are already part of their classes.

But with so many possibilities, where should you start?

What is Aerial Pilates?

Aerial Pilates is a modality that uses a fabric or suspension system, known as the Columpio, to create different movement possibilities.

The equipment can provide support, assistance, or increase the challenge of certain exercises, depending on how it is used.

This allows instructors and students to explore positions and movements that differ from those performed on the floor or with traditional Pilates equipment.

For the instructor, the most important thing is not simply putting the student on the Columpio.

It is understanding the purpose of the exercise and how the equipment can contribute to achieving it.

What can you work on with the Columpio?

One of the great possibilities of Aerial Pilates is using the equipment to work on different physical abilities.

Strength

The Columpio can be used to create challenges for different muscle groups by using body weight, resistance, and the instability of the suspension system.

Mobility and flexibility

Suspension can also assist certain positions and allow students to explore ranges of motion in different ways.

Depending on the exercise, the fabric can provide support and help the student access a position more comfortably.

Balance and control

The instability created by the suspension requires constant attention to body positioning and movement control.

Coordination

Movements performed on the Columpio can involve different body segments simultaneously, creating coordination and body-awareness challenges.

Body awareness

The relationship between the body and space changes when part of the body weight is supported by the equipment. This can provide new movement experiences and a different sense of body awareness.

The Columpio can make an exercise easier or more challenging

One of the most interesting features of Aerial Pilates is that the Columpio is not only used to increase difficulty.

Depending on how it is used, it can provide support and assistance or create greater demands for strength, balance, and control.

Because of this, the same equipment can be used for either a regression or a progression.

The question should not simply be:

“Is this exercise easy or difficult?”

Instead:

“What is the Columpio doing in this exercise?”

Is it providing support? Creating instability? Increasing range of motion? Changing the lever? Allowing a new position?

Understanding this helps instructors make better exercise choices.

How do you choose Aerial Pilates exercises for each student?

As with any other Pilates equipment, exercise selection should be based on the student and the objective of the class.

Before choosing an exercise, consider:

• What is the goal of the class?

• What is the student’s level?

• Does the student already have experience with the Columpio?

• Are there any mobility limitations?

• How is the student’s body control?

• Does the exercise require more strength, balance, or coordination than the student can currently perform with quality?

• Is the Columpio providing support or increasing the demand?

These questions help determine where to start.

A beginner may need more support and simpler exercises to become familiar with the equipment. An experienced student may be ready for movements that require greater control, range of motion, or instability.

There is no single “best” exercise for everyone. There is the exercise that is most appropriate for that student at that moment.

How do you structure an Aerial Pilates class?

An Aerial Pilates class can be planned using the same logic as any other Pilates class: start with the objective, then make your repertoire choices.

You can begin by thinking in blocks.

For example:

1. Preparation and familiarization with the equipment
Simple movements that allow the student to understand the support, suspension, and relationship between the body and the Columpio.

2. Mobility
Exercises that explore spinal, hip, or shoulder mobility.

3. Strengthening
Movements based on the goals of the class and the student’s level.

4. Balance and control
Exercises that gradually increase the demands on stability and coordination.

5. Cool-down
Lower-intensity movements to finish the session.

This structure does not need to be followed rigidly. What matters is having a logical connection between the exercises and a progression of demands throughout the class.

How can you vary your Aerial Pilates repertoire?

Just as with other equipment, your repertoire can start to feel repetitive when you rely on the same exercises over and over again.

And finding new ideas is not always easy.

Social media contains thousands of Aerial Pilates videos, but the content is scattered across different profiles, platforms, and posts.

You can spend a lot of time searching for a specific exercise and still not find exactly what you need for that class.

This is where having an organized exercise library can make a difference.

Instead of starting with the exercise you remember, you can start with what you need to work on.

Looking for mobility?

Want to strengthen the lower body?

Need a balance exercise?

Looking for an option for a specific level?

Want to work on the Columpio?

The more organized your repertoire is, the easier it becomes to find possibilities.

Aerial Pilates can also expand an instructor’s repertoire

Learning new exercises does not mean abandoning traditional exercises.

On the contrary.

The Columpio can add new possibilities to the repertoire you already have and allow you to work on familiar goals in different ways.

The same goal can be explored on the Mat, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair, Barrel, or Columpio.

The equipment changes. The goal can remain the same. And the repertoire expands.

Find Aerial Pilates exercises on Pilatlas

On Pilatlas, the Atlas currently includes 621 exercises, with new exercises added every week.

The exercises are organized by characteristics such as apparatus, objective, level, muscle group, accessories, and methodology, allowing instructors to find options in a much more targeted way.

This also applies to Aerial Pilates.

Instead of spending hours searching for Columpio exercises on social media, you can use the Atlas to find possibilities within an organized repertoire.

You can start with the objective:

“What do I want to work on in this class?”

And then find exercises that make sense for that objective and for that student.

Conclusion

Aerial Pilates expands movement possibilities and gives instructors new tools for working on strength, mobility, balance, coordination, and control.

The Columpio can be used in different ways: providing support, creating new challenges, or simply allowing a familiar goal to be approached through a different strategy.

To make the most of these possibilities, the most important thing is not to choose exercises simply because they look interesting.

Start with the objective. Consider the student. Understand the role of the equipment. And choose the exercise that makes sense for that moment.

The larger the available repertoire, the greater your ability to make these choices.

The equipment expands possibilities. The repertoire expands choices.

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