Reddit Users Are Buzzing Over This Unexpected Side Effect Of Reformer Pilates

Pilates is known as a relatively low-risk exercise modality—it’s low-impact, done with lightweights, and is easily adaptable for people with pre-existing injuries. But, there’s one side effect of reformer Pilates that not many people know about: motion sickness.

When WH designer Leanne Mattern took her first class a few months ago, she was surprised by her experience. The feeling came on hard and fast, and she struggled to control it: “It felt like I was on a docked boat, just letting the waves rock me back and forth. My mind couldn’t distinguish if I was still moving or not, making me feel dizzy and nauseous. The symptoms and severity started to snowball.”

And she’s not the only one. There’s a full Reddit thread of others experiencing similar issues. “I’m extremely fit and I get nauseous AF during jumpboard pilates. Tried it once and never went back,” one user said. Another commented: “After 20 minutes, I am [so] nauseous I feel like I’m literally going to die, and then I’m vomiting for two days straight, as if I have food poisoning! I say, ‘never again,’ and then a year later I retry it and repeat. I want to be in my healthy pilates era.”

Us too, random Reddit user. If this sounds like you, don’t worry—there are ways to overcome reformer motion sickness. We chatted with exercise physiology experts and seasoned Pilates instructors to better understand what causes this phenomenon and how to prevent it.

Meet the Experts: Susie Reiner, PhD, CSCS, is an exercise physiologist, assistant professor of exercise science at Seton Hall University, and CEO of TheoryEx, a sport science research and consulting firm. Samantha Miles is a Pilates instructor and the owner of Good Time Pilates in NYC. Carey Macaleer has been a Pilates instructor for over 25 years, and is the owner of ALine Pilates in Brooklyn.

What can cause motion sickness in reformer Pilates?

“The Pilates reformer is unique because it moves you while you move it: the sliding carriage, shifting springs, and changing body angles create motion in multiple planes at once. Your inner ear senses those accelerations, but your visual and proprioceptive systems may not match what your vestibular system is detecting,” says Susie Reiner, PhD, CSCS, exercise physiologist and assistant professor of exercise science at Seton Hall University. “That sensory mismatch, known as a vestibular conflict, is the same mechanism behind seasickness or car sickness.”

When those signals don’t match what your muscles feel or your eyes see, your brain flags it to your sympathetic nervous system, and you’ll get responses like dizziness, queasiness, or lightheadedness. Reformers specifically move at a very slow, repetitive frequency—a frequency that falls right into the range where the human vestibular system is most sensitive to motion, Reiner says. That’s why it can often feel like you’re rocking on a boat.

But not all reformer illness is technically motion sickness. In some cases, it’s related to orthostatic hypotension, Reiner says—the sudden drop in blood pressure when moving from a lying position to sitting or standing.

Try the WH+ 4-Week Pilates x Lift Program, here.

”It happens because gravity suddenly pulls blood toward the legs, and the cardiovascular system needs a few seconds to compensate. In a reformer class, that might look like feeling lightheaded shifting to standing, setting up, and then sitting on the long box right after prolonged supine work. Blood flow to the brain momentarily dips, causing dizziness, vision dimming, or mild disorientation,” Reiner says. It is very common in older adults and is caused by age-related decline in blood pressure regulation systems throughout the body, according to Clinical Medicine.

Samantha Miles, Pilates instructor and owner of Good Time Pilates in NYC, has seen few clients who get dizzy during reformer Pilates due to vertigo, which is the feeling of spinning in circles, according to the Cleveland Clinic. It can be a symptom of certain medications or health conditions, including migraines, diabetes, arrhythmia, shingles, or head injuries, and exacerbated by sudden movements, like in a reformer class.

How to Prevent Illness in a Reformer Class

If you’ve ever come out of a reformer class nauseous or dizzy, this is for you. There are several things you can do to control symptoms (and hopefully get rid of them entirely).

Take your time on position changes. If you’ve been doing a lot of work lying down and you’re instructed to come back up to a seated or standing position, take your time making that change. “When we come out of the reformer, just give yourself a moment to let the brain and the nervous system kind of reset before coming to standing,” Macaleer says. This can help prevent dizziness.

Find a fixed point. Stabilizing your gaze may help your vestibular system calm down. Fix your sight on a point that keeps your neck straight (on the ceiling if you’re lying down, on the wall in front if you’re sitting up), and hold your gaze there. Also try to avoid any sudden head turns or looking around, Reiner says.

Consider your head position. Most reformers have a headrest you can choose to use. Using it might help alleviate symptoms, Macaleer says. If the machine doesn’t come with one, you might need to get creative. “You can always put an extra small pillow underneath the head, too.”

Fuel appropriately beforehand. Dehydration can increase both your vestibular sensitivity and risk of hypotension, Reiner says. So prep for your class or personal training session by drinking plenty of water beforehand.

Focus on slow, controlled breathing. Pilates is exercise, which means your heart rate is elevated and your muscles are using a ton of oxygen to power your movement. Shallow breathing might mean your muscles—and brain—aren’t getting the O2 they need to perform. That can cause you to be lightheaded or dizzy. Focus on taking slow, full breaths throughout the workout, Macaleer says.

Modify spring tension. “Heavier resistance can stabilize the carriage and reduce oscillation amplitude, making the platform feel steadier,” Reiner says. Find a resistance that feels challenging but doable for you.

Talk to your instructor. Your instructor is there to guide you and provide the best experience possible. They’ve likely taught clients that have run into similar issues and can help provide options that better your symptoms. “Ask your instructor to limit movement of your body on the carriage. There’s still lots of fun exercises with the carriage still or you off the carriage and moving it from a stable point,” Miles says.

Find a class (and modality) that works for you. You might feel a difference depending on what kind of Pilates class you take, Macaleer says. Some studios and teachers prefer a faster pace workout, where you’re moving from one move to another very quickly with little time for your system to catch up, which can trigger symptoms. Others approach with a slower approach, which might be better for someone who regularly feels queasy when doing reformer pilates. If you find yourself ill in a faster-paced class, search around for a studio with a slower vibe. It might make all the difference.

If you feel like you’ve tried it all and nothing seems to work, you may feel more comfortable taking your Pilates journey to a different apparatus. There are plenty of other Pilates methods that involve non-moving equipment—like chair, barrel, Cadillac, or mat Pilates, Miles recommends. You’ll still reap all the same Pilates benefits—without the sickness.