Individuals with spinal cord injury and other neurological conditions may have limited opportunities to move their bodies without specialized equipment. The floor, or a high mat table when appropriate, provides a unique environment for developing mobility, strength, stability, coordination, and movement confidence—skills that can support activities of daily living, gait, physical fitness, and overall wellness.

Inspired by Pilates and foundational movement patterns, this course explores a variety of mat-based exercises, mobility drills, transitions, and movement sequences adapted specifically for individuals with SCI and other neurological conditions. Participants will learn how these exercises can be introduced in the clinic and translated into practical home exercise programs for independent practice.

Exercises are organized within a practical framework for logical progression, allowing clinicians to select appropriately challenging activities while keeping exercises accessible to the individual’s current abilities. Within this framework, participants will learn to select exercise variations and modify or progress movements based on movement performance and response.

Clinicians will practice spotting and physical support techniques that encourage individuals to participate actively in their own movement. Through movement observation, participants will learn to identify areas of movement challenges and use this information to inform subsequent exercise selection, modification, and part-to-whole teaching strategies.

The online modules introduce foundational Pilates principles and the floor-based exercise progression framework, while the in-person portion emphasizes interactive and practical application. Participants will experience the exercises themselves before applying the concepts in partner and small-group practice with demonstration neuro clients. This allows participants to observe how exercises can be selected, modified, and progressed in real time.

By the end of the course, clinicians will have greater confidence in exercise selection, exercise execution, spotting and physical support, and organizing exercises into efficient pairings and sequences for in-clinic implementation and home exercise programming.

• Physical Therapists and Physical Therapy Assistants

• Occupational Therapists

• Exercise Physiologists

• Activity-Based Therapy professionals

• Pilates teachers

• Yoga teachers

• Strength and Conditioning Specialists

• Caretakers/partners of SCI

Working in practice settings:

• Out-patient rehab

• In-patient rehab

• Acute care

• Activity-based therapy

• Home therapy services

This course content is not intended for use by any participants outside the scope of their license or regulation.

Instruction Level: Basic -Intermediate

This course assumes 1-2 years of experience in working with spinal cord injury clients/patients. If you are new to this demographic, please complete the online Groundwork workshop to familiarize yourself with SCI before attending this course.

At the conclusion of this program, the learner will be able to:

• Select and implement appropriate mat-based exercises, mobility drills, transitions, and movement sequences for individuals with SCI and other neurological conditions.

• Analyze movement performance during floor-based exercises to identify opportunities for exercise modification, progression, and part-to-whole teaching.

• Organize floor-based exercises into efficient pairings and sequences for in-clinic implementation and individualized home exercise programming.

• Program floor-based exercises to support functional activities of daily living, including bed mobility, dressing, playing with kids/pets on the floor, etc.

• Program floor-based exercises and foundational movement sequences to support progression toward more advanced positions and movements, including standing balance and gait.

• Demonstrate effective spotting and physical support techniques that encourage active participation during floor-based exercises and transitions.

• Provide opportunities for individuals to explore and practice movement with reduced reliance on specialized equipment or maximal physical assistance.

Online module (3 hours, online asynchronous hosted on Teachable) reviews movement foundations and principles essential for floor-based programming, an introduction. to Pilates Mat concepts and overview of Floor-Based Programming componetns.

A Knowledge Check/Quiz confirms completion & and understanding before participation in the in-person labs.

Live, in-person (7 hours)

• 30 page printed guidebook with diagrams, photos and prompts for clinical reasoning and reflection.

• Powerpoint visuals with client case examples.

• Demonstrations on participants and client models.

• Learning through movement experiences.

• Partner labs.

• Hands-on practical application labs with real neuro clients (2 hours).

• Case discussion and presentation of observations & interventions from participants.

This course is highly interactive - and ACTIVE - experience.

Real understanding, competence and confidence comes from full in-person immersion. Come ready for a lot of movement, partner labs, and hands-on practice.

SMALL LABS w/ REAL NEURO CLIENTS:

3 hours of hands on lab practice with real demo clients provides opportunity for real-time troubleshooting, observation of the quick outcomes from optimal cueing and builds confidence for execution after the course.

HIGH TOUCH GUIDANCE:

Due to the extensive hands-on learning components of this course, we maintain a strict student-to-faculty ratio of 16:1 to provide a high-touch learning experience and comply with many state APTA standards. A Course/Lab Assistant is added to the course for 16+ participants.

DIVERSE LEARNING STYLES:

I strive to deliver the curriculum for a variety of learning styles:

• Kinesthetic (feeling)

• Auditory (discussion)

• Visual (PowerPoint & client demonstrations)

• Experiential (hands on practice)

• Theory/Intellectual (printed Guidebook)

THE PRINTED GUIDEBOOK:

A 30-page printed and bound Guidebook hosts the concepts, theory, and exercises with plenty of space for clinical reasoning notes, application to YOUR clients and reflection prompts to establish deeper integration of the material.

CONTINUED SUPPORT & COMMUNITY:

All course participants are invited to stay connected through the Professional Community social network - a place to ask questions and share client case success.

Participants can also join Office House events, scheduled quarterly, to discuss client cases and gain insights from other professionals in the ZN Network. View the reply of one of our events here.

…how Learning Outcomes are measured and course completion is evaluated.

Earning all CEU’s/Contact Hours require the following:

ONLINE LEARNING MODULE:

The 3-hour online module (asynchronous) must be completed prior to the in-person course.

A 10 question Knowledge Check quiz must be completed with a 100% passing score before participation of the in-person learning.

LIVE ATTENDANCE:

Course participants must be present for all in-person presentation & lab (full day, 7 hours). There is no partial credit available for this course.

COURSE COMPLETION:

Full participation in the Hands On Lab is required. Lab groups will present case findings, interventions and clinical reasoning for programming to the entire group as the final “Course Completion” check.

CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION:

Upon completion of group presentations, participants certificates are signed by the course presenter. The certificate in the back of the Course Guidebook is not valid unless signed by the presenter in their signature color.

COURSE & PRESENTER EVALUATION:

All participants are asked to provide evaluation and feedback using the form (see included in syllabus). Evaluations are reviewed by the presenter for future curriculum development. Participants can also request additional resources to support their learning in this form.