Do your joints feel wobbly or looser than they should be? Some people have what’s called hypermobility, which means their joints move more than normal—sometimes too much. This can feel amazing at first, like being super flexible, but loose joints can actually cause pain, injury, and instability over time. Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome (EDS) is a condition where this happens throughout the whole body. The good news is that classical Pilates can help build stability and strength around your joints, making them feel stronger and safer.
At Alexandra Osteopilates in East Grand Rapids, you can learn special Pilates exercises designed to give your joints the support they need. Alexandra is a rare “second-generation” Pilates teacher, trained directly by Romana Kryzanowska, who learned from Joseph Pilates himself. This means you’re getting the most authentic classical Pilates techniques available, done with the precision and control that hypermobile joints truly need.
What Is Hypermobility and Why Does It Matter?
Think of your joints like door hinges. Some hinges are tight, and some are loose. A hinge that’s too loose falls open easily and can get damaged. Your joints work the same way. Most people have joints that move just right—firm but flexible. People with hypermobility have joints that move much further than normal, almost like their hinges are missing tension.
Hypermobility sounds nice at first because you can touch your toes easily, do the splits, and bend in ways other people can’t. But this extra movement comes with problems. Without strong muscles around loose joints, your body can’t hold everything in place properly. This causes pain, swelling, and puts you at risk of injuries. For people with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, this happens throughout their entire body because of how their connective tissues work.
How Pilates Builds Stability for Hypermobile Joints
Classical Pilates is almost perfect for hypermobility because it’s all about control and precision, not big, floppy movements. Pilates focuses on making your core muscles—the deep muscles in your belly, back, and sides—incredibly strong. A strong core acts like a corset around your loose joints, holding everything steady where it needs to be. This means your joints can move freely without sliding out of place and causing pain.
The beautiful part about Pilates is something called proprioception—that’s your body’s sense of where it is in space. Research shows that just six weeks of Pilates exercises improves your proprioception and core strength significantly. When you improve proprioception, your nervous system becomes better at controlling your movements, which is exactly what hypermobile people need. Your brain gets better at telling your muscles exactly when to tighten up and hold your joints stable. Pilates instructors use verbal cues and sometimes gentle hand adjustments to wake up your body’s awareness, helping your brain and muscles communicate better.
Beginner Pilates Exercises for Joint Stability
Alexandra works with you at your own level, starting with easy movements that build confidence and strength gradually. Here are beginner-friendly Pilates exercises designed specifically for people with.
The Dead Bug is an amazing exercise for beginners. You lie on your back with your arms straight up toward the ceiling and your knees bent at 90 degrees—like you’re sitting in an invisible chair. Then you slowly lower one arm behind your head while straightening the opposite leg, keeping your lower back flat against the floor the whole time. This teaches your core to stay tight while your limbs move, which is exactly what happens in real life. The key for hypermobile people is keeping movements slow and controlled, never letting your back arch up.
The Bridge or Glute Bridge is another fantastic beginner move. You lie on your back with knees bent and feet flat on the floor, then push your hips up toward the ceiling until your body makes a straight line from your knees to your shoulders. This exercise wakes up your gluteus medius—a muscle that’s essential for hip stability during walking and standing on one leg. For hypermobile people, the bridge teaches hip control without requiring dangerous stretching or extreme flexibility.
Side Bridges work your oblique muscles and the sides of your core. You lie on your side with your elbow under your shoulder and your body in a straight line, then lift your hips up off the ground. Hold this position for 15-30 seconds at first, then rest. This move is perfect for building stability all the way around your core.
The important thing about all these exercises is that you never push yourself into extreme ranges of motion, even though you might be able to go there. Instead, you focus on controlled, small movements that build muscle awareness and strength. This is where having an experienced Pilates instructor like Alexandra is so valuable—she knows exactly how to modify exercises so they help your joints stay stable rather than getting looser.
Combine Pilates with Grand Rapids’ Outdoor Wellness Community
The city also has incredible biking trails perfect for low-impact exercise that strengthens your joints without jarring them. The Grand River Edges Trail is a beautiful 2.5-mile paved path that follows the river through downtown Grand Rapids, connecting to a 2.2-mile path in Riverside Park. The Fred Meijer White Pine Trail offers 92 miles of mostly flat, paved biking, and the Kent Trails winds through Millennium Park for 15 miles. Biking builds leg strength without the impact of running, making it perfect for people rebuilding joint stability.
Consider combining Alexandra’s Pilates sessions with bike rides or gentle walks along these trails to create a complete recovery program. Pilates strengthens your core and teaches stability, while biking gently uses those muscles and builds endurance. Together, they create a powerful healing combination for hypermobile joints.
Alexandra Bohlinger’s Expertise in Classical Pilates
What makes Alexandra stand out is her authentic second-generation Pilates training from Romana Kryzanowska, one of Joseph Pilates’ direct students. This isn’t modern fitness Pilates—this is classical, precise Pilates the way it was originally designed. A proper classical Pilates teacher training requires at least 600 hours of study, and Alexandra brings over 20 years of hands-on experience working with clients.
She also combines Pilates with osteopathic techniques, which means she can address not just weak muscles but also any joint misalignments or restrictions that might be making hypermobility worse. This holistic approach treats your whole body as one connected system rather than just working on individual muscles.
Alexandra’s studio at 251 Plymouth Avenue SE in East Grand Rapids is convenient for people throughout the area. She offers extended hours every weekday from 7am to 8pm, plus Saturday morning sessions from 7am to 1pm, so you can fit sessions into your schedule easily. Many clients find that regular sessions—even once or twice a week—create significant improvements in joint stability and confidence.
Start Building Stability Today
Hypermobility doesn’t have to mean living with pain and instability forever. Classical Pilates offers proven methods to build strength, control, and proprioception around your joints. Combined with Grand Rapids’ wonderful outdoor activities and wellness community, you have everything you need for a complete recovery program.
When you start with beginner exercises like the dead bug and bridge under expert guidance, your body learns the stability it needs. Over time—often just weeks—you’ll notice your joints feel more confident, activities hurt less, and you move with better control. If you’re ready to strengthen your joints through classical Pilates and reclaim your active lifestyle in Grand Rapids, reach out to Alexandra Osteopilates today to get started on your journey to stability and strength.