MOVING THROUGH SILENCE: Uniting the Pilates Community Around Prostate Cancer Awareness
Every October, the world turns pink. Studios, teachers, and wellness communities come together in solidarity for breast cancer awareness, a movement that has saved lives through education, visibility, and action. But as the pink fades and November begins, another story remains largely untold. Prostate cancer affects millions of men worldwide, yet conversations around it are often quiet, hidden beneath cultural discomfort and silence.
This is where our community - the global Pilates and movement community - can make a difference. By using our collective voice, our knowledge, and the healing power of movement, we can help bring awareness, support, and dignity to men living with and beyond prostate cancer.
A Quiet Epidemic
Prostate cancer is one of the most common cancers among men worldwide. Millions of men are living with it or recovering from treatment. Many more have experienced its physical and emotional impact: fatigue, pelvic floor dysfunction, incontinence, changes in sexual health, shifts in body image, and the quiet psychological toll that often goes unspoken.
Men are taught to stay strong, not necessarily to talk. They’re rarely encouraged to seek support, to ask for help, or to see movement as part of their recovery. And that’s where we, as a global community of movement professionals, have the opportunity to make a difference.
Movement as Medicine
Movement cannot cure cancer. But it can restore confidence, improve function, and rebuild trust in the body after medical treatment.
Research consistently shows that regular, structured movement supports physical recovery after prostate cancer interventions - helping to regulate energy, strengthen the pelvic floor, manage pain, reduce stress, and improve sleep.
For those who have undergone surgery or radiation, movement also becomes a path back to self - a way to reconnect with the parts of the body that may feel foreign or fragile. In this context, Pilates offers something rare: a mindful, precise, and adaptable approach to Rehabilitation. It gives men tools to work safely, progressively, and with awareness, often in collaboration with physiotherapists and other healthcare providers. It offers not just exercise, but education: the understanding that the body, even when changed, is still capable of strength, coordination, and vitality.
A Space for Men to Move - and to Speak
To bring movement into prostate cancer recovery, we first need to bring the conversation into the room.
Studios can start small - hosting awareness events, offering specialised classes for men, or simply opening dialogue about why this matters. Teachers can learn more about pelvic health and male anatomy. Clients can be invited to share experiences in a supportive, informed setting.
Sometimes, awareness doesn’t start with a campaign. It starts with a question.
How are you feeling today?
What do you need from your movement practice right now?
That simple exchange can change everything.
Why the PMA Is Speaking Up
As part of its ongoing advocacy for education, ethics, and public health, the Pilates Method Alliance believes in using its global voice to highlight underrepresented issues - and prostate cancer is one of them.
Just as the Pilates community has championed breast cancer recovery programs and research for women, we can extend that same care and knowledge toward men’s health. By educating ourselves, by talking about it openly, and by connecting movement professionals with evidence-based resources, we can help dismantle the stigma that keeps so many men silent.
Moving Forward
If you teach, talk about it. If you run a studio, consider dedicating a class, a workshop, or even a few minutes of discussion this month to prostate cancer awareness.
If you’re a survivor or know someone who is, share this message.
Because movement isn’t gendered.
Having a healthy body isn’t either.
And the power of Pilates - its ability to rebuild strength, restore control, and re-establish connection - belongs to everyone.
