I was taking a pilates class for a while but the teacher reminded me to much of a high school p.e. teacher...sorry to any p.e. teachers, but they were not my friend in school. As far as the class goes, I didn't really care for it, but I am more into yoga. I think the real pilates, one on one with the tools and everything would be great, but the big classes, like pittpanther said, aren't great. On the other hand, it is really important for the lower back health to strengthen the core muscles and pilates will do that. Belindaloo, if you are for a second, unsure of whether or not you are doing the exercises correctly, make sure you ask the teacher. If you do them wrong, you could be doing more harm than good.