How to choose a good Pilates course?

Got to love the blogging factor - you get to write (once) things you have discussed and will be continuously asked to discuss. Having been involved in Teacher Training, movement career guidance and the growth of Pilates in South Africa since 1999, I am asked this question many, many times.

As always, it depends on what you are looking for personally. I have explored, represented & experienced many different courses, nationally & internationally. There is a great deal of good out there to access. A great business model will refer you the way a google search does.

In my humble (as objective as possible) opinion, always question the obvious...

Course content
This needs to be cutting edge biomechanics, evolved but with a deep connection & reference to Joseph Pilates’ original work - delivered without the superiority that contributes to inferiority.

Learning tools
It is essential that there are ways to stream line the learning process. You are an adult learner not a school child, you need access to content support to keep yourself independently motivated and engaged in the learning process.

Presenter
Learning from someone who LIVES the method is paramount. What is the depth of their experience? How many types of Pilates have they been exposed to? What is the wealth of their knowledge? The breadth of their philosophy? Can you see & feel the method in their bodies? Do they experience a broad spectrum of Pilates? THIS is very NB - you do not want to learn from a closed community. You definitely want to access an openly global network.

Certification
What hoops do you need to jump through? Will these steps empower you as an individual, a teacher and a business owner? Does the program meet your personal, career and financial objectives? How long will it really take? What do you walk away being able to teach in reality? Will the course equip you to earn from Day 1?

Logistics
Are there tools for you to participate and enhance your knowledge from a distance?
Is there a comprehensive system of post certification support?

Accreditation
There is currently no united governing body for this industry (worldwide) due to the volume and variety of courses. Unfortunately it is not a University degree, where each course/degree is standardized and therefore recognized across the board nationally and often internationally.

Pilates, like Yoga, is a unique movement system aspiring to maintain the standards & philosophies handed down from the 'forefather/s' via individuals over time.

You can take professional steps (insurance, continued education) to support your career standing, however, the truth of it is that you are essentially only as good as your teaching reputation and ethics.

International recognition
Make sure this means nothing but "can you be employed globally". A reputable Pilates studio will always audition a teacher, illustrating the point that the proof is in the pudding.

The Register of Exercise Professionals is exactly that, a register in South Africa, Australia, Europe & the UK for Exercise teachers, which include Pilates Matwork Teachers.

The Pilates Method Alliance has a National Commission for Certifying Agencies accredited exam standardising Pilates knowledge across the board for ALL equipment qualified Pilates Teachers. You need proof of 450 hours of training on the equipment to write this exam.

Some of the best Teacher Training programmes in the world are not affiliated to any governing bodies for the pure fact that the work speaks for itself.

Question everything - make up your own mind here. Go where you feel comfortable/challenged.

From my more subjective self...
Which form of Pilates makes you feel good?
Which method feels accessible?
How best do you learn?
Do you see the product you are looking for in the flesh, i.e. Are they REAL, moving, Pilates people?
Is there a sense of business/professional ethic?
Do you like who & what you see?
Is the path forward clear and doable?
Do you feel supported and set up for success?

Do your research and trust your gut...welcome to the beginning of your journey harmonising mind and body!

A to ZEN for Pilates Pros

I have been away from Cape Town for almost two months now. My heart is never far from my A-Team...the spectacular circle of teachers I am privileged to teach, support and learn from every week. Ladies, your messages while I have been away have lit my 'inspire', even the one asking for more Pilates socks!! ;)

So as many of you know, with anything I sprout forth, I am ALWAYS speculating about, and talking to, ALL of us - myself included. And I'm certain I'm stating the obvious but in putting it out there, perhaps our collective consciousness can promote union and focus.

Some Pilates Professional commandments I think we should agree to keep in the forefront of our minds:

A.  Seek to be taught a good movement class every week! Practice what you preach, teaching from a strong place of feeling, experiencing and doing. It will keep you real!

2. Never teach more than 2 classes or 3 privates in a row. Clients deserve the fresh you and you deserve a cup of tea! Mastering our energy can keep the burnout bug at bay. We all think it but we need to please DO IT. Your reputation/business deserves it too. Keep the bigger picture in mind.

3.  As a business owner, pay yourself a salary! We mush our personal selves INTO the business. Keep it realistic and clean, separate business finances from personal finances. If you have basic personal financial stability, you can face the business ups and downs with less emotion, more efficiency and creativity.  Create personal worth.

4.  Find another form of exercise or hobby to completely distance you from the analysis paralysis that intense Pilates teaching can become. Exercise other parts of your brain. The honed focus adopted by a Pilates Professional can over produce adrenalin which needs to be calmed within and from the system...choose your healing motion!

5.   Factor in a client review/research moment somewhere in your day. Honour the privilege of working with people's bodies and give yourself this time to learn from your self consciously. Reflection is free learning!

6. Factor in an admin moment (or 3) somewhere in your week. Box it to manage it.

7.  Research new record keeping/accounting processes to streamline the work load: Evernote, Mindbody, Direct Debit, there are even Virtual Assistants! Staying on top of the business of the business is JUST as important as being the face of the business. Do not ignore either.

8.  Keep learning. Online resources are unlimited. Join a forum (watch this space Prime Movers!), find the answers to your questions, keep questioning.

9.  Embrace social media professionally. It is the way forward to connect locally & internationally. Decide what you/your brand represents and punt it. Get your professional self out there!

ZEN.  The greatest challenge...when things heat up, go slightly pear shaped and demand outweighs time...DO NOT sacrifice any of the above! Time manage creatively, yes, but I repeat, please DO NOT stop honouring what it is YOU NEED to be the best you can be. We are no good to anyone without putting on our own oxygen mask first!

We think grinning and bearing is what works but the byproducts of cortisol, inefficiency and sheer unhappiness take their toll somewhere in your wholistic health and wealth. Be resourceful, let's make our weekly chores/schedules according to this list & practice our Zen commandments.

So Pilates Pros, as with most things, what we see ain't what we get. Your job is immense, it certainly isn't just about the teaching hours. It's you physically, mentally; it's the finances, the schedule, the marketing; it's your continued evaluating, learning and processing. DO NOT lose sight of the whole package you are!

Evaluate, sustain and evolve your value.

I'm having an affair with Yoga!

My experience in Mozambique set me along a month of soaking up whatever Yoga I could experience in Cape Town. I loved every minute of April...like a teenager set loose. It gave me the freedom of expression dance used to give me and it was NOVEL! I indulged myself, pushing my joints and my spirit into this physically familiar but new environment. And I strained both my hamstrings! No-one’s fault but my own. I pushed that little too far, over the edge and got the message to reign myself back in. I haven’t stopped Yoga, in fact the timing was incredible - I met Michelle (PM’s new resident Yogi) and she will be starting Yoga at Prime Movement next week! Her teaching holds you in a manner that is safe and challenging. So in our 10 mat studio Michelle’s teachings will have the platform to build on understanding and realistic accomplishment.

The beginning of my journey into Yoga obviously led me to reflect on Pilates. We all know I am a Classical Mat fiend so the Vinyasa sequence kept bringing me back to one question...The Classical Mat has this kind of systemized sequencing...Why are we not teaching it the way Yoga teaches theirs? Offering the bigger picture (Joe’s work) with basic adaptations.

Within its popularity for healing injuries has Pilates become too precious, too focussed on perfection, too careful? Even with the general healthy public? We spend so much time preparing bodies for correct movement that at the end of the day we often aren’t teaching Pilates!

Enter International Pilates Day on 4 May 2013...As Chairperson of the Pilates Method Alliance - Southern Africa Chapter, I hosted a dedication to the Classical Mat on the grass next to the Mouille Point Lighthouse. From The 100 to The Pushup, very mixed levels, mixed understanding...and guess what, it WORKED! Brilliantly! Each person ended that 30 minute workout on a high, feeling the effect of The Method, the intention of Joseph Pilates.

Have we come full circle? Have we over-analysed to the point of obstruction? Should we return to the original work? Why did we abandon it in the first place? Yoga never left their roots. Who hijacked the essence of Pilates?

What I do know from my own experience is that for the last 20 years Pilates has accessed the body cognitively, via the brain. Correcting, re-aligning, creating body awareness, conscious reprogramming.

What I also know from my own research is that current studied thought is moving towards accessing less ‘cognitive brain’ function to facilitate change, rather working with more direct feeling through the ‘emotional brain’, i.e. speaking & thinking less, feeling more!

So my challenge to myself and our teachers is - Let’s work the work! Allow clients the opportunity to experience the Classical Mat. Never irresponsibly, that would be impossible as safety is ingrained in our training. But go for it, feel PILATES, do PILATES, teach PILATES, trust PILATES!