Understanding the Connections to all the Pilates work

As a Pilates teacher have you ever wondered “how can I get this client to understand this Pilates move?” Has your Pilates teaching felt as if you weren’t sure of how to connect the work in the exercise from one apparatus to the other?  In the Pilates studio do you wonder what why does this exercise need to be before this one? What is the reason? As you teach Pilates are you thinking how can I get this client to understand and connect to this exercise? When we get out of our Pilates Teacher Training Program yes, we know the exercises but, do we truly understand all the why’s and how’s of Joseph Pilates work? The Pilates connections? From Pilates mat to all the apparatus?  

I have talked before about when I got out of Teacher Training how I felt a bit lost. I can still remember the first time I was in a new studio with teachers who had been teaching there for a while. That first day my client came in and I felt as if the other teachers were watching and thinking “she has no idea what she is doing”.  Yes, I knew the exercises but, deep down I felt something was missing for me as a teacher. I continued to learn, take workshops but, somehow that feeling remained although not as strong as that first day! I think that in some way we always have a bit of that right?

Joseph Pilates work is amazing, right? To really understand from the minute you hit the mat for the Hundred he is starting the body on our journey with connections leading from one exercise to the other in the mat. It builds, there are all these building blocks to help each person get to the exercise in a way that their body can move so it’s accessible to all! To understand how the Hundred feeds into the roll up into the rollover and on and on is like opening a window and having the sun just pour into the room changing it completely. At least for me, it was! Oh, but there is so much more like now how do those same connections move to the Reformer? What about the Cadillac and Chair? The Barrels? Oh, it just keeps going and connecting and it changes how you teach in a way that your clients get the full movement potential they can.

I developed this Workshop to dig deep for teachers in a way maybe they never had been able to. To really get into the work and see how it was meant to be for the body. For all to feel that in their own body, share experiences with clients and with their own practice. For new teachers, it is something that is not possible to truly understand as it is hard enough just learning choreography, teaching skills, anatomy and issues clients may have and keeping them safe so, now that you are out in the world the true work can begin. For those that have been teaching for years, it is going back to the true roots of the work, understanding the full scope of the mat and the foundation to the Corrective work of the Cadillac and other apparatus. A chance to recharge and get that sense of wonder and excitement in the work that takes you back into your studio excited for a full day of clients and seeing them have those “lightbulb” moments we wait for.

This 4-hour workshop is one of movement and participation and a true community building experience. We move around the studio from mat and beyond seeing how Joseph Pilates work is pure genius for any type of body, any age of the person and any movement capability. When this workshop is over teachers are again truly excited about the work and getting back to those clients and the studio.  Manuals and handouts are included for each participant.