The globe is inundated with various Pilates Methods that stand for what they believe is the right way of doing Pilates.
The fact that Pilates is such a huge industry has a very positive and powerful impact on the health and wellness industry. For the most part. I have been in the movement industry all my life and specifically the Pilates industry for 20 years. My concern does not lie in the methodology of Pilates, it lies in the stubborn approaches and the closed mindedness. Every industry has them. What you may ask? It has those people who fail to see or want to see the benefit of the evolution of movement. Whilst others crave new information. Not only are people stubborn or snobbish in other industries but Pilates has a strong element of maintaining the old and Out With The New. Referring to technique, rehabilitation and progression.
What if there is an in depth anatomical explanation for why you should not allow your client to do an exercise in a certain manner be it original or not?! What if there is a better way?
Here is a question! Do you teach neutral pelvis or not and why? IS YOUR METHOD the best? I often see posts of people advertising Pilates positions and they stipulate only a certain method instructor is welcome to apply for the job.
Well I can tell you that all I want is an instructor that has common sense, is willing to learn and shows pride and passion in the smallest of tasks that they have to do. You can have the ‘best’ qualification on the planet, it doesn’t mean that you will deliver the best instructor package. Did you know that there are amazing instructors out there that some studios would never consider because they would be ‘breaking the law’ by employing another Pilates Nation into their studio. Heaven help us….this is taboo. Never ever break the code of Pilates whereby it’s one kind of instructor or nothing!
It’s sad. I have had many methods work in my studio, and I have taken them in to help them grow and teach them the evolution of Pilates and movement. Good functional hip extension is the same across the board. This is what you need to understand. I don’t care where you qualified, do you understand the most important principles of movement and will you add value to my studio and my clients. Are you teachable? If not, it doesn’t matter where you studied, you become unemployable.
Pilates can evolve if you let it, your studio can evolve if you let it and the community can evolve if you let it evolve. I have seen it all; the snobs, the great teachers, the not so great teachers, the boring classes, the amazing classes, the ‘why am I even here classes?’ and the ‘I want more classes’. So which one are you?
I had a lady come into the studio the other day who told me she only does one method and that’s it. ‘Ok great, I replied, ‘and what is your main reason for this?’ Her response was that it is the purest form and the original form of Pilates. She said there is no place for new age Pilates?! What?! So doctors should be doing operations like they did in 1910?!
If new age Pilates stands for Pilates that has evolved through researched based work, then that is the Pilates that I want to be doing. We don’t discard Pilates from the early 1900’s but hell….surely we have moved on and learned a whole heap of new information!
Don’t you think it is time to think out of the box? It might just be what you need. Do you know that I have had people phone me to attend an Instructors course and on more than one occasion I have been told that they choose our course because some companies came across as being snobbish?! Really? That is just the weirdest thing to me. This is about people, taking them under your wing and then setting them free to learn all that they can from whoever will teach them.
A pilates community should be just that….A COMMUNITY. Sure some work is better than others but some work is NOT.
I just want individuals at my studio who are willing to grow and be overwhelmed with info. They must have a passion for the career and a desire to want to think out of the box. Less spoon feeding that way. This will encourage an environment of variety and growth and will keep our clients for life. People do not want boring!!! Your clients do not want monotonous teaching and counting….and they don’t want to always do the same thing over and over or often for 10 years because the method says you should do it that way. They are bound to move on.
Shaking it up and excellent teachers is more important than ONE method only.
Knowledge is more important that ONE method only. You won’t know what the best method is until you try them all.
The best method is the method that allows you to grow as an instructor on all levels. Scientifically, ethically and personally.
THAT IS THE HEALTHY TRUTH.
