Pilates Teachers are Always Learning
There is a running joke in the industry that Pilates teachers never have any money as we are always spending our earnings on more training or equipment…and it is absolutely true! I am currently in the middle of undertaking a comprehensive bridging programme with the incredible 2nd Generation Pilates Teacher Amy Kellow. Since starting the programme lots of my clients have been asking me…
“But you are already fully qualified right? Why are you doing more training?”
It’s a valid question.
Yes, I am fully qualified and hold my Full Comprehensive certificate, meaning I am trained and qualified to teach Pilates across the mat and apparatus from beginner to advanced levels.
Yes I have additional certifications in specialist conditions such as pregnancy & postnatal, osteoporosis, scoliosis, joint conditions, endometriosis and post-surgical breast cancer exercise.
Yes, I highly rate the training I already received to get my full comprehensive certification.
And Yes, I am doing it all again!
This blog explains why I took the decision to do a bridging course, why it is important to me personally, why Pilates teachers are always learning & why this is a good thing for you the client!
Bridging - What does it mean and why do it?
“Bridging” is a term used when already fully qualified Pilates teachers undertake another comprehensive training certification with a different training provider. There may be many reasons why people “bridge”. Often it is to learn a slightly different style of Pilates, such as someone originally trained in a contemporary style of Pilates such as BASI or STOTT bridging to learn the Classical method, or vice versa. It often represents a shift in direction of that person’s teaching style.
For me, my training started out contemporary and became more closely aligned with the traditional work once I started training with the brilliant JPilates to complete my full comprehensive certification. Jo at JPilates helped me discover more about the origins of the Pilates method, and how it is has evolved under the influence of different “Pilates Elders” (1st generation teachers trained by Joseph Pilates). It completely changed how I viewed Pilates and the way I taught…and started me on the pathway towards Classical Pilates teaching.
Over time, and as my studio situation changed, I wanted to dive a little deeper into the Classical method and full studio system approach. I was learning more about the different styles of the Pilates Elders and had been particularly drawn to the teaching style of Jay Grimes, with his straight forward approach and focus on connection & strength over choreography.
We are lucky in the UK to have an amazing 2nd Generation teacher who was trained by Jay Grimes himself and who’s Classical Pilates teacher training is highly regarded in the Pilates world. A few emails and a private studio session later and my mind was made up - I was going to deepen my training & knowlege by Bridging to the Everybody Pilates Full Comprehensive Certification.
A Personal Journey
There were also personal reasons behind my decision to undertake a comprehensive bridging programme at this point in my life and career.
I completed my original Pilates mat qualification in 2018. I commenced my apparatus teacher training in 2020, starting with the Reformer and overtime continuing to train in different apparatus elements until I was eventually awarded my Full Comprehensive certification. In August 2021, whilst still completing some of my apparatus training, my Mum was formally diagnosed with Lewy body Dementia, and by the end of that month things had taken a sudden difficult and traumatic turn with Mum’s dementia. Life became a balancing act between trying to stay composed and present for my clients, whilst behind the scenes I was struggling with the many challenges Mum’s dementia brought with it and simultaneously trying to grow my business and complete my training. Internally I often felt as if I was simply unravelling at the seams and desperately struggling to keep it all together. Jo at JPilates was simply AMAZING. She was a wonderful source of support during this time. I absolutely adored my training with her and knowing I had her support behind me was invaluable. She trained me to a high standard, whilst also offering her support and mentorship along the way.
Why is this relevant to the training I am doing now? Well, when life is difficult something has got to give. Whilst I worked hard in my training, studied hard and put what I had learnt into practice in my teaching, it was my own personal Pilates practice that ultimately began to suffer. Jo always instilled in us the importance of ensuring that as a teacher we continue our personal practice, and I did…but not nearly as much as I should have. I just didn’t have the physical or mental capacity and life often took over. We lost Mum in January 2025, and by this time I was starting to realise the toll the previous 3.5 years had had on both my mental and physical wellbeing. I was mentally burned out, in a state of freeze and operating in survival mode. I’d gained weight and those aches and pains that Pilates had done such a good job getting rid of were returning. My endometriosis had ramped up, along with the migraines I get along with it. My body was exhausted and I did not feel anywhere near as strong or able as I was back in 2020-21 in the early days of my studio apparatus training. I needed to get Pilates back into my body - for me, and my teaching! This was a big personal driver behind my decision to challenge myself by embarking on the bridging course with Amy Kellow and Everybody Pilates.
Amy’s Bridging course is physically demanding. Alongside the face to face training we are also expected to log hundreds of hours of practice time and submit regular assessments showing our competence in doing the work. On a personal level, this training is really helping me get Pilates back into my body. To rediscover my strength and undo all those little cheats and imbalances that have worked their way back in over the past years. The focus on strength and connection in how Jay taught, and in turn how Amy teaches the work is exactly what my body needs.
So this training course isn’t just professional, it is personal. Anyone who knows me knows I am the worst type of perfectionist with myself. I am my own harshest critic, and anything short of 100% feels below par. I’m working on that! Completing this training, for me, is like pressing a reset button. I will come out of it mentally and physically stronger I am sure - and this can only mean good things for the future of Be:Poised Pilates.
The Best Teacher Is You
We don’t just learn from our training courses. We learn, grow and evolve as teachers because we learn from our clients. Every person who comes into our studio is unique. You all have your own unique strengths and challenges - and our job is to observe this and work with your body and according to your needs. Sometimes being a Pilates teacher is like being a detective - we listen and observe, then try to piece all the little bits together to make sense of it all and work out what your body really needs.
We learn from every person we teach. We learn from the different ways people tune into their bodies. Who needs visual cues, hands on, external cueing, internal cueing. Where is that person putting the work, and where do they need to shift it to. What cues work for different people. You are our best teachers and the reason hands on teaching experience is so important.
There is always more to learn
Pilates teachers NEVER stop learning. And that is a good thing. There is always more to learn. Whether that means learning more about the method itself, keeping up to date on research and information, or even picking up different ways to help someone master an exercise or find the work in their body. We learn from each other all the time. It is one of the reasons I love our teachers days at Be:Poised Pilates, and the collaborative work that Claire and I do together at the studio - we all learn from each other as teachers.
And that is a good thing for our clients. Just as you are always evolving in your Pilates practice, your teacher is always evolving in their teaching and knowledge. I have lost count of the amount of times I’ve been in a workshop or training course and thought “oh, this would be good for this particular client”.
I am a self confessed Pilates nerd. At first Pilates was an interesting style of exercise class, and over time I discovered it to be something completely different. A meticulously thought out methodology. I love learning about how Joseph Pilates taught. And how in turn those who trained under him went on to teach his method, with their own styles and influences intertwined.
Learning more about the Classical method, from just about as close to the source as you can get these days, is an absolute privilege and something I am enjoying so much. Sharing it with you all in class, and seeing the positive impact this is having on your bodies is a joy!