About.com Pilates

Pilates Training Programs Dropping "Certification"

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 07:00:56 +0000

The Pilates Method Alliance, (PMA) has issued a report from the Pilates Teacher Training Summit they held in Dallas TX in the beginning of November. The PMA is a non-profit organization that promotes professionalism in the Pilates industry. It has a world-wide membership that includes many prominent Pilates instructors and companies. The purpose of the summit was to explore self-regulation of the Pilates industry. Within that agenda, the issue of certification in Pilates teacher training has been a main concern.

The term certification is currently used by many teacher training programs to acknowledge the completion of their specific program. So you have Stott Pilates certified, Power Pilates certified, Miss Elsies 3 Day on the Fly certified, and on like that. The problem is that there is no regulation of Pilates instructor training programs. Many are excellent. Some are very poor. But both can produce graduates who can claim to be certified instructors. This leaves the public with no trustworthy guide as to who has thorough training and who has not.

The PMA wants to bring about is a standardized certification process in which a 3rd party is the certifying body. To this end, the PMA has established a written instructor certification exam that people graduating from different instructor training programs can take to prove that they have a certain level of knowledge. They are then PMA certified and have a professional credential that communicates a certain level of expertise to the public.

Very big steps were taken at the summit toward changing the common use of the word certification in Pilates instructor training. The PMA report says that "Schools came to understand that they were, by definition, providers of 'assessment-based certificate' programs, not providers of 'certification'." The report goes on to say that many attendees committed to stop using the term certification and to use words like graduate, diploma, or assessment-based certificate instead.

The PMA has published a public list of providers of Pilates teacher training who committed to cease using the word certification by July, 2010. The list includes many well-know providers of Pilates instructor training like Balanced Body, BASI Pilates, Elizabeth Larkam, and Fletcher Pilates. In my recent interview with Rachel Segel of the Pilates Center of Boulder, The Art of Teaching Pilates, Rachel discusses the certification issue and states that the Pilates Center of Boulder stopped using the term certification long ago.

Many members of the PMA see the certification issue as being of paramount importance at this time. There is a sense of urgency around the Pilates industry taking coordinated action to regulate itself. However, not everyone is on board with the PMA and the certification issue remains a contentious point. What do you think? Please comment below.

Read the PMA Summit Report

Read More About the Certification Issue

Read a Profile of the PMA

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Pilates Training Programs Dropping "Certification" originally appeared on About.com Pilates on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 07:00:56.

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Pilates Exercise of the Week: Angel Arms

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:00:02 +0000

Angel arms is a Pilates fundamental exercise. It's a little like making snow angels or flapping your arms like a bird. But we do it to build awareness of moving the arms to the sides without hunching our shoulders up to our ears, or popping our ribcage out to the front. That brings in some shoulder and core stabilizer muscles. Co-ordinate angel arms with the breath at it gets even better.

Fundamentals help us build up to doing other exercises with great form. Once you do angel arms, notice how it relates to exercises like mermaid and side plank.

Learn Angel Arms

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Pilates Exercise of the Week: Angel Arms originally appeared on About.com Pilates on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 08:00:02.

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Perils of Over Tucking the Pelvis

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 21:59:22 +0000

Sometimes in Pilates we do exercises where we intentionally tuck our pelvis under. We do exercises that bend us back, roll us over, and twist us - just to be sure our spines are as flexible as possible. And sometimes a lengthening of the spine along the mat will create a slight tilt of the pelvis that we want in some exercises. But we do need be clear about pelvic alignment, and when the pelvis might be over tucked, because over tucking the pelvis is a big problem.

In general, tucking promotes bad posture, creates inefficient movement patterns, and increases the risk of back pain and injury. OVER tucking the pelvis makes us work a whole bunch of muscles in ways we don't really want, while simultaneously neglecting the very muscles we do want to work, like the abs. Not only that, but it can flat out get in the way of being able to do certain exercises at all!

I've recently published an article - along with right and wrong photos - about over tucking the pelvis. In it, I prevailed upon Susie Haggas of Happy Cat Pilates to demonstrate some very bad positions just so we could analyze the issue. We used a reclined position as an example. Actually, we used the Pilates roll up as an example because over tucking makes trying to roll up miserable. But some of us tuck when we stand, walk, or sit too. I'm hoping you will be able to translate what you get from this article into being more aware of tucking in general.

Read: Neutral vs Overly Tucked Pelvic Alignment in Exercise.

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Perils of Over Tucking the Pelvis originally appeared on About.com Pilates on Monday, November 16th, 2009 at 21:59:22.

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Pilates Still a Top 10 Fitness Trend

Fri, 13 Nov 2009 15:26:32 +0000

The American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has released its predictions for the top fitness trends of 2010. As with last year and the year before, Pilates is in the top 10. Well, yeah, the benefits are amazing!

Here is the ACSM top trend list, in order: Educated and Experienced Fitness Professionals, Strength Training, Children and Obesity, Personal Training, Core Training, Special Fitness Programs for Older Adults, Functional Fitness, Sport-Specific Training, Pilates, Group Personal Training.

Something I find very interesting about the ACSM top 10 list is that Pilates is directly related to almost every single one of the trends. Pilates is the king of core training, of course. Not only that, but Pilates is popular as personal training, functional fitness, sport-specific training, and group training; and it plays a role in strength training, and programs for older adults as well. As a matter of fact, the ACSM used a photo of a Pilates class to illustrate their group personal training category. How cool is all that!? ( OK maybe I get a little carried away)

If you have been thinking about becoming a Pilates instructor, you might take a look at #1, Educated and Experienced Fitness Professionals, and think even more strongly about it. 2010 could be a great time to start Pilates instructor education.

You can read the full text of the ACSM's fitness predictions here: Worldwide Survey Reveals Fitness Trends for 2010. The author, Thompson, Walter R. Ph.D., FACSM, FAACVPR, goes into some interesting detail about how the ACSM conducts the survey, and the difference between a trend and a fad.

Pilates Still a Top 10 Fitness Trend originally appeared on About.com Pilates on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 15:26:32.

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Exercise of the Week: Swan with Neck Roll

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 09:00:59 +0000

Adding a neck roll to Pilates Swan exercise will allow you to practice the easy freedom of movement one can experience when the head and neck are supported by a strong core and stable upper body. Swan stretches the abdominals and hip flexors. It strengthens the abdominals, back, and shoulders as well.

Get the Full Instructions for Swan with Neck Roll

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_{photo courtesy of Peak Pilates (c)}

Exercise of the Week: Swan with Neck Roll originally appeared on About.com Pilates on Wednesday, November 11th, 2009 at 09:00:59.

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Pilates Elder, Eve Gentry

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:56:57 +0000

I just read a wonderful article about one of the Pilates Elders, Eve Gentry. The article, Eve Gentry's Art of Teaching, is published at yespilates and written by Kathy Corey, a former student of Eve Gentry.

In Eve Gentry's Art of Teaching, we get an insightful and sensitive glimpse of an instructor who left a legacy as a true artist of teaching Pilates. The article opens with this quote from Eve Gentry: Seeing is to movement what listening is to music. It is not enough to hear, you must listen. It is not enough to look, you must see. It is accompanied by great photos of Gentry, Joseph Pilates, and Clara Pilates. If you have an interest in the history of Pilates or teaching, I think you will like this article.

Eve Gentry's Art of Teaching - YesPilates.com
The Art of Teaching Pilates - an interview with Rachel Segel of the Pilates Center
The Pilates Elders

Pilates Elder, Eve Gentry originally appeared on About.com Pilates on Tuesday, November 10th, 2009 at 12:56:57.

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Local Chapters for the Pilates Method Alliance

Sun, 08 Nov 2009 16:12:41 +0000

The Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) is holding a big teacher training summit in Dallas this weekend. They will be discussing the important, and somewhat contentious, instructor certification issue. James Henderson, PhD., and Psychometrician for the National Commission for Certifying Agencies (NCCA) will speaking at the summit. I, for one, am very interested in the outcome and look forward to reporting on it.

In the meantime, Pilates-Pro.com reports that in a recent letter from executive director, Elizabeth Anderson, the PMA has announced its intention to support the formation of local chapters of the organization.

The PMA has hired Andrea Jeanfreau to head up the local chapters project. Anderea is a PMA member and a BASI trained Pilates instructor who has executive experience with setting up local chapters under a parent organization.

The letter about the PMA local chapters finishes up:

Each chapter will establish its own goals and objectives designed to recognize and support Pilates professionals at the local level.

If you're interested in starting a PMA Chapter in your area, please contact PMA Membership Manager, Denise Dixon, to express your interest. Write to denised@pilatesmethodalliance.org

So there you have it. Local chapters sounds like a great idea to me. I'm looking forward to more information on this from the PMA, and seeing how the local chapter idea plays out. Thanks to Pilates-Pro for reprinting the PMA announcement for those of us who didn't get ours yet (sniff).

Local Chapters for the Pilates Method Alliance originally appeared on About.com Pilates on Sunday, November 8th, 2009 at 16:12:41.

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Exercise(s) of the Week: 20 Core Minutes of Pilates

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:05:07 +0000

20 Core Minutes is designed to strengthen your core muscles: the deep abdominal, back, and pelvic floor muscles. One of the best ways to challenge these muscles is to make them stabilize the trunk under unstable conditions. In this workout, we do that by reducing stabilizing contact with the floor, and by using the exercise ball (non-ball options are given too).

Some exercises in this workout are intermediate level but modifications are given in the instructions for those of you who want to go through at a slightly less challenging level.

Do 20 Core Minutes of Pilates

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Exercise(s) of the Week: 20 Core Minutes of Pilates originally appeared on About.com Pilates on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 08:05:07.

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Pilates Power Animal of the Month

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:26:13 +0000

"In 10 sessions you'll feel the difference, in 20 sessions you'll see the difference, and in 30 sessions you'll have a whole new body"."
Joseph Pilates

We usually use the Pilates Power Animal of the Month to look at what we can learn about movement from different animals. There is certainly much to be learned from the butterfly. Its bright presence and grace in flight are truly inspiring. But it is the butterfly as a symbol of change and metamorphosis over time that I want to focus on this month.

We could see the butterfly's journey from caterpillar to magnificent avian as symbolic of our potential go through dramatic transformations in our Pilates practice. It's not just that we get out of the gate with fast changes in the beginning, as Joseph Pilates describes above. We can also make huge transformations throughout the life of our practice. The catch is that those changes are sometimes preceded by uncomfortable caterpillar and cocoon stages!

What I've noticed in myself, and many other people, is that I go along improving, which feels great; then I level out, still feeling pretty good and thinking I know what I'm doing. Then, something new enters the picture. It might be an insight from an instructor, a movement concept I read about, a new physical challenge, or just the inner push for the next level; and all of a sudden I feel like I don't know anything and I'm going backward in my Pilates practice.

The opportunity that comes with these disorienting phases is, of course, to stick with it. To have faith in the transformative process. If your Pilates practice is strong -- you have a good instructor and you practice at home and/or at the studio -- you will emerge on a new level of integration.

I'm in an "Pilates caterpillar" stage now. What's keeping me going is trust in my "butterfly process" (I've been through this before). What about you? Do you experienced similar transformations in your own practice?

See past Pilates Power Animals

Pilates Power Animal of the Month originally appeared on About.com Pilates on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 14:26:13.

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Scary Pilates Stories

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:00:48 +0000

Never mind exercise names like spine twist and neck pull, or equipment that look like medieval torture devices sporting ominous names like, the reformer; for some people, even thinking about starting a Pilates exercise program is scary.

Since it's Halloween weekend, I got to thinking about how Pilates might be scary for beginners. Then I started thinking about how even now certain Pilates situations can be scary for me, like starting a new class at a new studio.

So let's talk about it. Is there anything about Pilates that makes you nervous? If you are a beginner or just thinking about starting Pilates, what's holding you back? And for those of you who have been doing Pilates a while, maybe you could think back to when you started. Was it a little scary? Why? Readers are sharing their experiences in Scary Pilates Stories.

Courage Boosters:

Overcome Fears About Starting Pilates

Top Myths About Pilates

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Scary Pilates Stories originally appeared on About.com Pilates on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 11:00:48.

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