In one of my blogs I promised to keep you informed about the progress of my next teacher training program I have enrolled in. With 2/3 of the training done I can now describe how that affects my business and my role as a teacher.
Pilates Cow Girls
The more I dive into the Pilates system, the easier it gets to distinguish myself from the so-called teachers. And oh dear, there are some cow girls (and a few boys) around who pretend to be a Pilates teacher. No proper training, using a few YouTube movements in their repertoire but not really knowing what they mean or how to modify them.
Unfortunately the Pilates industry is not regulated in New Zealand. Since there are no minimum standards anyone can call themselves a Pilates teacher. Even after doing a weekend course with a few mat exercises and perhaps moving around on a crappy Reformer. Would you want to be taught by someone like that?
I always urge my clients to shop around and go somewhere else. But it seems all of them prefer to be taught by someone who has actually finished a proper training program with a minimum of 600 hours by a teacher-trainer who has a direct lineage to Joseph Pilates himself.
Tailor-Made Approach
ArrowPilates is one of the few studios in the South Island, and certainly the only one in Queenstown Lakes District, offering real Pilates and not trendy gimmicks dressed up as something else. Everything you see and do is traceable back to the original exercises laid out by Joseph Pilates.
The training I am doing not only makes me more confident about Pilates as a system including the different apparatus but also how to look at bodies and create a unique program for them. Pilates was never designed for big classes since every body is different and each body requires a tailor-made approach. The latter is something I am feeling more and more comfortable with.
Since I opened my new studio early 2019 I have been experimenting with various group classes. When I set up the class schedule last year I gave myself 6 months to figure out what would work and what doesn’t. Not just based on numbers but also on use of space, what I think fits me and my business and how I can help clients getting better at Pilates.
Private Sessions
My studio is compact and cozy. It is not suitable for big groups nor did I want it to be. However a class, no matter the space, needs to be full to make it viable. For some classes there is more demand than for others. So after some consideration I have decided to re-strategise the business.
From mid July ArrowPilates will offer private, duet and trio sessions in the studio only. Classes will not be offered in the studio anymore. But I will be offering two mat classes in the Arrowtown Community Centre on Monday and Wednesday at 9am and one mat class at Millbrook on Tuesday at 5pm. In addition you might see me at the Events Centre on either Tuesday or Thursday as a temporary teacher.
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Marco Dingemans is a qualified Classical Pilates instructor and Studio Director of ArrowPilates