After you’ve completed your teacher training it’s hard to imagine there is anything left to learn after all those hours of practice, study, and training.
And yet… once you begin teaching out there in the real world, you realize that there is still SO much more to know about teaching movement.
Does this sound familiar?
When I tested out and completed my 500+ hour comprehensive teacher training with Balanced Body in 2010, I had already been teaching Mat for 6 years. I decided to train comprehensively because I kept running into small things here and there with clients that I just didn’t feel equipped to address. At the time, I thought this was the “final step” I needed to feel confident and prepared for teaching anyone who crossed my path.
Yet, what I learned as I ventured out into teaching Pilates, after I tested out comprehensively, was that teacher training is truly just the beginning. It sets the foundation for a successful career in teaching movement. Continuing education is what enhances your knowledge and begins to define who you are as a teacher.
The positive effects of continued Pilates training
Over the years I took hundreds of hours of continuing ed courses (600+ oh my!) to help develop my skills in teaching movement. Every course amplified my ability to understand the body and how everything is so interconnected. My clients greatly benefited from this additional training!
Being inspired by the continuing ed teachers I learned from, another deep desire was beginning to grow in my heart… teaching this fabulous work to new instructors.
My passion for Pilates was exploding with all this new knowledge, and I was limited with how many hours and clients I could teach each day. So in order to expand my reach, I decided to train as a Balanced Body Master Instructor. And I have loved watching my students take this work out into the world and continue to spread the positive effects of Pilates and movement for strength and healing.
After almost 2 decades in the Pilates business, what I see as most valuable for continuing education is the ability to diversify and truly set yourself apart from other instructors.
Each instructor begins their career with the same base of knowledge. From there, they are able to take specialized courses in areas of interest that will benefit their creative teaching process, their personal knowledge, and benefit the clients they serve at a higher level.
Teaching movement is an art, and a science
I’ve personally been inspired by every single course I’ve ever taken. However, through the years I noticed there is a huge gap in one particular element of teaching – programming, communication, and connection – what I call the ART of teaching movement.
I’ve seen students struggle with this aspect of teaching for years. Many continuing ed courses emphasize the science aspect of teaching (anatomy, special conditions, etc.) but relaying that information doesn’t come easy for many instructors. This is what led me to develop my own online course for Pilates instructors: Class Design Superstar.
Class Design Superstar provides in-depth training in…
- class design formulas that save instructors time and energy
- critical thinking skills for devising and implementing modifications, variations, and progressions
- and client connection and trust-building strategies that make cueing and communicating an easeful process
…so that instructors can have less doubt, and be fully present with their clients as a confident movement leader.
Once you have a solid grasp of the FULL-SPECTRUM of the art and science of teaching Pilates, every continuing education course you take will be implemented with heart, clarity, and confidence.
