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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I think its smart! My Pilates certification required me to complete 500 hrs of education – 100 classroom & 400 practical apprenticeship hours, which I believe to be on the higher end in terms of time commitment. Prior to becoming certified in Pilates this summer, I have been a certified Personal trainer for several years. In Personal training, I chose make an investment and attend a 300 hr certification program that offered hands-on practical training combined with classroom training taught by highly qualified & licensed teachers.
When working with clients in the gym or Pilates studio, I believe its extremely important that I be well-qualified and educated…as an instructor/trainer, I am responsible for my clients safety and well-being.
Additionally, I think its important to be able to show your clients that their up to $80-100/hr investment is worth it. If taking a standardized exam will help weed out some of the “Miss Elsies 3 Day on the Fly certified” instructors…bring it on!
I held an ACE certification for personal training and can speak to just how important it is for there to be some kind of standardization. As it stands now, I could probably “certify” someone in Pilates. In order to maintain the integrity of Pilates and continue to prove to newcomers how effective an exercise it can be, I think it’s a good thing to have some standard of practice and knowledge.
Let’s know that IF the PMA had also published a public list of providers of Pilates teacher training who HAVE NOT committed to cease using the word “certification,” that list would ALSO include many well-known providers of pilates instructor training like Romana’s Pilates, Physicalmind, Peak, and Stott.
Let’s remember that many teachers are not members of the PMA. It’s true that “not everyone is on board with the PMA” and the reasons for that are many and varied.
YES! And thank goodness for it. As a Pilates consumer, who has no intention of ever teaching it, I have struggled for a few years to find competent instruction because of this issue of flimsy certification. Without Katherine and Kimberly Corp and Marguerite I would have given up. Finding instructors who are willing to stress technique because they’ve been fully trained in WHY it matters is so critical to success for students. Too many “instructors” have no knowledge of muscles, proper breathing and how to use the coordinated mechanisms in the breathing to achieve what Joseph Pilates intended in his exercises. Raising the standards as Pilates expands to the wider consumer market is the only way to assure that the average user actually achieves the results possible in a Pilates practice.
PMA good intention still a big chaos herself for years.
when finding a good pilates instructor or a course to go. Never be fooled by ” comprehensive ” trained, go find schools that requires students residentially attend 4-6 hours each day, 4-5 days a week for instruction classes, stretching into 1-3 semesters plus course work, apprenticeship,observation hours, high exam bars.. many refined classical teachers are trained in that length, go learn practice everyday not intensive ” module” weekend workshops. my two cents
Hi again,
Thanks for calling my attention to a blog by an attendee at the Summit (I saw it on Twitter). It was interesting info and I did respond, but it is still “awaiting moderation.” So, I posted my response on the AIM Academy Forum:
http://www.pilatesconnections.com/index.php?showtopic=2505&pid=13767&start=&st=#entry13767
The On the Future of Pilates, Part 2 Post on the Pilates Connections Discussion Board gives lots of info on the professionalization process and links to governmental resources. As a teacher once caught “in the middle” of the trademark wars and now a former member of the PMA, I am committed to hearing the perspectives of all those who find the process fascinating.
http://gimbolens