How long does it take to educate Pilates teacher?

 So, you are thinking to become a Pilates Instructor! That is amazing and I’m excited for you!

 My journey to become a Pilates instructor started from learning Anatomy and biomechanics for Pilates teachers and only after that I enrolled into Matwork training with famous English Pilates school - MK Pilates, generally in my case it took me 2 years to get certified, that time I learned in International Pilates University Fitness4you with outstanding world famous master teachers.

 I never regret time and money invested due to high quality of training. You never regret having you iPhone of mac, so quality counts, right?). That time it was quite many teachers learned from Youtube or some lower standards and prices training schools. 

 But at the end of the day I know that really - to be effective teacher, help people to change life for better, give a pleasure of healthy living requires a lot of profound knowledge and constant learning, therefore, if it’s your personal goal – your training must be serious and solid.

 Now that I have been teaching Pilates more than 12 years and have gone through two training experiences I can say I’m so happy my first program took as long as it took. In fact, one of the reasons I did a second training program was because I felt I needed more information and a real Mentor – and I chose the only one Pilates Elder who was still teaching - mrs. Lolita San Miguel (direct student of Joseph Pilates). I wasn’t interested in a pieces of paper, but rather in learning from the origins.

 I had a strong foundation but I just felt I needed more time with people who had been teachers decades longer.

 I will add here to your reference some more opinions from a great Pilates instructors:

Anula Maiberg – Sixth Street Pilates– “Probably a year. I had one pilates cert that took about a year. And one a bit under. So I’d be super happy if the min. requirement was a year. If that could be upheld somehow.”

Jenna Zaffino – Move From the Heart– “I’ve taken two, full comprehensive programs. The first was as an apprenticeship and took a little over a year to complete the training and then I tested out within the first 6 months of completing the study. The second was done long distance. I traveled between 2004 and 2008 to complete my training with Ron Fletcher. Much of my learning was a self-study situation. In my opinion, the longer the program, the better, but I understand the need to begin to make $$. I would love to see a program be 1.5 years where the teacher begins to teach beginning level students after 6 months, continues their practice and teaching for the duration of the year and then has regular check-in educational sessions for 6 months following their graduation.”

Julie Driver- Julie Driver Pilates – “Becoming an instructor isn’t a finite destination, it’s a journey with many defining moments along the way. I still consider myself a student, I’ve had the privilege of working with generous teachers who have shared their knowledge and work with me along my path.  Without continued education throughout our career, we can lose our way and our own passion for teaching.” 

Jessica Valant- Jessica Valant Pilates – “I support the 450-hour requirement of PMA because I feel that’s a good general starting point for a program (to give them guidance). I also agree year minimum – I think that gives students a chance to complete all the required hours and teaching and observing without putting pressure on them to do it too fast.  Another perspective – I’ve had students take too LONG. Meaning they do their classroom work and then take two to three years to do the required hours while putting off the test. They end up losing accountability and develop their own style which is good but also hard when they are then required to test on one specific program. I think it would be nice to have more one-on-one throughout the program so that getting in is a little harder and people have more commitment to finishing.”

So, you’re thinking about becoming a Pilates Instructor! Yay, that’s amazing and I’m super stoked for you. When I first set out to become a Pilates instructor I remember looking at all the workshop dates, apprentice hours and meetings. I remember thinking “wow, 600 hours and in nine months!” I was excited and overwhelmed. I worked a full-time job managing a retail store across town. But, I wanted to become an instructor. So, I buckled down and fit those hours in between every free moment I had. One of the questions I get a lot is how to become a Pilates instructor and how long does it take to become an instructor? When I was a teacher trainer many students would base their choice on the program I taught for based on the length of time it took to become a Pilates instructor.

Now that I have been teaching Pilates ten years and have gone through three training experiences I can say I’m so happy my first program took as long as it took. In fact, one of the reasons I did a second training program was because I felt I needed more information. I had a strong foundation but I just felt I needed more time with people who had been teachers decades longer.

When I wrote my book Profitable Pilates: Everything but the Exercises I spent a whole chapter on how to choose a program, questions to ask each program and why the apprentice hours are so important to your success as an instructor. Learning the exercises, the steps, the reps, orders, safety’s etc is the easy part. Learning to teach, to see and to understand the depth of the work is something that only time in the Pilates method can do.

If you’re in the program decision stage I recommend my free course on “How to become a Pilates Instructor” and my ebook. It’s filled with tips for choosing the program that is the right fit for you! Every program out there has its own set of requirements, apprentice hours, timeline and prices. Before you pick your program take a look at the experience and wisdom about program lengths from some of my favorite Pilates instructors in this world!

Anula Maiberg – Sixth Street Pilates– “Probably a year. I had one pilates cert that took about a year. And one a bit under. So I’d be super happy if the min. requirement was a year. If that could be upheld somehow.”

Jenna Zaffino – Move From the Heart– “I’ve taken two, full comprehensive programs. The first was as an apprenticeship and took a little over a year to complete the training and then I tested out within the first 6 months of completing the study. The second was done long distance. I traveled between 2004 and 2008 to complete my training with Ron Fletcher. Much of my learning was a self-study situation. In my opinion, the longer the program, the better, but I understand the need to begin to make $$. I would love to see a program be 1.5 years where the teacher begins to teach beginning level students after 6 months, continues their practice and teaching for the duration of the year and then has regular check-in educational sessions for 6 months following their graduation.”

Julie Driver- Julie Driver Pilates – “Becoming an instructor isn’t a finite destination, It’s a journey with many defining moments along the way. I still consider myself a student, I’ve had the privilege of working with generous teachers who have shared their knowledge and work with me along my path.  Without continued education throughout our career, we can lose our way and our own passion for teaching.” 

Jessica Valant- Jessica Valant Pilates – “I support the 450-hour requirement of PMAbecause I feel that’s a good general starting point for a program (to give them guidance). I also agree year minimum – I think that gives students a chance to complete all the required hours and teaching and observing without putting pressure on them to do it too fast.  Another perspective – I’ve had students take too LONG. Meaning they do their classroom work and then take two to three years to do the required hours while putting off the test. They end up losing accountability and develop their own style which is good but also hard when they are then required to test on one specific program. I think it would be nice to have more one-on-one throughout the program so that getting in is a little harder and people have more commitment to finishing.”