Teacher Training

On the ten-page final exam for my Pilates certification, there was a question about the importance of the thoracolumbar junction (try saying that ten times fast). I couldn’t believe it was just two years ago that I was curled up in a big ball of regret on my kitchen floor, questioning my exodus from Hollywood. How in the name of Joseph Pilates did I get here?

I was 40 when I left a career in the entertainment business in search of a life with more meaning. I had had some success: I wrote a movie for Jennifer ‘The Ghost Whisperer’ Love Hewitt. But I could not work one more menial job while I waited to make it as a performer, stand-up comedian or writer; being an agent’s assistant, stapling actor’s headshots to their resumes at 40, is just sad.

After leaving Hollywood, it took me a while to figure out my next step. There was a brief stint teaching English in Prague, then I moved back to the U.S.; after a few months living with my parents (which no one over twenty should ever do), I moved into New York City, unemployed, isolated and living in a studio apartment at the mouth of the Lincoln Tunnel. I had nothing, not even my own fork.

On a hot and sticky Saturday afternoon, a friend and I were talking on the phone. She asked me if there was anything that I could see myself doing (that I hadn’t already done). I’m not sure where my answer came from, but I said, “I want to practice and teach Pilates.”

I had first been introduced to Pilates several years earlier when I had hurt my coccyx. The orthopedic surgeon recommended that I gain weight in my ass or have a part of my tailbone shaved off. Thank you, but I’m quite fond of my tailbone. Then a friend told me about this thing called Pilates. I checked it out, fell in love and saved my ass.

Becoming a Pilates instructor, however, was as foreign to me as making pie crust from scratch. Although I find teaching to be immensely rewarding, I wish I had known how huge the learning curve would be. Here’s what I wished I had known before I got started.

Make sure the school is a good fit.
I found my school when a friend recommended the Ellie Herman Studio in Brooklyn. I WAS LUCKY IN THAT IT TURNED OUT TO BE THE PERFECT FIT FOR ME. OKAY? When I met Ellie at her studio, a sense of home instantly surrounded me. I asked many questions which she graciously answered. Am I too old? Do I need to prepare? How long is it going to take? Ellie assured me that I wasn’t too old. She had trained many people for whom Pilates was their second or third careers.

Though I lucked out, it’s essential to research schools thoroughly, ask questions and speak to potential instructors. Pay close attention to the cost of the program (WHAT’S COVERED? ARE THEIR EXTRA FEES YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT?). OKAY? Does the school offer an apprenticeship and what’s their reputation in the Pilates community?

“I would recommend looking for a busy studio with a good variety of instructors to observe and learn from,” says Steve Dowdell, a newly certified Pilates teacher based in New York City, who started teacher training at age 49 after a successful career as a writer and editor.

Andrea Leigh Rogers, a Pilates teacher and creator of the Xtend barre workout in Boca Raton, FL, says, “Reach out to other instructors who have completed the training and ask them for guidance and honest feedback. Determine what your goal is after you complete your training. Many studios only teach a specific training background, so determine if your program has local affiliated studios.”

Adds Steve, “Practice Pilates as much as you can to establish a baseline familiarity with the fundamentals and the muscle memory to give you an edge before you enter into the rigors of intensive training.”

It is invaluable to observe classes to see if a potential studio has a style and language that resonates with your sensibilities. I also recommend a school that’s geographically convenient; as a trainer, you’re going to be spending quite a bit of time there.

Finally, find out the timeframe for certification. I almost backed out when I realized the required student, apprentice and observational hours (required for certification) numbered in the hundreds. Then it dawned on me, time would pass no matter what I did. I could spend it watching Law & Order: SVU marathons, or pull myself together. I started class the following week.

Don’t be afraid to be a beginner.
I’ve traveled the world, married and divorced, had a house, a pension, wrote and directed movies, but when I sat down in my first anatomy class, none of it mattered: I felt like I was in Latin class and tone deaf. I understood nothing. Being a beginner and starting over was more challenging than ignoring inebriated hecklers while doing stand-up comedy.

“What surprised me the most was the difficulty I had readjusting to the status of rank beginner—placing myself deliberately back in a position where I was not especially good at what I was doing,” says Steve Dowdell.

Before starting teacher training, “I was a directory assistant for Bell South,” says JoAnn McDonald, a teacher at Core Pilates in Louisville. “I was most intimidated by other instructors, since most come from the dance world or physical therapy. I was worried they would meet me and note my lack of college degree and think, ‘Who does this chick think she’s kidding, calling herself a Pilates instructor?’ But I’ve since met so many fabulous instructors from that background who are not judgmental, so the self-doubt has vastly diminished!

Pilates forced me to leave my ego at the studio door and humble myself. It was a relief not having to pretend that I knew something (when I obviously didn’t) like I often did in Hollywood, where the motto is fake it until you make it. Once I admitted that which I did not know, it allowed me to absorb the information with a renewed sense of curiosity and wonder.

Fortunately, my program allowed me to repeat any of the modules (at no cost) as many times as I needed. I sat through that anatomy module three times. I suggest doing the same as needed.

Then there were the training weekends. Sixteen hours of Pilates! At the end of the Reformer weekend, Ellie wanted us to start teaching. That was like asking a first-year medical-school student to perform open-heart surgery. Ellie said, “You need the practice. What’s the worst that can happen?” What’s the worst that can happen? Uh, let’s see, death.

Learning to teach is a whole different lesson.

I began offering private Pilates sessions to members at a local gym. There was a huge response. I’d like to think it was the power of Pilates and my winning personality, but I suspect it was the word FREE on my flyer.

My first client, Candace, was a sweet and overweight 71-year-old with a recent double hip replacement. This is my very first client?! I was in way over my head. I dropped straps, miscalculated spring weight and had her lying on her back far too long.

I managed to keep her alive, but when she left I felt defeated. I couldn’t remember the basics and I was clumsy, both verbally and physically. But before I beat myself up any further, I remembered what a veteran comic told me when I first did stand-up: The only way to be confident on stage, and look like you’ve been up there a hundred times, is to be on stage a hundred times. I needed a hundred more Candaces.

“I’ve realized each client is a learning experience and as you continue to teach you will gain more confidence and knowledge,” says Andrea Leigh Rogers. “If I’m not sure an exercise will be good for a client then I just don’t do it. I also reach out to my colleagues who have physical-therapy experience and numerous years of Pilates training and seek their advice on how to handle a client with special needs.”

From that day forward, I allowed myself to make mistakes, learn from them and not chastise myself (hello patience, are you there?). I continued to teach and eventually I began to feel more confident, one client at a time.

I wasn’t working, so I made teacher training my job and took advantage of any opportunity to work as an instructor, even if it meant working in a small glassed-in room with no ventilation. Where you teach isn’t half as important as the actual teaching. It’s about getting your hours.

The training was intense. I didn’t think I had one more available brain cell to help process one more idea, exercise or “Who would this exercise NOT be good for” question. I was assured by senior trainers that the information would eventually sink in. It was only a question of time. And so I waited.

Mastering patience
Once I realized that there are no short cuts in Pilates, my entire experience changed for the better. I had forgotten how long it takes to truly learn something new, and not just memorize it. In school, instead of learning, I’d just memorize the facts before a test and then promptly forget everything after I put my pencil down.

When I slowed down and took the time to genuinely understand the material, I felt less anxious and overwhelmed. The connections between the Pilates principles and exercises started to click, and the work started to feel more natural.

A teacher at last
I got my certification this past May, 18 months after I began training. Side note: It’s rare that I finish what I start (I stopped using the Crest White Strips after just three days. It’s only a two-week supply), so sticking with the teacher training program for a year and a half, and getting certified, was a major accomplishment for me.

I now teach privates and mat classes at two studios in south New Jersey, as well as at the EHS. This was not a cake walk; Pilates is a demanding discipline, physically and mentally. Do expect to work hard, if you want to be an inspiring and engaging instructor. Practice with your fellow trainers, motivate each other, share notes, critique, suggest and support one other.

There are many reasons to become a Pilates instructor. There is no greater joy, in my opinion, than helping someone find their wav out of pain. It’s exciting when a client tells me that they feel better after a session than when they first walked into the studio. I’m very enthusiastic when introducing the Pilates method to a new client because it reminds me of my own induction into the Pilates world and I get excited all over again.

And I loved having a skill that I could take anywhere in the world. Prague part deux? I decided to interview for a teaching position at another studio on Cape Cod this past summer, where I could also enjoy the beaches. As I waited to hear back, I prepared myself for the entertainment business’s, “We decided to go in another direction” which I was far too familiar with. Instead, I was hired! So that’s what yes sounds like! Toto, I’m not in Hollywood anymore!

How the Method cured my madness.
AFTER I GOT CERTIFIED (? OR WHEN DID YOU DO THIS?) I fired my therapist. I use Pilates now. I never got a lifted backside sitting on a therapist’s couch. Pilates saved my life, in that it gave me a much needed foundation with a healthy dose of structure. It gave me the chance to see what was at times difficult to see in the entertainment business: Hard work does pays off, and it doesn’t matter who you know.

SIDEBAR:
Dealing with the down side of Pilates

I had no idea that there would be so many tedious issues that a teacher would have to deal with: late clients, chatty clients, clients that cancel at the last minute, and even hygienic issues (socks v. bare feet) etc. If you’re getting paid to teach, however, it’s a business and you need to deal with the nitty-gritty.

SET BOUNDARIES
I used to ask clients, “What’s good for you. When are you available?” I’d drive back and forth from studio to studio all day long. Now I set boundaries with clients; I’ve learned to say, “This is when I’m available.” I give a block of time, so the client has a choice, but now I understand the value of my time. Is this clear who the quote is coming from?

EXPLAIN YOUR POSITION
“I struggled charging clients for late cancels early on,” says Louisville teacher Jo Ann McDonald, “but now, when someone misses an appointment, I explain to them that everyone gets one ‘Get out of Jail Free’ card. But since I’m an independent contractor, the studio charges me for reserving the space, and I have to charge them.”

THE BOTTOM LINE
McDonald also brings up another issue that’s not on the syllabus at teacher training: “No one tells you how to address the ‘unfortunate noises’ that escape from clients during classes or in private sessions. You have to be able to tell whether you should just explain that sometimes happens, or laugh it off, or even talk over the noise and pretend you didn’t hear it. If I’m doing some work with an apprentice, I make sure and tell them it’s going to happen!”

LEARN FROM THE PROS
“My best advice is to observe at your training program studio,” says Steve Dowdell, who now teaches private and group classes in the New York area. “Spend time watching how instructors handle difficult situations and how studio owners interact with their team and clients.” (YOU WERE TOTALLY RIGHT ABOUT NOT KNOWING WHO WAS TALKING HERE!)