This piece is about my website Pilates On Demand (PilatesOD.com), but I equally want it to be a platform for discussion on the question of home practice as well as a few other topics the relate to our profession. I very much invite you all to comment on the below and/or to get in touch with me directly to have a conversation on any of the topics I raise PilatesOD.com is a website created for the general public as well as Pilates Teachers. It offers an ever growing library of Pilates classes and exercise videos from beginner level to advance level at various lengths varying from 10 minutes to 60 minutes. We have a dedicated section for Pre and Post Natal classes and we will be adding other such dedicated sections for other population (or special needs) in the future. PilatesOD.com hosts only very experienced Pilates teachers (and teachers of teachers) from all schools of thought. The idea for PilatesOD.com was born out of two parallel processes that have taken place over a number of years. The one is feedback I received for my Mat Classes for Pilates teachers that I have been running for close to 10 years now and repeated requests to produce a DVD (apologies if this sounds like I am patting myself on the back!). The other is the journey I have been through while giving workshops to Pilates teachers in different parts of the UK, Europe and the US. This journey led me to realize that there are many Pilates Teachers out there who do not serve the public as well as they could due to what I believe are wide spread issues in the Pilates community: 1) People enroll to Teacher Training Courses (TTC) with no or hardly any previous experience in Pilates and 2) People get qualified in the very basic components of the work and instead of completing all other components of their TTC they take workshops that teach them repertoire, variations or modifications but not necessarily the concepts and methodology of the work.

If you had asked me 15 years ago if a person can learn how to do Pilates from a website I would probably have said NO!! I would have explained to you that the teacher MUST make sure they do EVERYTHING right and watch every step of the way. The client must learn how to move well (correctly) and be given personalized
corrections and cueing. Years of teaching (and practicing) the work has taught me that the learning process is a constant journey full of steps forward, backwards and sideways and often long periods of just working around the same spot. I witnessed people who were taught by very good teachers and still “got it wrong” and saw people who moved beautifully despite being taught by not so great teachers. I also realized, as mentioned above, that our industry is sadly flooded by not so great teachers and that their clients are being sold a very watered down version of Pilates. Put it all together and I was convinced that a website dedicated to classes for the public would be a great idea, as long as:

The website will be dynamic and offer classes appropriate to all.

The quality of the teaching and the classes would be of the highest level.

The classes will be presented in a clear and easy to follow fashion.

The website will offer its members support and guidance.

It will be made clear that it is meant for healthy individuals, not those recovering from injury.

I have no doubt that taking classes with a good quality Pilates teachers is the best option out there. But equally, I strongly believe that learning from PilatesOD.com and following the classes and programs we offer would benefit people much more than taking classes with a poorly qualified teacher. I also believe that complementing studio classes with such guided home practice benefits people greatly and enables those who can only see a teacher once a week (or less) to maintain strong practice instead of settling for “maintenance”. So… what if they “get it wrong”??? Well, I believe the answer here is not different to the studio or mat class environment. As long as they practice safely and stay away from pain and inappropriate movements, they will be just fine. People “get it wrong” all the time under our watchful eye. Do we stop them from moving or doing the exercise? No. We just give them ideas to work with that help them improve their movement and practice. Sometimes they “get it right” immediately and sometimes it takes awhile. Same here- if they listen to instructions and follow them to the best of their ability, they will be on the same journey to improved awareness and health you would expect them to follow under your guidance. There is only that much we can do anyways.

Another very important aspect is one I touched on in my recent article to MarchMatness- Responsibility as a key word in Pilates. Key word in any endeavor to make changes to one’s own body and to your self in general really. How often do you come across clients who think something along the lines of- “right, I have been in charge of X Y and Z all day… now my teacher is in charge… they will tell me what to do and how to do it and when to do it…and I’ll just follow their lead and do as I am told”? Well… trouble is that Pilates does not really work this way. In order to benefit the most from this amazing method one has to be responsible for their own practice. You know I didn’t make it up… that is how this method was handed down from Mr. Pilates himself. But in today’s world it is easier for clients to say- “guide me” and equally easy for teachers to say “OK, I will…” rather than say- “Well, actually… YOU need to be in charge of your own workout; I’m only here to help and guide you in the process”.

Home practice puts the client at the helm- it puts them in charge of what is going to happen here- how long the class is going to be and at what level, how many times they are going to stop in the middle of the class (for whatever reason) and more importantly- how focused, precise, attentive and centered they are going to be. And that is a great thing!!

When the person is in charge of their own choices and in charge of the outcome then the process they go through benefits them much more. And I would claim that this is a big part of what makes Pilates a mind-body method; one’s mind does not get sharper by following instructions and repeating movement patterns mind-less-ly. Our mind gets sharper by following instructions carefully with attention to detail. It gets sharper by owning the movement experience and having an understanding (intellectual and visceral) of what it takes to be successful in performing those movements. And this is why this process is so very beneficial to so many other areas of our lives- because the skills we acquire and improve on with every session will be there in everything that we do in life.

I am sure not everyone will agree with me. But I do hope that the above provoked some thinking and pondering on these important issues. I hope you will come visit us on PilatesOD.com and that you will share your thoughts and experience with us. I hope you will not be “afraid” to recommend it to those clients who cannot afford enough classes with you and could really benefit from home practice. Like I said- we are not here to replace the dedicated teachers… we are here to help and complement you all as part of the overall mission to help as many people as possible to get as healthy and happy as possible. Be well Amit Learn more about Pilates on demand here: Share:

 

Amit started his Pilates journey through the Romana lineage- taking Mat classes as a dance student in Rotterdam, Holland. He then trained to be a teacher following the Carola lineage and later completed training and became a teacher trainer for BASI Pilates. Amit has presented classes and workshops in Pilates studios and conferences in the United States, Japan, Israel, and across Europe. His main interest and expertise is in working with Pilates teachers to improve their teaching skills and sharpen their methodology and techniques in order to enable them to become better teachers. Amit comes from the world of Performing Arts. His ten years dance career has taken him all over the globe, performing with various companies. His extensive dance training includes not only Ballet and Modern techniques, but also Pilates, Feldenkrais and other Mind-Body methods. In addition to being a dancer, Amit has performed as a Violinist and has taken part in professional Theatre and Opera productions.