Today I present the fourth and very last article on the series on the requirement for any person who says they teach Pilates to read Joe Pilates’ ‘Return to Life’. In the last article we heard from Stott, and my acceptance of their invitation to ask further questions, as their initial statement to me did not ring true. Stott clearly disliked my questions, for they never answered them. So I finish of the series by crafting a final response to Stott, as I did for Balanced Body and BASI. To the letter sent to them, Stott did reply, as you will witness lower down.
We start with my letter to Stott….
Dear Laura and Moira,
Your correspondence to me contained a great sentiment towards Joe the man, and an expressed importance of knowing his work, along with an openness to further dialog with me. It is not my intention to be mean or denigrate what I find to be a very high quality training program from which I am pleased to have received my certificate. In this process I have been open, patient, and truthful. You, on the other hand, seemed to expect that I would drop the subject after a very kind first letter. After issuing a generous invitation to ask more questions and assurances that questions would be answered, you have shown evasive behavior in coming forth with honest answers. It rings a lack of integrity.
Almost none of what Laura has written can I see as supported by reality – others agree with me. Here is the extent of the material about Joe Pilates in your training manuals.
- The above is the only mention of Joseph Pilates that I can find is all the Stott material, and is why I ask Laureen my questions. These words appear on the intro pages to many of the instructor manuals that I have.
This small snippet on the inside cover is no reflection of the sentiments you expressed, but I can find nothing else, and you do not provide information that there is more. Your sentimental words of Joe, and the importance of knowing the origin of the work, appear to be mere words.
Because there is nothing significant about Joe in your training materials, it logically follows that you leave the teaching of trainees about Joe the man to the discretion of the individual instructor trainers. But given that they also are not required to read Joe Pilates, the quality of that teaching can be considered questionable. This was true in my case, and in the case of the young woman that was the catalyst for this whole investigation, for indeed it was a Stott course that she was attending.
To demonstrate the words you speak, it might be a good idea to include more quality information throughout your training material, reinforcing your spoken dedication to knowing the source of the work to the many impressionable students who look to you for guidance.
Or then why not make ’RTL’ a part of the training?
I hope that you read the answers that I gave to Balanced Body and BASI Pilates, and I have a further observation, that I think applies to everyone.
Blind faith
Long time subscribers will know that a repeated theme in my articles is how blind faith toward authority leads to mediocrity and misery. It is no original idea of mine, all great thinkers have stressed the need of every individual to have a healthy skepticism in all they approach. Your deserved success due to your great dedication and hard work, has made you a recognized authority in the Pilates world. The certification you provide is considered to be proof that the holder is proficient in the Pilates method.
By not requiring the reading of RTL in order to get a certificate, you are subtly communicate the idea of your authority to your trainees. Rather than advocating an enthusiastic co-exploration of Pilates by requiring knowledge of its origin, you encourage ‘a believer’ in your authority.
My vision of Pilates is, that if done well, it facilitates a balance in the individual whereby she can stand freely, strongly and independently in all areas of life. – including one’s own approach to the work itself. A truly beneficial education encourages the trainee to go past you, and not come to depend on you. Reading RTL is then an essential step to demonstrate to the student that the source of the work is not within your school, that indeed your school stands on the shoulders of this great man, and together you have a passion to make his work better.
And what do you think about requiring your instructor trainers to read the book?
Respectfully,
Brett Miller
And after sending this to Stott, I received the following reply:
Dear Brett,
Thank you for sending the articles in advance of them being published. We do have a few comments which we’ve shared below as it relates to the response you wrote to us at the end of the third article.
We greatly appreciate your perspective and agree that the work of Joseph Pilates and the understanding of his work provides a broad and holistic knowledge base to all students of Pilates. We take great pride and care in our STOTT PILATES teaching method and education programs. And we uphold ourselves to the highest of standards to ensure we’re delivering the very best education we can to our trainers and students around the world. We will review our existing list of recommended materials and consider adding RTL to support our students’ knowledge of his important body of work.
Kindest regards,
Laureen DuBeau – Master Instructor Trainer
* * * * * * *
Sounds great, a step in the right direction, anyway. Perhaps we will sometime hear that Stott’s fine training program will soon include that little book of Joe’s – it seems the right thing to do.
The Grand Finale
Hey folks, it is a no brainer, if you teach Pilates, you need to read Return to Life.
The nearest argument that came in supporting the idea that it is not required came from Balanced Body, which to my understanding was that you can learn what is in that little book through other channels. Otherwise, the flood of comments in to me has echoed my ‘no brainer’ point of view.
Looking back, I find that this series has been a great success in a few ways. First of all, harking back to the classiness of BASI, and their good judgment, this series was the catalyst for a major Pilates school to reinstate into their program the requirement to read RTL. Indeed, I have heard through the grapevine that a letter has been sent to BASI instructor trainers worldwide, communicating the change.
And trusting that the sincerity of Stott’s latest words exceeds that of their initial communication to me, these articles have at least given pause to another large school (Stott).
But lastly, and maybe more importantly, this article series has opened a door to question a subject that has been semi-taboo in the Pilates community. The fear and hesitation of people to respond to my questions has dissipated greatly as the process has gone further. This is no small thing….this semi-taboo status is a symptom of fear and repression prevalent in the Pilates world. It shows that people feel pressured to protect the beliefs and standards of the groups they belong to, rather than standing firmly on their own two feet, secure in truth, facts and open-mindedness. Although it exists, there really is no place for it, as it hinders the realization of that potentially great result of a person who applies well the principles of Pilates in his/her life.
Yep, it’s a no brainer, and four articles down the road, it is time to close the subject. I thank you for your time and input.