Today we continue with the investigation of the phenomenon of people pursuing a career in Pilates while having no motivation to read ‘Return to Life’, the signature work of the very man whose name they use daily and whose technique they say they teach. My method was to reach out to those who find this matter to be acceptable, choosing training schools that do not require ‘RTL’ in their certification programs. This article is the third in a series of four, if you need to catch you can do so at Pilates Intel. Today I present the response from Stott Pilates to my initial letter to them, and the fuss that ensued.
But first, I promised to report the result of the letter I wrote to Balanced Body in my last article. The fact is, I received no more response from Balanced Body about my words to them. I did receive a kind invitation from Al Harrison, Director of Business Development/Education, to attend their Pilates-On-Tour in London this April, where we could perhaps get to know each other a little better. I happily accepted the invitation and look forward to learning a lot, and to meeting Al and others.
Incidentally, prior to publication of these articles, I have always sent them to the parties involved to ensure that I have not misrepresented them in some way. So far, no one has informed me that they have felt that I have done so.
And now to Stott…..
Many know that I received my comprehensive certification from Stott. And I want to say that I fully admire that work of Stott and their professionally organized comprehensive program. I am confident that whenever I present myself as a Stott trained teacher, that I will be accepted as a well-educated professional. Long time subscribers know that I am a HUGE fan of great technique, and Moira Merrithew, the Stott founder, has it….BIG TIME. I have spent many a Saturday night with a glass of wine in front of the tv watching a Moira DVD. No, I am not a sex pervert….well, at least I do not think so….it was just lovely to watch her beautiful work and that charming habit of flicking her what-must-have-been-long-hair-in-the-past. She is a shining example of the benefits that Pilates can provide, I learned a lot.
Here is the response from Stott to my initial letter to them, the one sent to all schools involved.
Dear Brett, Moira Merrithew, co-founder with her husband Lindsay of Merrithew Health & Fitness, Master Instructor Trainer and Executive Director, Education for STOTT PILATES, studied Joseph Pilates’ original method under Romana Krysanowska in New York for years. It was this intense submersion in and understanding of the work that led her to recognize the need for a more contemporary approach to the material.
In every STOTT PILATES training course, references are made to the root of the repertoire and the history of the method and its creator. Students are taught the original six principles of concentration, control, center, flow, precision, and breathing and how they form the framework for the STOTT PILATES Five Basic Principles. Throughout the repertoire, exercise names, movement patterns and breathing, along with exercise essences and goals reflect the earliest teachings and credit is given to the initiator. It goes without saying that the STOTT PILATES curriculum would not exist if not for the ground-breaking foundation laid by Joseph Pilates. While the publications written by Pilates are not required reading for the instructor training courses, there is by no account a purposeful attempt to disregard the source of the work at its core. Students are encouraged to read all manner of resources in order to deepen their understanding and knowledge in a variety of areas including mind-body modalities, functional anatomy, post-rehabilitative therapies, and suggest myriad sources from which to continue to learn. The works of Joseph Pilates are included in this list.
Please feel free to contact me directly if you have any further questions.
Have a lovely day.
Laureen DuBeau Master Instructor Trainer, Merrithew Health & Fitness
Very good then….what shall we make of this?
You see, that I am Stott certified and worked at a Stott Center is a highly dubious honor for Stott, because I know much about their program. So Laureen’s answer, as kind as it was, contained many remarks that simply were not true in my experience (nor of my fellow colleagues that I checked with). So this case required a further drill down. I took Laureen up on her kind offer of contacting her with further questions:
Dear Laureen, Thank you for your kind reply. I want to say from the outset that my intention here is to be respectful and open. If I expressed in the letter to which you respond a purposeful neglect on the part of Stott to hide Joe’s work, I immediately take that back, it was unnecessary.
I completed the Stott certification program in 2007 and I experienced nothing that you mentioned. I have contacted fellow course members and they confirm my recollection. Looking again through my course material, there is only a short mention of Joseph Pilates in the intro on the front page, otherwise I find nothing, nor do I see it on any DVD cover and recall no mention of Joe in the DVD content, please correct me if I am wrong. I was not taught the original 6 principles, and they are not a part of the extensive explanation of the 5 Stott principals published in every manual. I became aware of Joe Pilates books after my training, any Stott recommendation never came to my attention. Further, I am aware that Moira studied with Romana, and I know firsthand that though much of their knowledge comes indirectly from her inspiring work, most Stott trained instructors are unaware of her existence.
Now, it is possible that things have changed since 2007, and an instructor trainer on Facebook said that the history of Joe is given in the IMP – and I have verified that with another instructor trainer colleague, but a part of every course I believe is not so. Also I learned from a Stott instructor trainer colleague that she mentions that such exercises as the Hundred were a part of Joe’s original repertoire, while other exercises as Spinal Rotation and Half Roll-Back are Stott additions. However, another colleague factually commented that there is no mention of the nature of Joe’s work in each exercise, nor the modifications that Stott has added, simply because there is no knowledge of it. This makes sense since your instructor trainers are not required to read Joe’s original works.
May I then please ask you two questions?
- Does Stott find that an instructor trainer who is unfamiliar with Joe’s written work to be able to adequately convey the credit due to the ground-breaking foundation laid by Joseph Pilates as mentioned in your letter?
- Given the importance you express of giving that credit to Joe Pilates, why is there so little actually present in the published manuals and DVD’s? Is the small amount I am aware of an adequate demonstration of Stott’s commitment to provide the student with correct information about the origin of the work?
Laura, thank you for your cooperation in this, and let’s do something good for Pilates with an open and honest conversation.
Brett Miller
- 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.
To this letter I received a reply that my questions were being taken into consideration and to have a lovely day.
After one month of hearing nothing, I wrote once again:
Dear Laureen, I am now in the process of writing the article and plan to publish it at the end of November***. You had let me know that my questions were being considered, are you still willing to answer them? Brett Miller
And to this letter came a response of irritation and exasperation, and a wish that I would simply go away. Moira let me know that though she found me kind and admired my tenacity in this matter, she was hurt because she always gives respect to Joe Pilates and has never had to justify her respect for him to anyone.
My reply to Moira was that the questions were indeed worthwhile, and could she please take the time to answer them..
I was told that my questions would be considered when time allowed.
But after four months, nothing ever arrived. Sad, for as much as I admire and respect Moira, and Stott, they weren’t following through with their words. And so I move forward without Stott’s promised reply by crafting a statement to them in the same manner that I did for BASI and Balanced Body. But that I will share with your next time, my friends, along with a wrap up of this whole series.
*** Note – clearly I am publishing later than planned as it is March.…