welcome to the pilates academy
why choose the pilates academy?
a lEGACY OF EXCELLENCE IN TEACHER EDUCATION
The Pilates Academy certification program is led by a Master Instructor who has trained more than 300 teachers now practicing throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia.
Our Head of Education brings over 13 years of experience certifying teachers, presenting at professional conferences, and authoring curriculum for one of the nation’s most respected Pilates education organizations—alongside a Master of Science in Teaching. Teaching teachers requires far more than personal mastery. It demands discernment, depth of study, and the ability to cultivate clarity, confidence, and professional judgment. This program is the result of years spent shaping thoughtful, highly skilled instructors prepared for long-term success.
LIFETIME ACCESS TO A PRIVATE DIGITAL EXERCISE LIBRARY
Pilates is a sophisticated system—one that cannot be fully understood through written material alone. To support true mastery, every exercise in the certification is paired with detailed instructional and practice videos, offering precision, context, and continuity.
Students receive lifetime access to this curated digital library, allowing ongoing refinement and study well beyond certification. Enrollment in The Pilates Academy is an investment in a living education—one that continues to support your growth as your teaching evolves.
INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT. NO HIDDEN FEES.
Assessment for each level of certification is seamlessly integrated into the final weekend of training. There are no additional testing fees, and no requirement to certify through an external organization.
The Pilates Academy serves as its own certifying body. Graduates who successfully complete theoretical, practical, and technique assessments are qualified to begin teaching immediately—without the added cost or fragmentation of third-party examinations.
EDUCATION WITHOUT UNNECESSARY EXPENSE
We do not require students to take paid lessons with the Master Instructor as part of certification. Instead, we encourage exposure to a range of skilled teachers and thoughtfully pair each student with a mentor to guide their practice—who often generously donate their time.
Required practice hours may also be completed through self-directed study at no additional cost. This approach preserves educational integrity while allowing students to save thousands of dollars during their training. Access to the Master Instructor remains available, but we honor that excellence is cultivated through diverse and intentional study.
CONTINUING EDUCATION AS A PROFESSIONAL STANDARD
Certification is not an endpoint—it is a foundation. The Pilates Academy offers ongoing renewal pathways through retreats, advanced workshops, and continuing coursework offered on alternating years.
Our graduates remain connected through a professional network committed to clarity of technique, intelligent teaching, and lifelong learning. As science evolves and teaching deepens, The Pilates Academy provides structure, support, and refinement—ensuring your education remains relevant, rigorous, and respected.
FAQ
How is your teacher training different from other programs?
Our training is rooted with depth and care in the lineage of the Classical Pilates system. Rather than rushing through material, students are given time to practice, integrate, and truly understand the work so it can be taught with clarity and confidence.
Who is this program designed for?
Our community includes long-time clients, aspiring teachers, experienced instructors, studio owners, and healthcare professionals. Students arrive at many stages of practice and often continue studying well beyond certification.
Why is the program structured as a progressive, level-based curriculum?
Pilates is both precise and physically demanding, and learning to teach it carries real responsibility. When training is rushed, students may memorize exercises without developing the judgment, anatomical understanding, and teaching skill required to work safely with real bodies.
A thoughtfully paced program allows students to learn progressively rather than on a rigid timeline. In our structure, students may begin teaching after Level I, giving them meaningful, real-world experience to draw from as they continue their education. Subsequent levels do not simply add more exercises—they develop higher-level teaching skills, refined observation, and more nuanced decision-making.
Time between levels is essential. Teaching, observing, and working with clients during this period allows the material to integrate fully, strengthening both personal technique and instructional ability. This is critical for developing confident, capable, and responsible teachers.
True proficiency in the highest-level Pilates exercises cannot be rushed. A shortened approach to the Advanced and Super Advanced work overlooks the complexity of neuromuscular coordination and whole-body integration required for safe, intelligent execution—and may ultimately compromise both quality and safety.
How strong is the focus on anatomy and individual needs?
Anatomy, clear cueing, and thoughtful adaptation are central to the training. Teachers learn to work with injuries, hypermobility, postnatal bodies, and diverse movement histories, including lower back pain, disk herniation, osteoporosis, scoliosis, and neurological disorders. Anatomy is taught in person with depth, focusing on how the body’s structures align and inform movement, including force generation, breath dynamics, and human locomotion patterns.
What is the learning environment like?
Students train in small groups within a warm, professional community. Mentorship is ongoing, personal, and grounded in generosity, experience, and care.
How does this training support long-term growth?
Graduates leave connected to the Classical lineage and the confidence that comes from careful preparation. The program is respected nationally and internationally, supporting continued study and meaningful teaching careers. Educational training centers for the Pilates Academy operate in multiple states, including Oregon, Montana, and California.
Is This Program the Right Fit for You?
• ☐ You want to understand Classical Pilates as a complete, integrated system, not just a collection of exercises
• ☐ You value depth, clarity, and long-term mastery over speed or shortcuts
• ☐ You appreciate a strong anatomical foundation that informs how and why movements are taught
• ☐ You want to learn how to teach safely, responsibly, and with sound judgment across a wide range of bodies
• ☐ You thrive in small group learning environments where individual attention and feedback are prioritized
• ☐ You value ongoing mentorship and a supportive learning community, not just a one-time certification
• ☐ You are looking for a training program that is respected nationally and internationally and supports long-term professional growth
Pilates COMPREHENSIVE CERTIFICATION LEVEL I
Level I
Course Objectives:
Learn to perform and teach the Beginning exercises for Mat, Reformer, Cadillac, High & Low Chairs, Semi Barrel, Spine Corrector, Ladder Barrel, Wall and Power Circle.
Learn how to teach a safe and effective mat and reformer class.
Ingrain teaching skills including tactile and verbal cueing, learning to read bodies, and how to safely progress students.
Learn anatomy in an interactive and functional way to help improve understanding of the Powerhouse, posture, and pelvic floor.
Explore the mechanism and effect of breathing on movement.
Develop strategies for working with students who suffer from chronic lower back pain, as well as spondylolisthesis, disk herniation, disk protrusion, disk extrusion, free disk fragment, stenosis.
Benefit from personalized coaching on live courses aimed at accelerating practical skills as well as personalized feedback with real clients in a teaching practicum.
Connect with a community and a mentor to help guide you through your teaching journey.
Course Pre-requisites: It is recommended that the instructor take a minimum of 10 classical lessons or classes.
Required Reading: Anatomy of Movement by Blandine Calais-Germain. Return to Life and Your Health by Joseph H. Pilates. Both are available on Amazon.com
Level I pilates certification/mat and reformer Weekend 1 July 19-20, 2025): $685
8am-5pm Saturday and Sunday
Weekend 1 starts with the Mat and Reformer work. Learn the beginning Mat and Reformer exercises, how to progress clients into the ideal form safely, and how to teach effectively. Students will receive a manual detailing all the exercises upon registration so they can practice, as well as practice videos and mini videos for every exercise (by the end of the course, the library will include over 150 videos). By the end of this weekend, students will be able to explain the set up and execution of each beginning exercise on Mat and Reformer, and will learn the Teaching Methodology for how to teach. This course is our foundation and will also help you understand the vocabulary and history of Pilates as well as our Structural Integration concepts that help make our program unique. These concepts teach you how to break down the most perplexing and difficult parts of the method so you can explain it at the first lesson with your clients so they can feel and fire the correct muscles in their body.
Level I pilates certificaion/cadillac chair and barrels weekend 2 (august 23-24, 2025): $685
8am-5pm Saturday and Sunday
Weekend 2 teaches even more exercises on the other pieces of apparatus in the studio - chair, barrel, Cadillac, Magic Circle, and the wall. Joseph Pilates designed his workout to be a system, and this weekend will give you all the tools to use that system to help improve clients so they progress. Students will also learn how to teach effective, safe, and fun group classes on Mat and Reformer. Workshops will include how to spot and fix errors, how to use imagery effectively, how to create effective Powerhouse cues, and how to use touch to safely inform movement and spot clients. This weekend builds from weekend 1 so that more of the details of the functional movement patterns in Pilates can be used by students to help align and correct movement with clients in private as well as group classes.
Level I pilates certification/Anatomy/Back Issues/Teaching Practicum Weekend 3 (september 27-28, 2025): $685
8am-5pm Saturday and Sunday
8am-5pm Saturday and Sunday
Weekend 3 places the teaching focus on refining teaching skills in the Teaching Practicum Module. Anatomy is taught in an interactive, live workshop that delves into the muscles of the Powerhouse and how injuries in this part of the body affect posture and movement. Teaching feedback is given using a student in a lesson setting, facilitating the teacher to make choices in real time to help benefit and deepen their teaching to the Powerhouse safely and progressively.
Pre-Requisite: Completion of Modules 1 & 2.
Level I Assessment Weekend 4 (october 25-26, 2025): $685
8am-5pm Saturday and Sunday
Weekend 4 is the final leg of the Pilates Academy Level I Comprehensive Pilates Certification Program. Teachers have polished skills and are ready for Assessment of exercise technique, Group Mat and Reformer teaching, and Private Full Session teaching.
Pre-Requisites:
100% attendance of Modules 1, 2 and 3.
Completion of all 120 required hours for observation, exercise technique practice, teaching practice and assignments in the Instructor Workbook for all modules.
The Pilates Academy Level I Comprehensive Pilates Instructor Certification is awarded upon successful completion of all required elements and passing assessment.