BEING A PILATES INSTRUCTOR – A SERIOUS CAREER

The year was 2013, I had just enrolled to attend the BASI Pilates Comprehensive Teacher Training Course in Pretoria and I was over the moon with excitement. I was only Eighteen-years old when I started my Pilates journey and at the time it was meant to be a “Gap Year” while I figured out what I really wanted to study at university. Little did I know that being a Pilates Instructor would capture my heart and my soul in a way I could never have imagined.

When it comes to choosing a career, be it fresh out of high school or later on in life, we all have our own ideas of what our future job should look like. Some people make their decisions based on financial return while others may consider turning their hobbies into a source of income. When it comes to becoming a Pilates Instructor I remember all that drove me was that – I could earn a living by exercising! And to my teenage self that was all the reason I needed! It is only now, eight years later that I realise that there is so much more to it.

Personally, I have steered away from Pilates from time to time, I thought that I needed to pursue a “real career” and I tried the 9 to 5 job at a desk with a laptop and a retirement plan, but there was always something missing. It was only recently that I realised what always brings me back to Pilates is;The People! Interacting with my clients, hearing about their lives and adventures, seeing them smile when they successfully execute the Roll-up or the Teaser, and the pride they have when they tell you how their Doctor is Impressed with their general health and wellbeing.

Then there is the interaction within the Pilates Community. Meeting up with instructors at workshops and courses and just “Clicking” – Sharing a coffee with your colleagues between classes and creating friendships that go far beyond the workplace. And my favorite is our studio year-end functions, where we share in the successes and struggles of the year and always end up sharing our embarrassing moments while teaching. It is in these moments with my colleagues and my clients that my heart is full and I am at my happiest.

So if you are considering Pilates as a career, then I say go for it! Jump headfirst into this magical, innovative world of mindful movement. Forget what you know about serious career choices, and steer into the world of creating a career that makes you the happiest version of yourself. Joseph Pilates said it best “ The whole country, the whole world, should be doing my exercises. They’d be happier”