For the Love of Pilates – Thank you!

With the bat of an eyelid, the BASI Pilates LEARN FROM THE LEADERS 2018 has come and gone.

THANK YOU is not a big enough word to describe my gratitude to each person that attended this landmark event in Pretoria, South Africa. My heart is full and my emotions raw from seeing and experiencing how the love for Pilates radiated from each person. The hunger and eagerness to absorb all the information, for some over 6 days, had me realise how profound the effect of this work has on each person.

On a personal level it was very rewarding to witness and experience the overall positive vibe and electric atmosphere over the 6 days. It is hard to put the overall experience into words as it was not only an event that took months to put together with hours of personal commitment, sacrifices and planning. This experience was so much more… The whole event was one of sharing, support, lots of laughter and the under current was of friends meeting again and enjoying what they passionately love – Pilates.

“The BASI family”, a term we often refer to, to express how supportive and close-knitted we all are although scattered all over the world. This Symposium was indeed like a reunion of brothers and sisters.

When you hear the word symposium or conference, the normal inclination is to dread the long periods of sitting and visualising death by power-point. This event was different – very different. Attendees moved (inside and out) , connected with like minded colleagues, delved deep into the work, were engaged and got content rich information which could be applied immediately. Total immersion into the world of Pilates was indeed at the order of the day. I heard that some attendees left the little ones at home with dad and just said: “I’m doing this!” Total commitment and determination to be better, move better and teach better and where else than learning from leaders in the industry.

Making an event like this come alive cannot be done without the assistance and support of key people and organizations. I’m eternally grateful to Rael Isacowitz and the BASI Pilates Team at HQ. Rael for creating this platform from which we can offer cutting edge education to the Pilates Community. To BASI Pilates South Africa, Body Intellect (My AAA Team) and BCS – thank you for putting in the time and manual labour to make this possible. Thelia and Marinda, ladies you are phenomenal, thank you for everything you contributed to make this event so successful. We were blessed with the most passionate presenters from many corners of the world and local talent. Thank you for presenting and sharing so generously your knowledge and experience. You made this work come alive!

There is so many people and organizations I need to thank, BASI Systems, Safari Garden Centre, Baptist Hill Church, University of Pretoria, Anja’ Tea Garden, Dee Malan, Shirene Briel and those that helped in the smallest way. My family, Riaan, Stephan, Inge, Mom and Dad. This was truly a family effort as everybody helped and offered their time to be part of this event. Thank you for your support and I love you so, so much.

Last words…. As a Pilates instructor you’ve been given the gift to CHANGE LIVES. You are making a DIFFERENCE every day. What an unmeasurable blessing and gift that is! Those that attended, YOU MADE EVERY SECOND COUNT! Thank you for an experience that I will treasure for the rest of my life!

Theo Botha