Overview

Since 1997 Balance Within has offered a small in-house program that has a reputation for producing the finest teachers in the Seattle area and beyond.

The training is comprehensive. It covers the entire system developed by Joseph and Clara Pilates: mat, apparatus and exercises. It is our belief that the work was designed as a full system and that knowledge of its entirety is a necessity to fully appreciate the extensive body of work developed over the years by its ingenious creators.

As far-seeing as the original work was in conception, bodies today are much different from bodies in the early 20th century, for whom the work was designed. We are also now in possession of more sophisticated knowledge of biomechanics, kinesiology and physiology, which allows for tailoring exercises to the specific needs of the individual. While the original principles and exercises are the basis for work at Balance Within, it is essential that a teacher learns to do more than present a protocol. A teacher must be able to deal not only with healthy bodies but also with bodies that have been in car accidents, commute for long hours, are injured through sports, spend all day hunched over a computer, or struggle to cope with the effects of life and stress—those for whom the traditional forms of the work are not appropriate or could in fact be injurious.

This program is not designed to teach you how to deliver a memorized set of exercises via a rehearsed script. The focus of the program is on understanding the process of Pilates and it is designed for those interested in achieving greater depth in the understanding of bodies and movement. We create knowledgeable teachers of Pilates exercises, movement and movement awareness (as opposed to producing a “trainer”). Anatomy and physiology are essential components of the curriculum and are presented throughout every aspect of the program.

The program is comprehensive enough for those experienced with Pilates as clients to learn to be a teacher, and in-depth enough to challenge and expand the knowledge of teachers trained in other Pilates systems who are looking for deeper answers to the very real challenges that teaching clients brings. Over the years, physical therapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, nurses and teachers from other programs have added Pilates training at Balance Within to their repertoire.

The program is intentionally small (6-12 participants) and local, as the day to day observation and supervision by experienced teachers on site are essential to the experiential nature of teaching Pilates. Learning to teach Pilates is an interactive process, and is not appropriate for on-line or long distance learning. Additionally, the group of trainees becomes valuable learning support for each other which leads to the teamwork that is essential to working in a studio environment.