Choosing a Training Program

With all the PyLadies teacher training programs available these days. It's easy to become overwhelmed by the number of choices when trying to decide which teacher training program is the right fit for you. We often get asked here at Palazzo any time for advice on which training programs we recommend. Our answer is, well, it depends on what you're looking for. Everyone has different needs, different situations, so we don't have one answer that fits every person and every one scenario. This video we'll explore the general factors we think you should consider when looking for a program. Considerations such as cost, time style, brand awareness, continuing education in class structures. We'll also conclude with a brief talk about what the plot is, method alliances and why you may want to get PMA certified.

Before considering and teacher training program. Be sure you have experienced both mat and equipment work and understand the philosophy and terminology of Pele's. This is your personal practice. Knowing Palladio's in your body will give you an appreciation of the method and will help you teach it to your clients. In the future. We will also give you an opportunity to ensure that you really love [inaudible] and its principles enough to commit to making it your career. Once you have developed a personal practice, it's time to start identifying which factors are important to you.

When starting your research. You'll want to talk to the [inaudible] instructors in your area about their careers and also take lessons from a wide variety of instructors with different training backgrounds. If you're in an area where there are not many plots, instructors around [inaudible], anytime can be a valuable research tool. We have teachers that represent almost every major Palladio's teacher training organization. You can sort our videos by training program, by instructor name and much more. This will give you the opportunity to see a variety of options that you may not have come across in a general web search. Additionally, our online forums are filled with a community of [inaudible] professionals who may be able to answer your questions or at least direct you to other resources for information. Another resource to find a program is through the pilates method alliance website, which we'll get to later in this video.

An important consideration is determining what style of Poitiers you're most interested in. Some would simply categorize Pilati styles as classical or contemporary, which we applaud. These anytime feel are two terms that can be difficult to define. Broadly stated, classical is a term used to label traditional training that adheres strictly to the method that Joseph [inaudible] is taught and contemporary is a label which incorporates new techniques and developments in exercise science. Styles of plots within the classical or contemporary label can also vary widely.

For example, some training programs stem from a physical therapy focus while others are more athletic and conditioning based in nature. As the main goal of Palladio's is to bring safe and effective movement to people. We embrace all styles of Palladio's that achieve that goal and can't recommend one or other. You just have to find the one that appeals the most to you or [inaudible]. Legacy project is a series of videos on the history of [inaudible] where you can trace back through the different lineages of elders or first-generation teachers to better understand how the Polonius method developed.

You can then use this information to determine the background of different training programs and the influences from which they evolved. In addition to determining your potential teacher trainers lineage or history, you may want to consider the depth of the program. How many graduates the program has had, how many years your particular teacher trainer has taught, and by speaking to former graduates of the program about their personal experience. A major practical consideration is the location of the training program. Do you have the ability to travel for a training program or are you required for personal or financial reasons to train locally?

Some of the bigger programs have host sites in different locations. Other programs offer portions of their syllabus through web portals and some are intimate apprentice style programs that require you to be close by larger class sizes. Ensure that you will have other apprentice bodies to practice teaching, networking and collaborating with however larger class sizes can detract from how much personal attention you get from your instructor and your ability to experience all of the exercises on the equipment that your instructor teaches during the lectures. Smaller class sizes offer the opposite advantage in which you will likely receive more attention in the active learning on the equipment during the teaching process as well as greater availability of mentors, but as you continue your learning, you will have fewer apprentices available to practice and learn with some training programs. Use the circuit training method where every student gets to work simultaneously on a piece of equipment and others use a lecture based format in which the students watch as the instructor teaches on one person on one piece of equipment at a time.

Other helpful considerations include how much equipment is available for training use in the host studio as well as the availability of the mentors to help you when your teachers are not available is the training program you want to join structured, organized, and scheduled according to your needs. If you must work while you're completing the training program, you will need a program that generally schedules its modules or blocks of lectures a month or so apart and doesn't have strict deadlines for passing the examinations for each module. A quality training program will provide students with manuals and possibly an accessible library of videos, books, lectures, and podcasts. You may also want to find out whether or not the training program assistance graduates with job placement or hires it's trainees to work at its own studio. Brand awareness of the program or recognition of the training programs name and what it stands for.

Among the General Claudia's community may also help with job placement and other opportunities. For some people, time and money are some of the most important considerations when looking for a training program. As with any education you need to pay a tuition and training programs are no different. Expect to pay around $5,000 and possibly more for a comprehensive program. This may or may not include the cost of textbooks and other learning tools, so you'll need to ask what's included in the price of tuition and what's not. You may also need to cover the costs of fulfilling any prerequisites such as required private polities lessons or CPR training. Then after you graduate, some programs require students to renew their certificate of education over time through continuing education courses.

These costs are typically not included in the initial tuition. Many programs offer an early bird signup or specials discounting the cost of tuition. If you sign up and pay in full a month or so in advance of the program start date, this can save you up to $1,000 off the overall cost of the program. If you are unable to cover the full cost of tuition at the outset of a program, you may be able to find pay as you go. Programs that charge for each module or lecture block of training.

Some programs even offer financial aid. The costs may appear abundant, but it's crucial to have the proper training in order to educate and work with a wide variety of body types, injuries and postural anomalies. Your clients may have to be fully trained and qualified to teach on all PyLadies equipment. Expect to invest anywhere from 400 to 600 or more hours into lectures, observations, studying private lessons and practice teaching. This can take over a year to complete observation. Hours are earned by watching experienced Polonius instructors as they teach their clients.

So the Busier Training Center or studio is the easier it is to amass these hours. Your comprehensive study will include basic education in anatomy and physiology, the history and evolution of the pilates method, essential safety concerns surrounding the use of the equipment and the teaching of the exercises, queuing in communication training as well as detailed instruction on the exercises for all the equipment and their modifications for specific physical conditions, abilities and goals. More often these days courses are including lectures on the business, skills of being employees, instructor. So if learning business skills is important to you, make sure you find a course that offers these types of lectures, your training programs, exams. We'll test all facets of this learning experience.

An example of a typical year of comprehensive training could go something like this. The training program would begin and broken up into five learning blocks or modules which are offered around a month apart. The first module is generally mat training and introducing you to the principles and the concepts of holidays. The next few modules would generally cover exercises on different apparatus. Say the chair, the reformer Cadillac accompanied by anatomy lectures.

The final modules would address PyLadies for special populations and the business skills of selling holidays. After each module, the student has given time to observe other teachers and to practice teaching the other apprentices and their volunteer bodies. It is generally required that students pass an examination administered in conjunction with each of these modules. When you go through a teacher training program, you acquire the knowledge, skills and competencies of that organization and are awarded a diploma or certificate of completion from that program. Although sounding very similar, getting certified in the [inaudible] profession is separate from what a training program gives you. Being certified requires that a third party test and individual's knowledge and skills against predetermined standards of competency for a profession. This applies to many other professions in the industries, not just Pele's so you can graduate from a training program, but becoming a certified is a term that means another type of competency.

The pilates method alliance or PMA is currently the only Professional Association and certifying agency in the United States. For [inaudible] teachers that offers a third party professional certification exam. If you would like to become certified by the PMA, you need to ensure that your comprehensive training program provides at least 450 hours of training on all apparatus and all levels of mat as a basis. Earning such a certification tells your clients and others that you are a bloodies instructor who has provided evidence that you meet accepted professional standards of competence. There are links in the description below that will give you more information on the PMA and the process of becoming certified. The pilates method alliance maintains a registry of schools around the world that meet the minimum requirements of the PMA and this can be a good place to start in identifying plot teacher training programs available near you.

This list can be accessed on the pilates method alliance.org website. We've covered many factors to consider when picking a training program. In order to help you sort through the process we have attached to checklist below of the topics that we covered in this video. We hope you've enjoyed this discussion and if you think we've missed something or have a question about what we've discussed, please leave a comment below. Thank you for watching.