Tuesday, August 9, 2011

New Mat Classes at New Smyrna Beach Athletic Club

Starting August 16th, I will be teaching a mixed level mat class on Tuesday and Wednesday at 10am

You do not have to be a member of the club to take the class!

Price is $3 for members, $5 for non-members per class

New Smyrna Beach Athletic Club is located at 401 Canal Street

Please email me if you have any questions:  pilateswithjessicagmail.com

Teaching Injuries & Special Population

In March, I taught my first Injuries & Special population course with Sally Belanger, STOTT PILATES Master Instructor Trainer. The course was held at The Pilates Studio of Central Ohio in Dublin, Ohio.
Here is a picture of the great group we had.
The course was a success!
Since it was my first time teaching, I was very nervous.  I had a great coach to guide me through (Thanks Sally) and enjoyed presenting the material.  I can't wait til I teach it again.
Thanks everyone for a successful weekend!

Saturday, March 12, 2011

Current Teaching Schedule

I teach at The Pilates Spot located in Port Orange, FL
The Pilates Spot is a fully equipped Pilates studio. I teach private clients, mat classes, reformer classes and Cardio Rebounding.
http://www.thepilatesspot.com/

I teach Pilates mat classes at New Smyrna Athletic Club.
Tuesdays & Wednesday @ 10am
Class fee is $5 non-members & $3 members. Beginners welcome, bring a mat!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

Pictures of teaching in Ohio











My journey on becoming a Pilates Instructor

After getting some Pilates experience, my dad started the certification process with STOTT PILATES to become an instructor.  By this time, I started nursing school and didn't give any thought to becoming a Pilates instructor.  In January of 1999, my dad opened a Pilates Studio in Dublin, Ohio.  It was the first in the Columbus area. Once the studio opened it became very popular quickly.  I started to spend time in the studio, answering the phones, assisting clients and learning the Pilates routines. I was realizing that I enjoyed helping people.  After starting the second year of nursing school and having a job in the hospital, I started to realize I was not interested in becoming a nurse.  I wanted to teach Pilates!  I went to my dad and told him I was quitting school and going to take the certification courses to become an instructor. He did not like this too much.  He wanted me to finish school but I was determined to change his mind.  After several talks, he agreed and said he would support it.  At the beginning of 2000, I started teaching Pilates full time.  At the same time, my dad opened a studio in Gahanna, which is on the other side of town.  The Dublin studio where I was teaching  had 3 reformers, 1 cadillac , 1 ladder barrel and 1 stability chair.  I was teaching private clients along with reformer classes.  The studio space was small and there was no room to teach mat classes. So, I went out into the community and taught mat classes at various locations. 

In the summer of 2000, I completed the Intensive Mat course with STOTT PILATES in Detroit, MI.  That was the closest place to get the training. The next year, I found a studio in Cleveland offering the reformer training.  So I completed that course and took my certification exam to become mat and reformer certified. During this course, I became interested in what it took to become the teacher of the certification courses. I have always known I wanted to teach people and help others. The teacher of my reformer course showed me the steps on how to become a STOTT PILATES Instructor Trainer (IT). STOTT PILATES headquarters in located in Toronto.  I was told I need to go there and complete the rest of my training.  I still had to get certified on the Cadillac, chair and barrel and I had to complete the Injuries and Special Population (ISP) course. In the summer of 2001, I went to Toronto for 3 weeks to take the Cadillac, Chair and Barrel course.  I went back in March of 2002 to take ISP and to take my full certification exam.  I passed and was now fully certified.  In the summer of 2004, I was accepted into the Instructor Trainer program.  You need to be recommend into the program, go through an application process and be selected for the program.  When I was accepted I was very excited. Not only was my goal to become an IT but I wanted the Pilates Studio of Central Ohio in Columbus to become a Licensed Training Center for STOTT.  At that time, the closet training center was Detroit, Chicago or Memphis.  And in 2005, the studio became a licensed training center. 
While all this was happening, in 2003 the studio in Dublin moved to a different location, expanding the studio space from 1000 sq. feet to 2800 sq. feet.  The studio was now able to have the space for more equipment and mat classes. Towards the end of the year in 2003, my dad moved to Arizona. So I started to manage the studio.  For 7 years, I managed the studio in Dublin with a staff of 10, taught the education courses and taught clients. 

How I learned about Pilates

I found out about Pilates in 1997.  At the time, my dad just injured his back and was feeling the first signs of arthritis.   While visiting a family friend, we learned what Pilates was.  The friend was a Pilates Instructor and had just opened a studio in Cleveland.  He told my dad he needed to do Pilates. At that time, we had no idea what it was. Soon after that, my dad and I visited the studio and after my dad's first reformer workout was pain free. He realized that he needed to do Pilates. This was in 1998 and at that time there was not a Pilates studio in Columbus, Ohio. My dad started doing Pilates mat work at home.  Sometime after the visit to the Pilates studio, my dad bought a used reformer.  As my dad was working out on the reformer, he would show me some of the exercises.  During this time I was a senior in high school and ran track. I suffered from shin splits and was not allow to lift weights with my lower body.  When I first was trying the reformer workout, I was nervous about doing the leg work. I thought it would hurt my shins.  But I was surprised; there was no pain or discomfort in my legs. I really enjoyed the stretching I could do on the reformer.  I never have been a very flexible girl. I loved it right away!