This is Jodi Stern – she made me the teacher I am today Feb

It is no exaggeration or hyperbole to say that an apprenticeship for a certification in Pilates apparatus is exponentially more difficult than a mat apprenticeship. And you can actually calculate the specific exponent by the pieces of apparatus you certify on. So now, without any further ado, let me regale you with this amazing training sequel.

After I had received my mat certification from Meghan Cameron I was able to get some work but I realized I would have more opportunities to teach if I was also certified in apparatus. (As an aside the Pilates apparatus consist of but are not limited to; the reformer, the  cadillac, the chair and the high barrel-there will be future blogs on all of this.) I went back to Meghan to see if she would be able to take me on as an apparatus apprentice but she was pregnant at the time with a toddler and running a studio so she was not in a position to take on any more responsibilities. She suggested I go talk to Jodi Stern who owned a Pilates Studio in a suburb of Rochester, NY called Pittsford. The name of the studio was Pilates Plus. At the time I had no idea what a well known figure she was in our little corner of the fitness world. She had been running a Pilates studio for over a decade, had started an online fitness business before Youtube was a thing, offered Zumba classes before that was a crazy phenomenon, did research to find the most innovative and unique fitness equipment and classes to offer and the list goes on. Thankfully I really didn’t know any of this when I met her because I was already very intimidated by her demeanor alone. Of course I never let on I’m sure (I hope!) but she definitely presented as a person who knew her business very well.

After we discussed the cost and commitment of the program I initially declined. At the time my children were young and I didn’t feel like I had enough availability to commit to such an intense program. It was 600 hours in total and included hours of observation, practice instruction and one on one instruction. This did NOT include my personal workout time or study time so you could easily tack on a few hundred hours to that. Thankfully for me I received an email within a week of declining the apprenticeship asking if I would be interested in teaching Pilates mat at the studio. The mat teacher had just moved out of town and they needed help. I leaped at the chance to teach at the studio however there was just one hurtle to me getting the gig, I had to audition with Jodi. To audition means to teach a demo class to whomever is looking to hire you. So I had to teach this super intimidating woman Pilates mat. I feel like I did a good job hiding my absolute terror and the demo was thankfully brief resulting in my near immediate hire. I had to cancel my very first class due to a family tragedy but after a short while I was up and teaching at Pilates Plus. I enjoyed my classes and got to know the clients and teachers well since I was allowed to take classes there in addition to teaching. In time I even subbed for Jodi, teaching her ever popular Tuesday morning mat class. I was terrified to teach that class (you may notice a pattern here) but sucked it up and got out there. Later Jodi told me that the clients really enjoyed my teaching and since Jodi was happy so was I.

At that time Jodi had two apprentices that had recently completed their mat certifications and were beginning to certify in apparatus. Eventually my circumstances changed (as well as Jodi’s) so I was able to join them in being an apprentice to Jodi and learning all of the ins and outs of the pieces of apparatus and accompanying exercises. I received a giant pile of papers which I paper hole punched and placed in a binder. I was on my way and it was nuts! At some point I’ll have to write a blog about the specifics of my training because this blog is already too long. But after six months I tested with Jodi and became a certified Pilates apparatus apprentice. Jodi then moved out of town so I received my full Pilates teacher certification from her hand picked successor.

Side leg extension under Jodi’s watchful eye

My apprenticeship under Jodi was very difficult, she pulled ZERO punches and accepted no excuses. I was completely humbled  by her many times but I came to realize that she was a very giving teacher (and person). She had very hard and fast rules which if we broke would result in the termination of our apprenticeship. She did not explain them but later on I realized they were for our safety as well as the safety of our clients. One specifically that comes to mind is wearing shoes at all times. I realized it was to a. give us support when we’re on our feet teaching all day and b. protect our feet if we use them to stop a piece of apparatus. I can not tell you the sheer terror I experienced when she would come into the studio unexpected and I had to scramble like a crazy person to find and affix my sneakers tout suite! But now of course I always wear my studio shoes. I still hear her voice in my head and coming out of my mouth when I teach. And as fierce and hard of a teacher as she could be she is an equally fierce supporter of me and my teaching. It means more to me than I could ever convey to another person.

So you could go see a Pilates teacher with a weekend certification but you get a lot more from a person who went through an apprenticeship program since they went through a lot more to get it. In my next blog I’ll discuss the lighthearted topic of objectification.