How to Become a Certified Pilates Instructor

If you love pilates and want to share your passion with the rest of the world, you might want to consider becoming a pilates instructor. Most instructors work at private gyms or for community centers, but there are a growing number of professionals who offer private services, either in their homes or through personal training sessions. Becoming a certified pilates instructor doesn't require years of training and education, but it does require determination and possibly even an apprenticeship.

Difficulty:

Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need

• Funds for certification
• Training courses

Become a Certified Pilates Instructor

1. Decide whether you want to become certified in mat or equipment instruction. Mat certification can often be completed in an intensive weekend and is less expensive. However, becoming an equipment instructor may open you up to more job opportunities.

2. Consider a hybrid certification. Some schools are offering students the chance to become instructors in both yoga and pilates or to work with non-traditional pilates equipment like stability balls and bands.

3. Discover more about the history of pilates before you decide to become certified by picking up books like "A Pilates Primer: The Millennium Edition" by Joseph Pilates and Judd Robbins.

4. Speak with another certified pilates instructor in your area so you can make an informed decision about whether this is the career path for you. The instructor may even be able to let you sit in on a class so you can see what it's like to be on the other side of the workout room.

5. Look for schools in your area. The Pilates Method Alliance website has an online database of training programs around the country.

6. Get the word out about your new specialty. You may be able to advertise at your local gym, health food store, sporting goods shop or even in the newspaper. You may want to get business cards to leave at local businesses so you can build up a good clientèle.

Tips & Warnings

• Have plenty of money saved up to become a certified pilates instructor. Even basic certification can be quite costly, and you'll need additional funds to purchase all of your equipment and start up your new business.

• Be careful when teaching pilates to others. You may want to have your clients sign a document waiving your responsibility in the event they experience any type of back injury or muscle strain while learning the pilates techniques.