You may have seen on our social media that some of our teachers recently attended Pilates on Tour in Chicago, or maybe you heard them talking about it in classes. Or maybe you noticed some…let’s say exuberance…in recent classes. They may have come back a bit fired up about Pilates. Deb shared this post with our PIH staff group chat (on her post, it said “When your Pilates instructor’s coffee hits”), and I replied that this also described Pilates teachers after POT. ;)
(Here’s the actual Instagram post)
It’s awesome to see them so excited about what they do, and so energized to keep doing it well!
It was also a massive pat on the back that our teachers are top-notch educators AND learners who are constantly curious about what’s new. They seek out education to bring the best to our studio. Our teachers noted that the major themes, the most current best practices and techniques being mentioned over and over, were things they’ve already been learning and doing in the studio. They also felt more confident than some attendees about how to adapt movements to all body types. This is something our Pilates in Holland team excels at because they’re Balanced Body Comprehensive Pilates Instructors, the gold standard of Pilates education. A comprehensively trained instructor “understands the breadth and immeasurable value of the Pilates system and can apply the entire studio apparatus toward the goals and aspirations of individual clients.” We really mean every body belongs!
The team with our Balanced Body Master Trainer, Ahmé Bovée.
In a workshop focused on balance, the instructor began by asking the 50 teachers in the room what contributes to balance. After the first dozen usual suspects were named, she asked again, clearly looking for a different answer. Mandy shouted, “vestibular,” and that’s what the entire session was about. Deb kept smiling at Mandy as everyone else in the room was introduced to Trent McEntire, Missy Bunch, and Z-Health—basically, all the neuroscience greats we love to incorporate at PIH.
The name Trent McEntire and his Brain Speed ball were new to everyone else in the room, but we’ve been using the ball and his charts at PIH since 2019. Even though Mandy has completed a year-long course with Trent and trained with Missy Bunch, she still learned something new: a way to include perturbations in group classes. Next time Mandy has you swinging your arms around like a kayaker, you’ll know what I mean. We did it yesterday, and I’m still feeling it today. :) Taylor attended a session on lymphatics with Jill Hinson, a Pilates instructor who works with breast cancer patients. (Again, we’ve included lymphatic drainage as part of some warm-ups for several years!)
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Another theme at this year’s Pilates on tour was the fascial system, in which Terree has trained. In fact, she is currently taking a deeper dive into the major myofascial lines of the body through a course with fascial experts Tom Myers and Jill Miller: Rolling Along the Anatomy Trains. It combines learning the anatomy of each fascial line with the various tools and props used to self-massage and mobilize the corresponding fascial tissue, and both reinforce the knowledge base she’s obtained so far. Terree is so excited to share these new techniques in her classes, as well as her monthly release workshops.
Taylor also attended a 3D anatomy pelvic floor workshop with Joy Puleo, the Director of Education at Balanced Body. This is an area that Terree and Jayne are also trained in. They love incorporating this foundational aspect of our overall health in their classes.
Speaking of specialties, did you know we have two Buff Bones certified instructors? Both Jayne and Debra completed training that draws upon Pilates, strength training, somatics, functional movement, and therapeutic exercise. The training applies research findings on bone and fascia, along with teachings of motor control, biotensegrity, and movement quality. This means they are adept at offering modifications so anyone with bone health issues can safely take classes. They also focus on exercises to maintain and improve bone health. All ages can move well at PIH.
I recently attended TEDx Macatawa: always a great experience. Nine or ten local speakers share a variety of ideas around a theme. This year, Jill Ver Steeg, the President and CEO of Evergreen Commons, shared a talk about shifting our perception of aging. Our youth- and beauty-focused culture views aging as an unavoidable season of decline. What if instead we view it as a season of optimization? What if aging is not something to fix, but a growth of our deepest selves? In the last 100 years or so, we’ve added 24 years to our lifespan. What will we do with this time affluence? I talked to her afterward and expressed how much I appreciated her talk, feeling like I had shared nearly everything she said in a blog: healthspan, growth mindset (also here and here), belonging (also here and here). More to come on purpose in a future blog. ;) What was new to so many people in the audience were things we talk about all the time at Pilates in Holland.
All this is to say, I’m proud to be part of Pilates in Holland. We have outstanding educators who are curiosity seekers and are genuinely some of the best in the biz. We’re ahead of the curve right here in little ole Holland, Michigan. And I’m thankful for this trip to Pilates on Tour to help me remember that.
