Welcome to my Reformer Pilates Teacher Training - this was the second course I designed as I felt it was well needed in the West of Ireland. I simply love reformer - but its got to be taught well - to that end I designed the course. It is the Classical Repertoire so it covers beginners, intermediate and advanced level. It is an intense course but so worthwhile.

This course is fully insured by Balens Europe BV, once the prerequisites have been met - a Pilates Mat Course Level 1. I used to take people without mat but it makes no sense as the whole point of reformer is to give meaning to the matwork. So get your mat course done and then focus on the reformer, otherwise your teaching will lack alot of juice.

This course takes 31 hours in person to complete over 2 weekends plus your own homework if you wish to certify, which will realistically take another 20 hours or more depending on your experience. It is hard to quantify something that you can go on learning and practicing forever - you will never get to the end of it. However you have to reach a level of proficiency in order to receive certification. It is an intensive enjoyable program designed to give you the knowledge, skills and confidence to teach basic to intermediary reformer pilates repertoire classes based on the Classical Repertoire as designed by Joe himself. If you are a keen student this course will bring you a lot farther than classes. I only take 11 students on this course so you will learn so much and get so much being in this small group. In Nenagh we can take 8.

Joe designed the reformer to help students to do the mat work. So the reformer really teaches the pilates technique in a way that builds understanding and connection - that’s where the juice is.

In the course you will learn the connections between the reformer moves and the mat repertoire. This is why I want you to know and love the mat first. It is compulsory to have done at least 20 hours of reformer classes, so you know your way around a reformer and the repertoire. These can be done online or in person or a combo.

I know lots of teachers who skip to the reformer but the teaching will never have the depth of the Method without the understanding gained by studying the mat. Forget about accelerated mat courses over a weekend that cost you a fortune and give you nothing as a Pilates teacher. For example - frogs = legs of double leg stretch. If you don’t know what double leg stretch is you are going to be “winging it” - I do feel this is one reason why reformer is taught so badly. If we want to really help our students to regain their physical health and work with various body issues we need to be really well trained ourselves. Plus the principles are expected to be known and in your body - mainly so you can inspire your students. Plus with matwork you can give your clients homework as most don’t have a reformer at home.

So prerequisites for the course if you wish to certify are either a Mat Pilates Teacher Training and 20 hours of Reformer Classes either online or in person. Send a log of the classes attended to info@suziedodd.com. The course is not designed to teach you reformer it is designed to teach you how to teach reformer, so please ensure you have a good practice and understanding of the exercises before signing up. If you wish to do my Mat Pilates Teacher Training course first you will be at a major advantage as you will have a lot of crossover between the courses and therefore your understanding will be so much deeper. If you are not sure give me a call we can discuss. My number is 0863137219 (Suzie). Claire’s is 0872248100.

Back to the course - On the course we will work together to understand the exercises, the transitions between the exercises and how to teach modifications for students who struggle and progressions to keep your students growing on the pilates journey - but more than that you will really start to understand how the body works under resistance.

Your Pilates training journey with me is going to focus heavily on learning the Classical repertoire suitable to the demographic of the west of Ireland - developing your teaching skills so you are confident in your ability to cue, know how to use modify and progress exercises, and most importantly how to really help your students to progress and enjoy the art of reformer pilates. This repertoire covers Level beginners, intermediate and advanced - as well as a few super advanced moves so you won’t have to train ever again.

You will also work on deepening your own practice at the same time - I passionately believe in the significance of your own journey of discovery and experience and the development of your unique personal voice and style as a pilates teacher. Without a good home practice you will struggle to keep your teaching fresh and interesting for your students. Therefore having a reformer is not a total necessity but would put you at an advantage and make you a better teacher. You can pick up cheaper reformers on ebay, aliexpress or even facebook marketplace.

This 31 hour in person Pilates Teacher Training course is based on the work of Joseph PIlates. You will do plenty more hours completing homework and getting ready for assesment. I also run a course with the Best of Contemporary - but I really feel if you are going to be a great Pilates Teacher you need to know the source. Some of my pilates inspiration come from Romana, Brooke Siler, Benjamin Degenhardt, Michelle Larsson, Alan Hederman, Cara Reeser, Mejo Wiggins, Cathy Grant - to name but a few. I also have spent many years working in the style of Blandine Calais-Germain who is so strong on safe abdominal work . The focus in this course is understanding and teaching reformer pilates in such a way that your students look forward to coming to your class.

You will learn about alignment, extension, breath, initiation, anatomy, fundamentals of the pilates method, regressions and progressions. You will not be that teacher that counts to 10 - but the teacher that teaches.

There will be a full library of the exercises available to you on video to assist you in learning the choreography and how to teach the poses.

At the end of the course you will be ready to practice and teach the bulk of the Classical Repertoire of Reformer exercises - . You will learn to find the set up for success for each pose - starting position is so important, key elements to a pose , cues to fix misalignments and various images that really bring your reformer pilates classes to life with variety and different focus’.

This course would suit someone who wishes to work as a reformer pilates teacher, or a keen student who wants to learn more about reformer pilates.

THE EXERCISES OF THE REFORMER

This is the meat and veg of the course. We will cover as follows

• Centering

• Rowing

• Long Box

• Long Stretch Series

• Stomach Massage

• Short Box

• Articulation

• Kneeling

• Integration

• Knee Stretch

• Pushups

• Splits

  It’s a lot of ground to cover you will learn how to cue these poses, demonstrate them, regress them if students find them too hard and advance them if students find them too easy. You will learn the contraindications of each pose so you can feel confident in your ability to teach safely. You will learn common misalignments that you see a lot on the reformer and how to fix them. You will also learn some key hands on adjustments to really help your students to go deeper.

If you wish to certify you will be required to submit homework showing that you have a good understanding of the reformer and that you can teach all of the above series’ this will be videos of you teaching a student and uploading to Whatsapp. This takes some practice and time and will ensure that you succeed and become a great teacher. On our last day you will go through a complete run through of all the exercises as a personal practice assesment. If you don’t pass the assesment you can repeat it via zoom or youtube. Practice is the key stone to being a great teacher.

After qualifying you can gain insurance with Balens BV Europe and become a member of CThA and get insurance with them.

The cost of the course is 950 euros. A non-refundable deposit of 300 euro is required to book a place. You can pay the balance at the first weekend.

In order to certify and attain insurance you need to have a Mat Pilates Teacher Training achieved and attended a minimum of 20 hours of reformer classes prior to the course. This can be online or in person. This is so you don’t waste your time. If you are coming just for your own enjoyment there are no prerequisites- but if you are a complete beginner it wouldn’t be a good starting point - no matter how fit you are. Of course if you just want to learn more about reformer and not certify that is absolutely fine and many people do.

I have met teachers who have just jumped into reformer trainings with no prerequisites - I did this myself - complete waste of time and money - let me assure you that your foundation is essential if you want to be a really good teacher. Otherwise you will just end up counting reps in an exercise and you will die of boredom and so will your students. This course is not about reading through a manual - it’s about me sharing the joy of reformer with you. Although reformer is on trend at the moment please don’t jump into a cheap online course its not enough - I have done them - waste of time and money. Equally its not worth 3000 euros - the market is a little awash with both ends of this spectrum. With all this in mind I look forward to training you and adding the reformer to your teaching skills.

Please ensure you read the terms and conditions.

Terms and conditions for Classical Pilates Teacher Training.

Enrollment:

Suzie Dodd reserves the right to refuse admission to trainings, or workshops.

Suzie Dodd Teacher Training courses require a minimum of 8 participants to proceed.

Please do not book non-refundable transport or accommodation in advance of confirmation. In the event that admission is refused for any reason within the discretion of Suzie Dodd Classical Pilates Teacher Training payment of deposit ,and or other payments will be refunded.

Suzie Dodd Classical Mat or Reformer Pilates Teacher Training or Osteoporosis Training requires that all trainees attending our Teacher Training program have comprehensive medical insurance for the duration of their training. Trainees who are pregnant, or fall pregnant during a Teacher Training Course are not permitted to partake in or continue on the training. A refund will be given under these circumstances.

In the event a trainee wishing to cancel their attendance Suzie Dodd Classical Reformer, or Mat Pilates Teacher Training has the following refund policy. The deposit of 300 euro is non refundable. The balance refund policy = I will refund you if you cancel a month before the training, you can also postpone to the next training - life happens. If you cancel at the last minute I can’t refund you as I won’t be able to replace you at such short notice.

With regard to signing up and cancelling the Osteoporosis Training one week before training there will no refund - otherwise I will refund you. Feel free to postpone to the next training.

Security of Information:

Suzie Dodd Teacher Training takes the privacy and security of our trainees and their personal information very seriously. Information collected is used strictly by me to provide my services to you and as is required for the provision of my services.

Trainees understand that Suzie Dodd Teacher Training engages in social media networking, such as Facebook, etc. as part of promotional endeavours, which may involve sharing of photos. If you have a problem with this please talk to me about it.

Cancellation: Suzie Dodd Teacher Training accepts no responsibility for cancellations, delays, changes or losses caused by acts of God, war, and threat of war, closure of airports, civil strife, natural disasters, accidents or any other events beyond our control. This includes injuries, illnesses, medical or psychiatric conditions of trainees developed during or subsequent to the course as well as loss of, or damage to, personal property during the training.

In the unlikely event that a Suzie Dodd Teacher Training , workshop or retreat is cancelled 100% of the payment will be refunded, or an alternative training placement will be offered.

Where an enrolment is cancelled by a trainee for any reason, the deposit is not refundable. Transfer of deposit to another training , for exceptional reasons, will be at the discretion of Suzie Dodd Classical Pilates Teacher Training.

By partaking in trainings and classes trainees retain control and direction over all their physical activities and voluntarily assume full liability and accept the risk of harm, including physical injury and discomfort as a result of my participation in activities during the programme.

Suzie Dodd Teacher Training accepts no liability for any injury or illnesses that occur to trainees during the trainings, workshops or classes.

The nature of a pilates mat, osteoporosis or reformer teacher training includes a certain level of interpersonal physical contact. By participating in this yoga events trainees voluntarily agree to this contact and understand its professional nature.

General terms:

All trainee Suzie Dodd Teacher Training teachers, must arrive to the training room 5 minutes prior to class commencement, with any materials needed for that class.

All trainees must have appropriate attire for all classes

All trainee Suzie Dodd Teacher Training teachers must not consume illegal substances during the training dates. Coffee is defo allowed.

Photo Release :

Pictures may be taken during trainings, workshops, retreats or classes and used in a promotional capacity such as Facebook, Instagram, youtube, the company website etc. By agreeing to these terms- in accordance with GDPR, trainees give full permission for this information to be released - if this is a problem please chat to me.

Suzie Dodd Teacher Training retains no liability for use of pictures or videos taken by trainees of the training, the teachers or other trainees.

No photos and videos to be taken by trainees during trainings without permission.

Use of Materials:

Materials that are part of any training, workshop or retreat including but not limited to the Suzie Dodd Teacher Training training manual, logos, trademarks and webpage content are the property of Suzie Dodd Teacher Training and must not be copied or disseminated.