Standards: What They Are - and How They Show Up in a Class

Pilates is an unregulated industry.
That means standards are not enforced from the top down - they’re upheld from within.

Each of us carries a duty of care, not only to our clients, but to our peers and to the profession itself.
Standards are how trust is built, how safety is maintained, and how integrity is preserved over time.

They are not performative.
They are practiced

Standards are not written on a wall.
They’re felt in the room.

They show up in how a teacher prepares, how they listen, how they choose not to impress, and how safe, capable, and supported a client feels by the end of the session.

In movement teaching, standards are rarely about complexity.
They’re about consistency, clarity, and care.

Here’s what standards actually look like in practice.

1. Preparation, Not Performance

A teacher with standards doesn’t arrive hoping inspiration will strike.

They’ve thought about:

• the bodies in the room

• energy levels

• injuries, history, and emotional tone

That doesn’t mean the class is rigid.
It means the teacher is ready.

High standards create freedom, not restriction.

2. Clear Intention

Every class has a theme - even if it’s simple.

It might be:

• spinal mobility

• lower limb strength

• breath and nervous system regulation

Standards mean you can articulate why you’re doing what you’re doing - even if you never say it out loud.

Randomness is not creativity.

3. Respect for Repetition

Standards honour how humans actually learn.

Skill is not built through constant novelty.
It is built through repetition, refinement, and time.

As popularised by Outliers, mastery in any field requires thousands of hours of practice. Not because repetition is glamorous, but because the nervous system needs consistent exposure and feedback in order to adapt.

This principle sits at the heart of many long-standing movement systems.

It is how gymnasts are trained.
Foundational drills are repeated daily to build strength, coordination, and confidence before complexity is introduced.

It is how Ashtanga yoga is taught.
A set sequence, practised again and again, develops strength, mobility, rhythm, and self-awareness over time.

And it is how Pilates was originally taught by Joseph Pilates.

Contrology was structured as a defined sequence of exercises, repeated consistently so the body could learn, adapt, and strengthen in a balanced way. Progression came from understanding and refinement, not from changing the work each time.

These systems are designed for success and longevity, not short-term stimulation.

In a reformer class, repetition allows clients to:

• understand the movement

• feel changes over time

• develop confidence with the equipment

• build trust in their own bodies

Rather than feeling bored, clients feel capable.

They know what they’re doing.
They feel themselves improving.

Repetition does not mean classes are identical.
It means the teacher understands how to vary, progress, and adapt within a clear framework.
This is where training, discernment, and excellence come in - and it is a conversation for another time.

This is where trust is built.

4. Language That Supports the Body

Cueing is not decoration.

Teachers with standards choose words that:

• reduce anxiety

• create clarity

• encourage autonomy rather than obedience

There’s no shouting, no urgency, no pressure to “push through”.

The body is invited, not commanded.

5. Boundaries and Timing

Standards show up in the small things:

• classes starting and finishing on time

• appropriate pacing

• rest when it’s needed

• challenge when it’s appropriate

This tells clients: you’re safe here.

6. Ongoing Study and Self-Reflection

Standards are not static.

In an unregulated industry, they rely on a teacher’s willingness to continue learning long after their initial qualification is complete.

Ongoing study means staying informed about the evolving science of movement, pain, and rehabilitation. It means understanding that what was taught on a teacher training course reflects the knowledge available at that time, not a permanent truth.

High standards require the confidence and neural flexibility to revisit earlier learning, to change it when new evidence or experience suggests a better approach, and to be able to clearly articulate why that change has been made.

This is not a weakness.
It is professional maturity.

Outdated concepts are still taught as fact in many trainings, often because they have been repeated for years without being questioned.

Concepts such as neutral spine, for example, have often been presented as universally protective or inherently safe, without sufficient context. As understanding of spinal movement, load tolerance, and variability has evolved, so too has the need to reassess how such ideas are applied in practice.

Reflection is as important as study.

Teachers with standards regularly ask:

• Is this still serving my clients

• Is this supported by current understanding

• Am I teaching this out of habit or intention

They are less interested in being right - and more interested in being responsible.

Why This Matters

Clients may not know the names of the exercises.
They may not remember the sequence.

But they remember:
how their body felt
whether they trusted you
whether they felt held, not hurried

That is standards in action.