My journey to become a Reformer pilates instructor | Lauren Mcavoy
YMCA - INTENSIVE -STOTT PILATES CERTIFICATION
International fashion model | Yoga Teacher | Mother
My name is Lauren, I'm 38, a mother to a little girl and an avid fitness and nutrition lover. After working as a model for over 20 years I needed to find some personal balance in my life and I knew that if I incorporated some healthy lifestyle choices into my personal life this would help me a great deal, so I started going to yoga classes and soon realised the benefits of a healthy body and healthy mind. I qualified as a yoga teacher in 2015 and have since used that certification to teach all over the world, running classes and retreats.
My love of Reformer is a relatively new obsession. I found it to be a great addition to yoga, since pilates is very much strength and co-ordination based and yoga being more spiritual and mindful. Both are great practices to include into your daily life. the effects will echo into your professional and personal life also.
I absolutely love learning and I'm constantly working on myself and trying to better my life for myself and my daughter. This decision to become a reformer teacher was a no brainer, it felt so current and aligned very much with my current career within the health and wellness industry.
One thing that makes reformer so addictive, is because it is so fun, the flowy repertoire and the different sequences you can do are endless. They are short and sweet and always leave you feeling great and uplifted. Plus you quickly start seeing why this ‘pilates princess’ trend is actually a thing…..you’ll be hooked on buying different grippy socks and saving up to buy your next block package so you don't miss out on this feeling of being so in love with working out and looking after yourself with all your girlies once (twice maybe four) times a week ;)
What happens when you sign up for your reformer training?
Firstly, you must choose who you want to do your course with, there are so many accredited Courses to take, but I chose STOTT Merrithew as they are Internationally acclaimed and can be used for clinic and rehabilitation purposes.
The next choice you have is whether you want to do your in-person part of the course on the weekends or during the week. I choose weekends as I could still continue with my yoga classes and take my daughter to and from school. Once I had chosen my preferred course days and paid the fee, which was around £1,600, you will then be sent an email giving access to a student portal which had all the course itinerary outlined and explained. Access to over 20 videos of STOTT principles and sequences. Pre- course preparation. And an online anatomy module which was pretty lengthy and really gave you an idea of what to expect for your in-person part of the course.
My first thoughts on the course…….
Upon arriving at the YMCA for our 1st of 8 days (in-person), I was met by 12 other students who were also about to embark on a journey to become a reformer pilates instructor. We were each given 3 course manuals on arrival and given a reformer bed to work on.
The course itinerary is very well organised:
Day 1- Basic principles + course overview
Day 2- Warm up +First layer of essential exercises
Day 3- Second layer of essentials exercises
Day 4- Third layer of essential exe sizes +round robin review
Day 5- Postural Assessment
Day 6- Programming + intermediate exercises
Day 7- Intermediate exercises/ practice on other students
Day 8- Group teaching + exam prep
For me personally I felt a little overwhelmed, there was a lot of initial information to ingest. STOTT pilates is very much anatomical and bio-mechanical based which was never my forte when i completed my 200hr yoga teacher training, so i definitely feel thrown in the deep end. But I've been assured that I can do this and we have 6 months to complete our exams.
I found there to be a good balance between the theory and the practical each day, which kept it fun and interesting. Our teacher Charlotte was incredibly knowledgeable and was very engaging with all of us, getting us to answer questions and really made us pay attention when holding the class. she really bought us all out of our shell.
By weekend 3 all 12 of us started to engage together and bonding (over how incredibly in-depth this course is, I think we all felt a little overwhelmed). Creating this bond between us all, really helped the learning process for me, so I think it's important I chose a course that was in person. I made some lovely friends and we currently have a group chat with our teacher Charlotte in also which is very helpful.
I don't want to overload you with information on the course, so I've decided I'm going to be documenting each weekend I spent on the course through videos which I will be posting weekly through instagram @reformerpilates_official
Showing you step by step, on my new foldable bed that I've recently installed at home. I'm really excited to share with you all the best bits but also the parts I felt were more challenging.
I'm still yet to complete my exams by the end of November, so I'm still very much on my learning journey.
I've always had the mentality that if I'm going to do something, I'm going to do it well and doing it well takes time, integrity and handwork.
Thank you for taking the time to read this and if you're interested feel free to make contact via ‘The Loop’ community app…and if you do decide it’s for you, I hope you continue to follow this wonderful journey to become a reformer pilates instructor.
Love & Light,
Lauren
