Pilates Mat Teacher Certificate Program

Class Description

This Intensive is open to intermediate level Pilates practitioners of all styles.  All students will receive a Certificate of Completion upon successful completion of the Intensive. Currently Cornish undergraduate students who complete all required coursework will receive a Pilates Mat Teaching Certification upon graduation.

This Intensive addresses the foundational skills needed to teach Pilates mat work including cueing, correction, and movement analysis required to create a functional, effective mat class. Participants study the use of the mat work for enhancing postural alignment and creating muscle balance and learn to develop personal exercise for skills for clients/students of varying levels. Students’ practical training included; active observation, practice teaching and participation in review of client case studies. Students are required to create a 50-minute personal Pilates mat workout with a written explanation for each exercise and effectively teach a portion of that workout to the class as an exam.

The Intensive daily schedule will include:

• A 45 minute Intermediate/Advanced Pilates Mat class to continue personal training and deepen the understanding of the Pilates Method as used in matwork.
• Two hours/day in a group class setting of pedagogy in relation to the Pilates mat work and practice teaching.

At the completion of this certification program, students achieve the following learning outcomes:

• A high level of competence and knowledge of the Pilates matwork through an intermediate level.
• The skills and confidence to design and implement group mat classes at a variety of levels, including: proper verbal and physical cueing, smooth transitions between exercises, rhythm and dynamics with exercises, a strong understanding of the philosophies of Joseph Pilates and the ability to articulate them, and the correct execution of those principles when applied to a variety of exercises and movements in a set mat program.
• The ability to modify exercises as needed to help a client succeed without injury.
• The ability to analyse a client’s posture, communicate this analysis to the client, and assign exercises for personal improvement outside of class.

Meet the Faculty!

Michele Miller graduated Summa Cum Laude from Point Park College with a BA degree in Dance and a minor in Accounting. She moved to New York City, living there for eight years, dancing, choreographing and managing Dance Space Inc., where she began teaching dance under the instruction of Lynn Simonson and studying Pilates at the Pilates Institute with Cary Regan. Michele moved to Seattle in 1992 to dance with the Pat Graney Company and began teaching at Dance Center Seattle. She opened Velocity Dance Center in 1996, now the premier studio in Seattle for modern dance.

Michele opened Shift Movement and Healing Arts in 2010, where she currently teaches Pilates, martial arts, and dance. She began creating choreographic work with her dance company Michele Miller/Catapult Dance in 2014. Beyond dance, Michele continues her studies of Pilates and martial arts. She recently took the certification to teach the Bodhi System (aerial Pilates), and trains regularly with her Taiji and Kung Fu teacher in Hong Kong, Cheung Yui Shing.

QUALIFICATIONS

BA in Dance with a minor in Accounting

Point Park College (Summa Cum Laude)