I arrived in Geneva last week. It was so good to see Susan Pepper and Markus Siegenthaler again. We took a boat ride to Yvoir and caught up on our lives. Markus is enrolled in Franklin Method® Level I Pilates Teacher Training. We had good conversation regarding the integration of bone rhythms into our Pilates teaching. Susan and I shared the process of education and our vision of Pilates in the future.
The next five days were beginning and intermediate Cadillac. Susan and I have very similar styles of teaching and how to look at the inside of the “engine” of the Cadillac. I come home with new inspiration.
Pilates is very alive outside of the USA. The international teaching community is growing in expertise and embracing excellence. I am leaving tomorrow with a respect for the autonomy and individual identity that every culture brings to this work. When I started, there was no information that was easily discovered in the USA. The USA has had the opportunity to grow the industry into other countries. Now it is time to honor and acknowledge that we have planted seeds and they have grown into experts within their own worlds.
It is with great joy that I said goodbye to our Cadillac students. They will be better Pilates teachers, continue to study, and to bring Pilates into the community in which they live.