Are you part of an industry or a profession? A reflection on language relationships and power.

In his thick German accent a client stated to me:

“trust is good but control is better”.

(part of a mythology attributed to Lenin)

I smiled and thought “how very Pilates”; whilst battling a sense of unease. This article is my reflection on the relationships within a movement modality and the balancing of self responsibility rather than self care. This article explores my unease with the focus on control and the industry marketing of “contrology”, “Pilates” etc when working in a human centred profession.

Before you start yelling at me: Yes, I know Joseph Pilates described his work as “contrology”. I also remind everyone that English was Joseph Pilates’ second language, and as such nuances and understanding in language can be lost in translation. It reminds me of my Nonna who would proudly show her English language skills when describing that she was going to the city to shop which she would proudly pronounce in English as “Shi-tty”; needless to say this could lead to misunderstandings.

I appreciate that there is a push for the return of the moniker “contrology” in order to distinguish a specific type of Pilates. This push is understandable from an industry marketing perspective but also fails to address the underlying unease many of us have with the term “contrology”. The focus of the push appears to be about the ownership of “Pilates” rather than considering the relationships within the method.

For several decades I have worked in this profession of movement and run a business helping people move better, create a relationship with their body and their environment. For even longer I have explored the Pilates method as a means to build a better relationship with my own body. A body I would have once described as difficult and overtly sensitive. Over time my relationship with my body has changed as I have let go of control and learnt to trust that the sensitivity was warning me of the need to change and evolve rather than submit.

In the work I do day in day out “control is good but is only possible because of the trust between student and teacher, and within the self”. The play comes from a deep understanding of anatomy and physiology as well as multiple movement methodologies and human nature. This work does not need me to wear matching lycra, after I have dry brushed my skin and watch Pilates porn on instagram. Trust is possible when the practitioner is guided by ethical considerations of privacy, standards, client focused programming and respect. In other words trust derives from the ethics of a profession and doing the work.

Through the adoption of “contrology” we are at risk of creating yet another label to distinguish and potentially monetise a concept; removing trust, exploration, innovation and connection within the client-student-teacher relationship. The adoption of a label such as “contrology” feeds into a mythology that there is a specific solution, a formula that can be purchased and reproduced. Let us call this modern folktale “Little Red Spring and the Big Bad Studio”. I would argue that we have already played this game with the name “Pilates”, which has exploded and expanded to a point that it has lost trust in its ability to deliver what its reputation has promised. The label became part of the marketing, whilst disconnecting with the skills of the practitioners. Skills requiring a practitioner to respond, adapt, innovate to the circumstances in front of us, not just to an externally created formula.

It all brings us back to the questions of “What are we describing? What is it that we are asserting when we use the name “contrology” or even the term “Pilates”? Who benefits from these labels and treatment of a movement methodology as if it is a moral imperative? This mythologisation about a person called Joseph Pilates and a world created by his generational followers. Let us remember the insights of Friedrich Nietzsche who stated that:

“morality is not a system of universal truths, but a construct centred on power relations. Then, when morality is based on myths, it becomes a weapon at the disposal of whoever possesses the most powerful narrative”.

(Arocha. J.G. 2026)

So here I stand reflecting on a profession, arguing about the names it uses and calling on mythology as gatekeeping, rather than current relationships and ethical standards. A mythology creating some sort of “moral framework about the man Pilates and a method he created”, a framework that is dictated to us by an industry invested in the sale of equipment, education, training and technology. An industry seeking to assert control through a narrative rather than to build real and sustainable relationships. An industry with mainly male CEOs and managers; whilst the female worker bees pay money upwards as they explore the actual work of movement and relationships.

I have come to the realisation that the name and the mythology is irrelevant to the actual work we do, the changes we make for individuals and students. What is more important is our own ethics that govern those relationships and create real trust and real transformation achieved by the student, client and teacher. The labels are irrelevant in our relationships, and essential for commercial interests, constantly chasing trends, reinvention and consumption. Our individual challenge is to focus on the deep relationships that nurture us, pay our bills but also build trust and safety; rather than submission and control to a mythology that serves others. It is a commitment to “self responsibility, intellectual openness, and honesty ” that is in the human centred work that we do day in day out that creates trust. Whilst it is the marketing terms, whether they be “contrology, self care, scientific approach, evidenced-based or any other Brave New Word”, that create control and in some way limits our growth. It is trust that builds a sustainable business with yourself, your clients, students and staff. In the end it is your choice about what is important to you - trust or control?

The sustainability of Pilates as a movement methodolgy is not about the mythology but rather a professional and ethical structure that supports relationships. What is emerging is the struggle between the control, marketing and financial expansion of an industry and the relationships and standards of a profession. The challenge for you is how you are building trust and human connections.

Subscribe now

References

Arocha. J.G. 2026 - Nuremberg for Itself -published Savage Minds on substack

Originally published 2023 (The Pilates Re-formation)

There is no doubt that our society, industries and communities are all undergoing massive technological transformations, with the rapid digitalization of our lives. Even the pilates industry is undergoing massive change in the way we work, learn and interact with our clients and each other. I call the process the re-formation of pilates, in some ways it is akin to the reformation of Christianity in the 16th century following the introduction of the printing press. In the case of the pilates method it is mass marketing through social media, zoom and mass production of reformers has resulted in challenges to the concept of a pilates method.

There are those who will cry that this is “the end of the world” and that darkness shall descend upon us all. I on the otherhand would like to stop and ask ; What has been the impetus for change? What has changed? Who has benefited from these changes? How can we harness the reformation movement to improve the pilates method profession and industry?

Share

The impetus for change?

“The pilates method”, has struggled for many years to attain legitimacy in the eyes of medical practitioners, policy makers and clients. The pilates method was gaining traction in Australia, until it was catgeorised as “an unproved natural therapy “ under The Natural Therapies Review 2019. There is no doubt that many in the “pilates profession” were deeply disappointed at this set back. Whilst others within the pilates industry were gleeful at the weakening of a recognised body of knowledge and skills, and the development of authoritative bodies able to guide the development of criteria for professional standings. The changes did not seem to effect physical therapists who have relied on their training in other modalities to legitimise their use of pilates, even if they aren’t actually trained in the “pilates method”. Furthermore, despite clear guidelines that pilates is not coverable through private health, Physiotherapists have been doing so for some time.

This weakening of this professional standing allowed for the strengthening of a pilates industry whereby equipment, training, franchises and software could be promoted to a growing and unregulated market.

In the last decade there has also been a corporatisation of Allied Health Practices in Australia. Leading to practices of large group classes similar to that seen in gyms, the only real difference in some cases is that a young inexperienced graduate is leading to the class and therefore the class is GST free. Physiotherapy companies are providing large “phyio led classes in settings of 6 or more reformers” providing HITT reformer classes. A particularly frustrating example of marketing was one very large physiotherapy company showing a person doing short spine on the reformer, next to a line saying how great their classes were for people with osteoporosis!

To understand how this has become possible is we have to recognise the underlying duality in the pilates world. On the one hand pilates is presented as this aspirational system of health, fitness and beauty whereby famous people are seen to promote this special “secret” to leanness. On the other hand pilates is seen as a safe and responsible mindfulness process that can strengthen and support people from various states of health to a stronger more physically and mentally functional person. The marketing of these two worlds has been seen as a one or the other rather than as part of a continuum whereby a skilled and highly trained practitioner is able to work with clients at all stages of this continuum.

The pilates industry has been willing to trade off the name of pilates in order to promote specific profitable goals, without supporting the broader goals of pilates. In so doing risking the hard fought legitimacy of those in the pilates profession.

Our clients can be impacted by the dangerous and poorly trained pilates instructors and health practitioners who do not understand the nuances of movement patterning and progression. We are seeing unskilled practitioners who are using pilates equipment in environments that look and sound more like a nightclub than a studio.

These examples are seen throughout the pilates industry and have been marketed as “pilates porn” with individuals doing endless variety of lunges and handstands on a reformer. Some of the most frustrating examples, have included skantily clad individuals who seem to bend forward to the camera a lot.

The images revealing no methodology other than taking a gym workout on to a reformer, in otherwords the reduction of pilates method to a reformer. A process known as the reform - ation. Instructors use pre-filmed videos and loud music to have clients move, because after a weekend course they cannot truly program the nuances of a large repertoire let alone modify to a client’s needs. The role of the instructor is not necessarily to teach pilates but rather to supervise individuals for insurance purposes and often to help complete incident reports. These instructors also have a role in helping to promote the premium image of pilates by creating the facade of expertise and attention. Understandably, the pay is good per hour but there is little consistency in those hours, with instructors paid for a few hours at a time with little income security and consistency. In many ways the work has become part of the gig economy rather than as a profession. I would not be surprised if we don’t see the introduction of an “uber like app” where you can order your generic instructor for a class.

Even more concerning are large classes that accept clients without proper screening. Clients have come to me after going to a number of large franchises, even after some reformer physiotherapy classes with injuries. Clients with hip pathologies and vestibular pathologies have been led into ridiculously dangerous lunges on the reformers, resulting in falls and severe tendon injuries. There is an understanding that “pilates” is good for you, but not necessarily an understanding of what type of pilates is good and how tailoring the work is important. It’s like saying food is medicine, and then thinking that a McDonald cheese burger must therefore be good for your body.

This process of “reformation” has undermined the professionalism within pilates and leaves us with the question of who benefits from such an approach?

There is no doubt that this reformer fad is popular, there are many people who “love the burn” and novelty. However, it is not the pilates method which incorporates at its bare minimum a series of whole body movements with a focus of practice, progression and self mastery of health. By removing the pilates from the reformer experience, but marketing as pilates, the big benefits flow to:

• Franchises that are able to create a formula that can be reproduced and commodified, trading on a name that has until now connoted a premium product.

• Instructor trainers able to simplify pilates to a series of moves that can be learnt online or in crammed courses with insufficient practical skills based training. Many of these courses are linked to franchises and gyms where people are essentially paying for their training to be employed at that franchise.

• Training provided as Continuing Education rather than certification. Resulting in poorly trained instructors who have no recognised qualification for pilates association membership and insurance purposes.

• Corporate Allied Health practices that can churn clients through generic “exercise classes” subsidised by Health Funds and GST exemptions.

• Equipment providers able to sell en masse equipment or affiliated products that can be quickly mass produced, with little concern for consumer or environmental sustainability

• Video streaming subscriptions, and app developers that can generate endless array of class formats to meet the needs of instructors or gyms.Catering to a need because for poorly trained instructors who are unable to purposefully program or understand the process of progression and modification of repetoire. The problem creates a whole new business opportunity whereby weekly programs can be marketed resulting in bland generic classes taught where clients get to do even more weird cross fit variations on a reformer.

• Software companies creating booking systems, financial membership structures and apps to service the mass market.

• Clients who are happy to pay to participate in the latest fad. For many it has meant that they are exercise and moving for the first time in years, and that must be considered a benefit. Whether or not they are being mislead into paying for premium mediocrity rather than pilates method is a matter for further consideration as to consumer safety.

These benefits can be considered fantastic as it has generated profits for some, and as such could be considered legitimate for business to earn and grow. However, there is a cost to the broader legitimacy of the term pilates, as teachers of the pilates method disappear without passing on their skills. The deskilling of the pilates method is meaning that we are loosing the knowledge and skill base that gave pilates the reputation in the first place. Once that has been plundered “the legitimate practitioners” are left with the difficult tasks of having to rebuild a reputation and the injured bodies.

What can be done?

A starting point is that those who have trained in the pilates method start focussing on reclaiming the term. This means when someone says they are doing reformer pilates you highlight that they are doing reformer fitness, not the pilates method. You advocate for fitness associations to remove the name from pilates as part of the reformer fitness classes. Advocacy around this is hard when so many large training providers are focussing on offering reformer mat training rather than emphasising comprehensive training.

We should also be ensuring that quality training and quality apprenticeship models continue to be a pathway to membership of a professional pilates organisation. Ensure that pilates methods studios keep conversations open to reformer and mat trained teachers and show that there is more to the pilates method.

Pathways to restoring a profession of pilates teachers should ensure that:

• There is a body of knowledge about anatomy and physiology in context of movement.

• Dynamic analysis of movement patterns is an essential skill learnt through apprenticeship basedmodels using the pilates apparatus as the medium. Observational assessments developed in other modalities maybe of assistance but they have provided that practitioner with other skills not the skills needed as a pilates teacher.

• Recognition that trainees are to be treated with respect and encouragement as they are the future of the pilates method.

• Appropriate use of technology in training assists students to acquire knowledge around anatomy, pathology and repertoire. In person skills based training is also needed to produce graduates who are able to communicate, assess, plan program and teach real clients.

• Insurance providers recognising the minimum standards of training certification and education as identified by professional pilates association for all practitioners to be covered for malpractice.

• Pilates Certification is only possible through a pilates industry (eg PAA or NPCP) professionally recogised Certification process, and the practice of franchise continuing education practices end

• GST reform so that all gyms charge the tax. At the moment there are anti competitive practices with Allied Health corporations able to receive a 10% price subsidy to providing a gym service which has nothing to do with a tailored health program.

There are some that say it is too late for all of this because we have already been “re-formed”. I argue that as we reach peak reformer and franchises start to fail, interest wains this is the perfect time to call for better regulation and higher standards. Over the next few years is the time when the interested parties will start to be distracted looking for another way to make fast money. We can reclaim pilates and survive this re-formation.

Share

Subscribe now

This interactive tutorial recording is behind the paywall and was to address what and how you keep your client records particularly if you are working with Health Funds, NDIS and other insurance based organisations.

Learning goals

1. Why are notes needed?

2. How they can help you become a better practitioner?

3. What do you need to include?

4. SOAP format?

• Let’s call it SOAP-I for pilates teachers

5. Notes for group classes - spreadsheet option

The tutorial notes and recording are below the paywall.

Read more

In addition, we’ve provided a Maintenance Logbook for your use. You’re welcome to download, print, and keep this in your studio to help track servicing and routine checks.

Read more

In a world of constant display it is sometimes easy to forget that there is such a thing as privacy, that we have the right to be left alone with our thoughts, personal information and our personal lives. While we have become accustomed to scrolling through feeds of content, advertising and marketing perfectly derived for us by algorithms, we have a rig…

Read more

You will need:

• a mat - you will start with some movement.

• a notebook for writing some reflections

• a bolster or cushion to support you through some meditations

Read more