About Us
Mission Statement
Pilates Union Uk ® operates as an independent organisation committed to providing the highest quality training, support and personal development for Pilates instructors.
Our core philosophy is simple: strive for excellence in teaching, simultaneously providing a personal and individualised support network to cater for the needs of the U.K’s Pilates instructors. Our organisation has been created to serve and promote the business interests of Pilates teachers regardless of their background or affiliation. We encourage and promote independence, open mindedness and tolerance; which gives rise to creative expression and exploration into new ways of interpreting, practicing and teaching the Pilates method.
We aim to provide practitioners with comprehensive resources to enable them to impart their skills and knowledge in a confident and distinctive manner. Our vision is to see Pilates Union U.K become the central hub for Pilates knowledge amongst teachers, right across the country. Our intention is to create an umbrella organisation that ties the Pilates community together so that instructors may have a platform for the exchange of ideas and have a voice and presence within the industry.
The Birth of Pilates Union
Emma originally qualified as a level 3 Pilates teacher over 11 years ago and became a supervising teacher some years later. Student teachers came to her studio to take their practical assessment followed by gaining real on the job experience as part of their supervised teaching hours. She then moved on to coach qualified instructors by providing development workshops, in order that teachers may gain their professional development points. It was during these teacher training workshops that she realised that there was a gap in the UK instructor market in providing ongoing support, training and networking for instructors from all different backgrounds.
When Emma qualified over a decade ago, there were a handful of instructors teaching the method and so the market for teaching the public was massive. In the last ten years the instructor market has grown dramatically, whilst Emma believes that the support network for individual teachers has remained relatively undeveloped in comparison.
Emma therefore wanted to set up an organisation that qualified teachers could be part of in order to develop their client base, promote their business opportunities and to further develop their careers within this industry.
She therefore decided to form a new company to cater for the needs of the growing number of Pilates instructors in the U.K so that they may have a voice and a presence within this industry. This is the U.K’s first independent organisation created to cater for the needs of instructors and to give them a voice and a platform to gain business and support.
After much research as well as speaking to Pilates teachers from different organisations, Emma decided to form Pilates Union Uk ®, which is dedicated to providing support and ongoing training embedded in the principles of Pilates but offering innovative and imaginative approaches which will have a very positive and direct impact on your teaching.
MEMBER BENEFITS
- · 10% off Physical Company Products and Equipment
- · 10% off Pilates Clothing from Anniluce
- · !0% off Continuing Professional Development Workshops
- · Competitive Instructor Insurance Rates
- · Your details listed on a national website accessed by the public
- · Access to our online Physio and Instructor debate forum
- · Anatomy training at hospitals on Cadaver Studies
- · Discount on Pilates DVD’s produced by Pilates Union Uk ®
Emma’s Background
Already having her own thriving Personal Training fitness consultancy in London, Emma became inundated with clients when she qualified in Pilates in 1998. She set up the first Pilates course for back problems at the Royal National Orthopedic Hospital in London for their Consultant Surgeons patients.
Emma returned home in 2001 to open up the first, fully equipped Pilates studio in the North East, MyBody Studios. The reputation of the East Boldon studio grew by word of mouth and Emma receives constant referrals from G.P's, osteopaths, physiotherapists and other health professionals.
Yoga was always a keen interest for Emma and she traveled to the Himalayas in India to undertake her yoga teacher training at the Sivananda ashram. She has since traveled to Mysore, Southern India, to train with the international guru, Patabi Jois, specialising in Ashtanga yoga. More famous, modern yogis whom Emma has studied under are the renowned anatomist, Paul Grilley and Ashtanga yogi, John Scott. Emma teaches a blend of Ashtanga and Hatha yoga.
Emma is one of less than twenty Gyrotonic ® teachers in the U.K. Her studio has the only Gyrotonic ® machine between Leicester and Edinburgh. As well as being a fully qualified Personal Trainer with London Central YMCA, Emma is one of a few hundred Cardiac Rehabilitation teachers in England having qualified to Phase 4 instructor with the British Association of Cardiac Rehabilitation. Emma has lectured Physiotherapists in Cardiac Rehab and the Pilates method and taught in NHS hospitals as well as private Bupa hospitals in London. Corporate classes in the workplace were a specialty of Emma's when she lived in London.
She has a wealth of experience in the media, having hosted her own live weekly fitness slot on London radio. She had her own fitness column in the Gazette and has had articles published in glossy fitness magazines and appeared in The Guardian, The Times and The Sun newspapers. Emma's specialty is in sports training. She has taught Premiership and International footballers, England Cricketers, Leading Principal ballet dancers, gymnasts and worked extensively in Ireland with leading dressage riders and horse trainers. She has taught in Australia, India, Germany, Switzerland and Dublin.
