Continuing the legacy of Joseph Pilates
The Pilates Lab in St. Louis is a trusted partner and branch of New York’s renowned Real Pilates Teacher Training®. The Real Pilates program is recognized as one of the most prestigious and comprehensive certifications in the world.
The team of highly experienced and dedicated instructors will mentor you throughout the Pilates teacher training program in St. Louis, preparing you for a long and successful career of teaching the method – to carry on the legacy of Joseph Pilates.
Mr Pilates gave his signature body of exercises to Romana Kryzanowska when he passed, and she gave them to Alycea Ungaro. Alycea now offers this work to you through the Real Pilates Teacher Training® program.
Choose your path to getting certified
Primary Training Certification: This is a 30-week program presented over four seminar weekends, and 600+ hours of practical and academic study. You will learn the system of the method, anatomy, anatomical alignment, special populations, injuries, and how to apply it to today’s exerciser. You’ll learn every exercise, every variation, and every piece of apparatus ever created by Joseph Pilates. Our approach to Pilates teacher training in St. Louis will set you up for success with a career as a professional instructor and you will be hireable anywhere in the world with the Real Pilates name.
Graduate Program: Already a certified comprehensive Pilates teacher wanting to dive deeper into the classical work? Bridge with us in our graduate program! Learn the “why” of the system, fill in your blanks, and develop your program design skills from the ground up. You will become a part of a distinct lineage of teachers connected to Joseph Pilates, and become a 3rd generation teacher. The graduate program is a 450-hour comprehensive program.
“The life’s work of Joseph Pilates is not something we can fast track, and the responsibility we all share in promoting and preserving the legacy of Pilates is a profound one.”
Alycea Ungaro
Lineage matters
The lineage system helps to preserve Pilates’ original teachings so that they can be passed down as accurately and canonically as possible to future students. It also guarantees that only the highest quality of training is provided to future apprentices.
Learn all there is to know about Classical Pilates at The Pilates Lab, the first and only Classical Pilates studio in St. Louis.
Our signature style for training formulas
- Targeted goal setting
- Strategic sequencing
- Program design
- Anatomical alignment
- Anatomy
- Hands-on-work
- Advanced cueing
Training on the original apparatus
To teach the Classical work you have to train on the original equipment design. For decades Real Pilates® has had a close working relationship with the original manufacturer of Joseph Pilates’ designs, Gratz®.
Due to the academic intensity of our Pilates certification program, and the mentoring needed, The Pilates Lab will only accept four apprentices per training cycle.
Now accepting applications for 2024
Due to the academic intensity of our Pilates certification program, and the mentoring needed, The Pilates Lab will only accept four apprentices per training cycle.
Program overview
- 4 Seminar weekends
- Weekly academic assignments, case studies, and quizzes
- Program Design
- Practice Teaching
- Observation
- Anatomy and Alignment
- Safe spotting & Hands-on
- Weekly Personal Training Sessions
- Weekly Small Group Sessions
- Monthly Meetings
- Practical Assessments
- Assisted Teaching
- Paid Teaching Opportunities
- The Business of Pilates
Four weekend seminars run on Fridays and Saturdays from 1–7pm, and Sundays from 1pm-3pm.
Beginner: January 19-21, 2024
Intermediate I: March 1-3, 2024
Intermediate II: April 12-14, 2024
Advanced: May 17-19, 2024
Tuition cost is $5750 for the Primary Program payable to Real Pilates NYC, plus a $3000 Training Package to the Pilates Lab that covers 60 required privates and semi-private sessions.
Tuition cost is $4200 for the Bridge Program payable to Real Pilates NYC, plus a $3000 Training Package to the Pilates Lab that covers 60 required privates and semi-private sessions.
Financial aid and scholarships are available from Real Pilates NYC.
More info can be found here: https://www.realpilates.com/training
Application Requirements
Interviews
The Pilates Lab and Director of Education in NYC
- Be prepared to explain your understanding of Classical Pilates.
- Be prepared to discuss your history with the Pilates method as well as your personal plans for becoming a Pilates Instructor.
Assessment
You will be asked to demonstrate a full classical Pilates workout to the best of your ability. We will guide you through exercises, sometimes naming movements, sometimes asking what you do next in your typical workout.
Personal Statement
This is your opportunity to share a little bit about who you are, what you care about, what you intend to do with this program, and your “why” for becoming a certified classical Pilates teacher.
How to Prepare
In order to begin the Real Pilates Teacher Training Program at The Pilates Lab, applicants must demonstrate intermediate-level proficiency in the classical Pilates repertoire. Generally, most successful candidates have been practicing Pilates before entering the Real Pilates Teacher Training Program. The Pilates Lab offers a training package to help participants prepare for their assessment if the student has not yet mastered the intermediate system. Training plan and pricing will be discussed after the initial informal interview.
Apprentices need to be able to commit a minimum of 15 hours per week in the studio for their apprenticeship, the four-weekend seminars, 2-4 hours each week of academics, and the required test-outs.
Start your real teacher training journey
- Informational interview with studio owners, Susan Bange and Kristen Davis at The Pilates Lab.
- Submit your 2023 application to www.realpilates.com
- Interview and Assessment, by invitation with New York.
- Demonstrate completion of the prerequisite course work or entry-level proficiency prior to the start date.