The Pilates Re-formation is an article I wrote for the Pilates Journal in April 2023.
There is no doubt that our society, industries and communities are all undergoing massive technological transformations, with the rapid digitalisation 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 the mass production of reformers that has resulted in challenges to the concept of the 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 other hand 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?
