Dance studio offers certification training

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Studio One Stott Pilates LLC, located at 317 E. Walnut in a loft above Harpo's, is now a certification center for people who want to teach the Stott Pilates technique to others, according to Chyrel Love Miller, a certified Stott Pilates instructor and owner of the studio.|ret||ret||tab|

Miller last month completed training in Toronto, Canada and is now one of six people in the United States who is a certification instructor, which means she can train, and certify other individuals who want to teach the Stott Pilates techniques to others.|ret||ret||tab|

"I did the certification center here, wanted to do that because the only place you could get certified (as an instructor) was a long way from here and out of reach for most people in the Midwest," Miller said.|ret||ret||tab|

Miller, who opened her studio in September 1999, said Pilates is a form of exercise that builds strength and flexibility.|ret||ret||tab|

"It is built off the idea that the torso of the body is the strength and stability for everything that we do," Miller said.|ret||ret||tab|

She added that Moira Stott, whom she trained with in Toronto, modified Stott Pilates, which is the type she teaches and certifies others to teach. Miller, who retired in May after teaching dance for 30 years at Southwest Missouri State University, said the original Pilates techniques, created by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s, were mainly used by dancers and athletes. She said Stott Pilates focuses more on the rehabilitative and medical aspects of the body, rather than the exercise aspect, which makes Stott Pilates more usable by the general population.|ret||ret||tab|

"Pilates can condition you for everyday life. The idea with Pilates is that it's supposed to put you back in what they call neutral, so that your body is symmetrical," she said.|ret||ret||tab|

"In our everyday life, we carry bags or work at computers or whatever, and it makes the muscles pull the structure out of line, so you have aches, pains and stiffness. What Pilates does is put you back so that you have the freedom to do whatever your life involves."|ret||ret||tab|

She said there are other people in the area who teach Pilates concepts, but she said her studio is the only certified Pilates studio.|ret||ret||tab|

"This is a true Pilates studio. That's all we do here, the Pilates technique," she said.|ret||ret||tab|

Miller said people can teach the technique without being certified, but she said that can cause injuries because untrained instructors might not know what the purpose of the techniques actually are.|ret||ret||tab|

"I think it's really important that the public realizes there is a difference between having a certified instructor and just watching the tapes you can buy or going to someone who is not certified," Miller said.|ret||ret||tab|

Pilates uses specific, specially designed equipment, Miller said: the Mats, the Reformer, the Cadillac table, the Chair and the Barrels. She said instructor certification is divided into two parts. First, the instructor-in-training must learn the Mats and the Reformer, which takes 94 hours of instruction and 124 hours of practice with and observation of a certified certification instructor. Once that is completed, an additional 94 hours of instruction, and 124 hours of practice and observation is required for the Cadillac table, the Chair and the Barrels.|ret||ret||tab|

She said clients training to teach Stott Pilates must also take a three-hour written exam and complete a practicum during which they teach someone else to use each piece of equipment while the certification instructor observes.|ret||ret||tab|

"They have to know anatomy, the muscles, all the exercises, and how they apply to different people," she said.|ret||ret||tab|

Miller said she now has eight students training to become certified Stott Pilates instructors. She said Stott Pilates is more popular on the East and West coasts, but the exercise is gaining popularity in the Midwest. |ret||ret||tab|

Miller said she instructs her individual clients, who are just learning the technique, and not how to teach it, on a one-on-one basis. She said her clients are male and female, between the ages of 16 and 73. She said Stott Pilates can be very stress relieving, and she works with several people from the local business community.|ret||ret||tab|

"I've got a lot of (clients) who are working in their own private businesses or own their own businesses. I have a couple of real estate dealers, who are sitting down a lot or are on the go all the time, and this keeps them in shape," she said.|ret||ret||tab|

"I do have some people who purposely put their Pilates class at the end of their worst day, so they come in and get their mind cleared, get their body relaxed and go home," she said.|ret||ret||tab|

Paula Stringer, branch manager of the Springfield office of Penmac Personnel Services, has been learning Stott Pilates with Miller for about two and a half months. |ret||ret||tab|

Stringer said she usually goes on Fridays. |ret||ret||tab|

"I love it. It's just good. In my arms right now especially, I've noticed more strength in my arms," she said. She added that Pilates is low-impact and not as difficult as other types of exercise, so it's easy to fit into the workday.|ret||ret||tab|

Miller said the fees for the instructor certification are $4,800 for all five pieces of equipment. For individual instruction on the techniques, she charges $50 per hour, or clients can purchase 10 hours of one-on-one instruction for $450, she said.|ret||ret||tab|

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