The U.S. Department of Labor reports that the fitness industry is growing. As of 2016, it is expected to grow by 27 percent, which is higher than the average growth of all professions. Becoming a yoga or Pilates Instructor can be desirable because you often get to choose your own hours, make your own fitness a personal priority, and perks often include free membership to the gym or studio where your work.
Origins of Pilates
Pilates is a style of exercise created by Joseph Humbertus Pilates, pronounced "pi-LOTTS," during his time spent as a nurse rehabilitating soldiers of World War I. When he moved to the United States, he and his wife opened a fitness studio that was discovered by many dance professionals, including Martha Graham, the so-called "mother of modern dance," and became very popular in professional dance circuits all over the world. Today it is practiced by dancers and non-dancers alike.
Origins of Yoga
Yoga has a very different history, some claiming the practice be as old as 40,000 years, according to goldenbridgeyoga.com. In India, yoga is considered to be a practical method of self-realization and spirituality. In the United States, yoga has been reduced primarily to an exercise. The yoga asanas were popularized by Richard Hittleman who came to New York in the 1950s to teach yoga, and eventually went on to teach yoga on television in the 1960s.
Minimum Requirements
There are no state or national regulations in place for yoga or Pilates, and so anyone can claim to be a instructor. As a result, both the yoga and pilates industry have started to self-regulate themselves; yoga through the Yoga Alliance and pilates through the Pilates Method Alliance. The Yoga Alliance dictates that 200 hours of training is the minimum education needed to teach yoga with a curriculum that covers asana, anatomy, pranayama, meditation, philosophy, history, and other yoga-related topics. The Pilates certificate of completion from the Pilates Method Alliance requires 450 hours of training or 720 hours of Pilates employment within the last 12 months, and to complete a 150-question multiple choice exam.
Find a School
The Yoga Alliance and Pilates Method Alliance both have a registry of schools all over the United States and around the world. Every school accredited by the Yoga Alliance, which sets the standards for yoga schools in the United States, is listed on its so the Yoga Alliance is the most comprehensive registry of accredited schools.
Pilates schools are not required to register with the Pilates Method Alliance to provide teacher trainings; the Pilates Method Alliance only gives the test to provide certification. Thus, its registry is not as comprehensive as the Yoga Alliance, however it still contains the most complete U.S. registry.
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