Study Labs for Pilates Teachers
A place for Pilates teachers to study, refine and deepen their practice.
The Monthly Pilates Study Lab
A place to slow down, look more closely and become a student again.
Study Labs are small, practical days created for Pilates teachers who want to deepen their understanding of the work.
Teaching can become busy. We move from client to client, cueing, correcting and making decisions, often without the time to stop and explore why an exercise works, what we are really seeing, or what we might do differently.
Study Labs give us that time.
Working with a maximum of four teachers, we take a small section of the Pilates repertoire and look at it more closely — practising the exercises ourselves, observing different bodies, exploring the connections between exercises and discussing the choices we make as teachers.
This isn’t about collecting more exercises or finding one “right” way to teach.
It’s about developing your eye, asking better questions and becoming more confident in your understanding of the work.
Upcoming Study Labs
Go deeper, with 1:1 teacher sessions
The Study Lab gives you the opportunity to explore a subject.
Private tuition gives you the opportunity to explore you.
1:1 Teacher Sessions
Private sessions for teachers who want individual attention to:
- refine your own practice
- explore challenging exercises
- improve your eye for movement
- develop your teaching
- work through a particular client/problem
- deepen your understanding of the apparatus
£50 • Private session
About the Garden Studio
A quiet place to study
Away from the noise of a busy gym or large studio, the garden studio is a space for concentrated work.
A place where you can:
observe – practise – question – understand
Full Apparatus Experience
- Reformer
- Cadillac (Trapeze Table)
- Wunda Chair
- Ladder Barrel
- Spine Corrector
- Mat and small props
Where is the studio?
Colchester Road, Ipswich, IP4
Upcoming Study Labs
STUDY LAB 01
From Support to Strength
One day. Ten exercises. A deeper look.
A practical day of study for Pilates teachers who want to look more deeply at the relationship between support, strength and movement.
Rather than rushing through repertoire, we’ll slow things down.
We’ll take a closer look at the journey from Pelvic Lift through to Down Stretch, exploring how the exercises build upon one another, what each exercise is asking of the body and what we, as teachers, need to be looking for.
This is an opportunity to practise, observe, question and teach — and to develop greater understanding of the work rather than simply adding more exercises to your repertoire.
What will we explore?
Through practice, observation and teaching, we’ll look at:
- How support creates the foundation for strength
- Where stability becomes movement
- How one exercise prepares the body for the next
- How to recognise what the body is actually doing
- The relationship between strength and length
- How the Reformer develops control and connection
- What changes when springs, position or support change
- Ways of approaching an exercise when the movement doesn’t come easily
- What to look for before deciding to progress a client
- How your own experience of an exercise can inform your teaching
There will be time to move, watch, teach, discuss and ask questions.
This isn’t about finding one “correct” way to teach an exercise. It’s about becoming more curious about what you see and more confident in the choices you make as a teacher.
Who is this Study Lab for?
This day is for qualified Pilates teachers who want to deepen their understanding of the Reformer repertoire and develop their teaching eye.
You don’t need to arrive knowing all ten exercises perfectly.
Bring your experience, your questions and your curiosity.
Why only four teachers?
Because this is a Study Lab, not a large workshop.
With just four teachers, everyone has time on the apparatus, time to observe and time to ask questions.
It also means we can follow what comes up in the room rather than being tied rigidly to a lecture or presentation.
The intention is to create the sort of environment in which teachers can say:
“I’m not sure what I’m seeing here.”
“Why isn’t this working?”
“What would you do next?”
Those are often the questions from which the most useful learning comes.
My approach to Pilates has always been rooted in curiosity.
I believe the repertoire is something to be studied, not simply memorised. The more deeply we understand the exercises, the better equipped we are to work with the individual body in front of us.
The Study Labs are a space for teachers to step away from the pressure of teaching and become students again — to move, observe, question and explore.
Study Lab 01 — From Support to Strength
Date: SATURDAY, 17.10.26
Time: 10.00am–1pm
Location: Michaela Windsor Pilates, Colchester Road, Ipswich, IP4
Places: Maximum 4 teachers
Investment: £175
Ready to study?
Come with questions.
Come prepared to move.
Come prepared to look again at exercises you may already know — and perhaps see something you hadn’t noticed before.
One day. Ten exercises. A deeper look.
STUDY LAB 02
The Art of the Centre
Open Leg Rocker → Neck Pull
What does it really mean to work from the centre?
More details coming soon.
Date to be confirmed.