Pilates should always be a good time, right? It’s one of the things that make this movement modality (in our biased minds!) the best. You get stronger. You heal. And you enjoy yourself while doing it!

So maybe you’ve decided you want to teach. You’re ready to get certified in a Pilates teacher training program to do so (and maybe with Core Pilates NYC? Hint hint!). You know you’re committed to the practice. You know you believe in the exercises “Uncle” Joseph Pilates developed. You’ve got a knack for explaining sometimes-complex choreography – or you have an aptitude to have one. But the most important question is… Can you have fun while you teach? And ensure your students do, too?

(Now of course this is more than a little bit tongue-in-cheek, but we love this quizlet as a reminder that there’s a lively, jolly side to the Pilates exercise method we take very seriously.)

• Can you do a good impression of a primate? (One of our favorite exercises – on ANY apparatus – is MONKEY!)
• Are you willing to give cues to your students such as “kick the person next to you in the butt” (for the Side-Kick exercise in the Pilates Mat repertoire)?
• Can you chuckle at yourself if you take a little tumble or wobble demonstrating a hard exercise like Control Balance?
• Do you have the chops to belt out a Springsteen song when you put a student on the Cadillac the first time?
• When a student asks if the circle really, indeed, is magic, do you have at least two responses that will make her or him laugh (perhaps nervously)?
• An elephant never forgets, but sometimes teachers do. Got the self-confidence to lol and brush it off when you mix up right and left… or elbow and knee… or up and down?
• Pilates was originally called Contrology, which often makes people giggle. Sounds like “control freak” if you don’t know what it means, right? Can you embrace the inherent humor in this word?
• What costume would you wear to teach on Halloween – and why? Dare dress up as Clara or Romana, two of our Pilates elders?
• Test your skills: Spin a fabricated yarn that explains why it’s called the WUNDA Chair.

Think about your favorite Pilates teachers. What have they done to make your workouts especially enjoyable? Get inspired by some of their tactics and make them your own: You’ll always love your job. Your students will love your passion and personality, too!