As Pilates has become more popular so has the demand for Pilates teachers. However be warned: they will not all have had the same level of training.

In the USA, more than 200,000 ‘teachers’ have paid $49.95 (about £25) to buy their ‘certification’ through home study. The training organization website boasts ‘Your certificate will not show that you qualified online’.

In the UK, thousands more have been certified as Pilates teachers after training for a few hours or just a weekend. Finding an appropriately trained Pilates teacher can be far from straightforward.

Premier training organizations for Pilates teachers include; Body Control Pilates, Polestar, Stott Pilates and the Pilates Foundation. If your teacher has trained or is training with one of these organizations then you should be in safe hands.