My Training Experience with Muse’s Mat Training

BY: NAFISA K.

With a few weeks to go before completing our in-class hours for the Muse Movement’s Mat Pilates Teacher Training, I wanted to share a look into my experience so far!

Currently a yoga teacher, I signed up because of a keen interest to expand my toolbelt into Pilates. The two modalities are very complementary, with Pilates encouraging inner power, a strong mind-body connection and greater self-awareness.

Why Muse?

One of the big reasons I opted for Muse is because of how in-depth the program goes - a lot of other training programs tend to be a few days or weekends long. With Muse, we spent multiple weekends on anatomy alone - since then we’ve also tackled sequencing, cueing, and of course an in-depth review for each of the most common exercises in Pilates - their setups, the muscles utilized, modifications, transitions and so forth. This ensures all of us have a strong foundation in our own practices and in our journey as teachers.

What’s Training Like?

It’s worth noting that this training is not for the weak - it demands a lot of you, and offers so much in return as long as you put in the effort. There is homework after each class, offering you an opportunity to integrate the learnings and make sure everything is landing. All of the practice teaching offers opportunities to embody your learnings, see the impacts firsthand, and roleplay with your peers.

There are a handful of different teachers involved in the Mat Training Faculty, which is awesome because you get exposure to different teaching styles. You’re in permanent “sponge mode”, absorbing all the different learnings and experiences each teacher has to offer - giving you a wealth of perspectives as you better define the teacher you want to be. No one teacher’s journey is the same, and this is so clear through the training - the faculty reminds you that the path you carve as a teacher is your own, and there is infinite opportunity to pivot, unlearn, relearn and adjust along the way.

The absolute icing on the cake has been all the wonderful fellow students I’ve gotten to know, and the community we’ve built along the way - the smaller class sizes mean you get to know your cohort pretty well over the course of training. In addition to learning from the teachers, it has been so enriching to meet the other students, who also have their own experiences with movement, but ultimately share in your passion to deepen their practice.

*Student Sept - Dec 2023