My name is Carol Clarke and I have been teaching Pilates on the mat and on studio equipment (Reformer, Cadillac, Wundachair to name a few) since 2005.
I have a true passion for Pilates, which has led me to study Classical Pilates in both the UK and the USA. I enjoy teaching Pilates to all ages and abilities, from absolute beginners to advanced students.
I also specialise in teaching Pilates for sports injuries, pre and post natal Pilates and also Pilates for before and after surgery.
I teach from my home studio in Muswell Hill, North London.
Qualifications:
Member of the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA) which is the professional development body for the UK sport and physical activity sector.
I studied Pilates in the UK at Pilates International, Highgate, London where I completed a full time 8 month apprenticeship in a working studio specialising in rehabilitation.
Masters in Classical Pilates from The Pilates Center, Boulder, Colorado in the USA. I studied in the USA over a period of two years at The Pilates Center, which is recognised as ‘the Harvard of the Pilates world’.
I am currently studying with BASI Pilates UK which is a leading Pilates education academy with a global reputation. They preserve the essence of the original Pilates philosophy, supplemented with current scientific knowledge.
I endeavour to be at the forefront of what is happening in the Pilates world internationally. I regularly attend workshops and have trained with leading names in the industry such as Jay Grimes and Lolita San Miguel (both of whom were personally trained by Joseph Pilates), Cara Reeser and Amy and Rachel Alpers (who were the first students of Romana Kryzanowska – Joseph Pilates’ protege).
Why I teach
I originally came to Pilates in 1997 as I had sustained a back injury. I went to an amazing physiotherapist in Clapham and she “fixed” me over a period of six months using contemporary Pilates techniques. Apart from the fact that I was very grateful to be pain free again this experience also taught me the power of Pilates to help people recover from injury and I also gained an invaluable insight into how to teach other people.
I decided to train to become a Pilates instructor in 2005 after leaving a career in the City. I spent a long time researching which school to train with and decided on Pilates International – a studio owned and run by Heather and Martin Sampson as they were true pioneers of pilates in the UK and had a passion for teaching Pilates which they translated to their students. They were in the first extremely small wave of teachers in the UK at the beginning of the 1980s and were tutored by Alan Herdman. Heather and Martin were also founder members of the UK’s first Pilates Teachers’ Association, the Pilates Foundation, which was created in 1996.
I wanted to understand the roots of Pilates by studying the original, classical method of Pilates on both mat and studio equipment. I chose to study at The Pilates Center in Boulder, Colorado. The Principals of The Pilates Center, Amy Taylor Alpers and Rachel Taylor Seger in their own words ‘strive to foster the legacy and tradition of the original, classical method of Pilates’. They are very well placed to do this as they were among the first students to train under Romana Kryzanowska, Joseph Pilates’ protegé and the inheritor of his studio in NYC. The Pilates Center was an amazing and inspirational place to study and practice.