Questions, answered properly.

No. Most of our students have never taught anything. What you do need is a regular personal Pilates practice — you should be comfortable in the work in your own body before you start guiding someone else through it.

We have students beginning in their twenties and students beginning in their fifties. Pilates is one of the few movement professions where being older is an advantage: you understand bodies that don't do what they're told, because you have one.

No. You're training to teach, not to perform. Understanding how a movement works and being able to explain it to a body that can't do it yet matters far more than your own range.

Start from where you want to work rather than from the price list. If the studios near you run mat classes, Mat is enough to start. If they're reformer studios, you need Reformer. If you want the widest options, Mat + Reformer is what most studios advertise for. Book a call and we'll tell you honestly — including if the cheaper one is right.

You can, and every hour carries forward. Students often begin with Mat, start teaching and earning, then add Reformer or continue to Comprehensive once they know the direction they want.

The curriculum, the mentors, the assessment and the certificate are identical. Online is 100% live: you train in real time with your instructors, plus your private mentoring and your teaching practice, booked from the times available to you. Only the science module is recorded. In person means consecutive studio days in a U.S. city, capped at twelve students with one machine each, with your anatomy and theory completed over video beforehand. Neither is the lesser option.

You book them from the appointment times we have available, as you work through the course — there is no fixed cohort timetable you have to keep up with. Ask us to show you the times currently open for your timezone on your call, before you enrol, so you know what you're committing to.

Every track includes live one-on-one sessions with your mentor: Mat 20, Reformer 25, Mat + Reformer 45, Apparatus 15 and Comprehensive 60. About half are learning sessions (your mentor teaches you the exercises) and half are supervised teaching, where you teach while your mentor gives you feedback. You demonstrate exercises, practice guiding movement, ask what you're stuck on, and your mentor records feedback in your Mentorship Workbook. You also submit recorded teaching lessons (teaching a friend, family member or client), which Chen reviews personally. If you need additional sessions to complete your training, you can add them at any time for $50 per session. Your sessions start with learning sessions, then move to 1:1 Practice Labs where you teach your mentor. Both are part of your included sessions.

Yes, and most of our students do. Your instruction hours are scheduled around your week and the rest is yours to arrange. What it asks for is consistency rather than a cleared calendar.

Mat: no — your training kit covers everything and it ships to you. Reformer and Mat + Reformer: yes, for the self-practice hours — you need regular access to a reformer, which can be your own, a studio membership, a class pass or a rental, and does not have to be a studio machine. Comprehensive: you also need access to the chair, Cadillac and barrels for those self-practice hours, which is the most common reason someone chooses the in-person format for this track. Lessons, anatomy, theory, observation and mentor sessions need nothing but a screen. Tell us what you can access on your call and we'll be straight about whether it works before you enrol.

No. Mat, ring, resistance bands, ball, grip socks and your printed workbook are included in your tuition and shipped to your door.

That depends on the certification and how many hours a week you can give it. Some students move quickly; students fitting it around a job and children take longer, and both are fine. We map a realistic timeline with you before you enrol rather than after.

Live sessions are recorded, so you can catch up. For in-person studio days, talk to us — with cohorts capped at twelve we can usually arrange a way to make up what you missed rather than move you to the next cohort.

Studios hire on the strength of your training and how you teach. That's why our programme is built around mentored teaching practice rather than watching videos — you should be able to walk into an audition and hold a room, not just describe exercises. Your mentor prepares you for that audition, and we help you find and approach studios near you. Requirements vary between studios, and completing the program does not guarantee employment.

Yes, for a full year from the day you enroll, including any material we add during that time. Plenty of time to finish your hours and come back to refresh before you teach.

Career support: your mentor prepares you for studio auditions, and we help you find and approach studios near you. After you certify, you can also join the Go Pilates Collective, our monthly membership — a live workshop, its recording and a practical teaching guide every month, plus a private community of instructors.

Retakes are included without penalty, with support to prepare. Our assessment exists to confirm you're ready to teach safely, not to catch you out. NPCP examinations are administered by NPCP under their own retake policy, which we'll walk you through.