Engage current clients and attract new ones by celebrating International Pilates Day on May 4th! Zoey Trap offers some suggestions for commemorating this special day.
“We stand on the shoulders of the giants that go before us, that we might see into the future.” – Isaac Newton
As Pilates practitioners, we have such a proud and storied tradition. All of us who have journeyed down the teaching path have heard the stories of Joseph Pilates’ brilliance about the body and inventiveness with equipment. His wife, Clara, added a huge impact to the work with her finesse and sensitivity. There are Elders who learned under Joe, like Mary Bowen and Lolita San Miguel. And we stand at a new doorway. We must work to remember, to be critical in our thinking, to be devoted to healthy movement and science.
May 4th is International Pilates Day. How will you mark this special event? Here are some ideas we have heard over the years:
- Join your Pilates community together and collectively host a master class in a big space or an outside location. Ensure every local studio is represented and leading a part of the session. Love the cooperation, not competition!
- Host your own master class with a special theme or guest instructor.
- Invite the public in for an open house. Have free mini classes. Put a sign on each piece of equipment explaining one of its characteristics. Then have a nearby teacher put them on it and try out an exercise!
- Bring in a news or media celebrity and give them a free full session, and ask them to write about it.
- Have a raffle. But not just any ordinary raffle. Get donations for gift baskets and have people bid or buy tickets. Use the proceeds to award scholarships to people who really want Pilates training, but can’t afford it.
- Time the purchase or assembly of new equipment with this day. Place balloons and a thank you card to your students on it!
- Play videos of Joseph Pilates and the Elders on a screen all day.
- Make your space festive and welcoming. I remember owning space in an office complex, and one year, we held an open house with special free classes all day. Signs were out front, and footsteps were cut to lead them right to our door. We had goodie bags, refreshments and of course fun!
So get your creative juices flowing and have fun celebrating International Pilates Day.