Pilates, Trends & Finding Our Way Back to the Work with Carla Mullins

In this episode, Katie Crane sits down with Carla Mullins for a wide-ranging conversation about the changing Pilates industry, the rise of reformer fitness, education, professional standards, and what it really means to serve clients well.

They explore what can happen when Pilates becomes commodified and when fast training, scalability, marketing, and trends begin to take priority over depth, experience, and client relationships.

In this episode, Katie and Carla discuss:

• The rapid growth of reformer and strength-based Pilates trends
• The difference between information and true education
• Why experience and embodiment matter when becoming a Pilates teacher
• The role of lineage, ethics, and professional standards
• Whether short training courses can adequately prepare someone to teach
• The importance of knowing your scope of practice and when to refer clients
• Why Pilates businesses should remain focused on relationships and trust
• The impact of commodifying Pilates and turning it into a scalable product
• The difference between strength, aesthetics, function, and health
• Why we need to question what we mean when we use words like "strength"
• Building a sustainable Pilates profession without losing its integrity

A question worth asking

Instead of simply asking "What is the latest trend?", Katie and Carla encourage Pilates professionals to ask:

What is the intention behind what we are doing?

Are we helping people build a better relationship with their bodies, or are we simply selling them the latest version of fitness?

For Katie and Carla, good teaching comes back to curiosity, education, experience, reflection, trust, and putting the individual client at the centre.

Keep learning with Katie

If this conversation made you stop and think, share this episode with another Pilates teacher or movement professional who might enjoy the discussion.

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