Reformer Pilates Teacher Training Galway and Tipperary

SUZIE DODD PILATES ACADEMY

UPCOMING REFORMER TRAINING COURSE DATES

If the course you want is full and you wish to go on a waiting list - click here

NOV 2026 IN GALWAY 13th 6-9pm |Nov 14th 11:30 to 7 pm |Nov 15th 10 to 6 pm. The second weekend is Jan 2nd 11:30 to 7pm | Jan 3rd 10 to 5pm we might finish a bit earlier on this day if the work is good.

FEB 2027 IN GALWAY 5th Feb 6:30 pm-9pm |Feb 6th 11:30 to 7 pm |Feb 7th 10 to 6 pm. The second weekend is April 3rd 11:30 to 7pm | April 4th 10 to 5pm we might finish a bit earlier on this day if the work is good.

JAN 2027 IN NENAGH CO TIPPERARY with Claire Halpin - Jan 8th 6-9 pm, 9th 12:30 to 18:30, 10th 10 to 5pm. The second weekend is Feb 13th 12:30 to 18:30 , 14th 10 to 5pm

JUNE 2027 IN GALWAY 18th June 6:30 pm-9pm |June 19th 11:30 to 7 pm |June 20th 10 to 6 pm. The second weekend is July 24th 11:30 to 7pm | July 25th 10 to 5pm we might finish a bit earlier on this day if the work is good.

REFORMER PILATES TEACHER TRAINING GALWAY AND TIPPERARY OVERVIEW OF THE COURSE

Welcome to my Reformer Pilates Teacher Training - this was the second course I designed as I felt it was well needed in the West of Ireland. I simply love reformer - but its got to be taught well - to that end I designed the course. It is the Classical Repertoire so it covers beginners, intermediate and advanced level. It is an intense course but so worthwhile.

This course is fully insured by Balens Europe BV, once the prerequisites have been met - a Pilates Mat Course Level 1. I used to take people without mat but it makes no sense as the whole point of reformer is to give meaning to the matwork. So get your mat course done and then focus on the reformer, otherwise your teaching will lack alot of juice.

This course takes 31 hours in person to complete over 2 weekends plus your own homework if you wish to certify, which will realistically take another 20 hours or more depending on your experience. It is hard to quantify something that you can go on learning and practicing forever - you will never get to the end of it. However you have to reach a level of proficiency in order to receive certification. It is an intensive enjoyable program designed to give you the knowledge, skills and confidence to teach basic to intermediary reformer pilates repertoire classes based on the Classical Repertoire as designed by Joe himself. If you are a keen student this course will bring you a lot farther than classes. I only take 11 students on this course so you will learn so much and get so much being in this small group. In Nenagh we can take 8.

Joe designed the reformer to help students to do the mat work. So the reformer really teaches the pilates technique in a way that builds understanding and connection - that’s where the juice is.

In the course you will learn the connections between the reformer moves and the mat repertoire. This is why I want you to know and love the mat first. It is compulsory to have done at least 20 hours of reformer classes, so you know your way around a reformer and the repertoire. These can be done online or in person or a combo.

I know lots of teachers who skip to the reformer but the teaching will never have the depth of the Method without the understanding gained by studying the mat. Forget about accelerated mat courses over a weekend that cost you a fortune and give you nothing as a Pilates teacher. For example - frogs = legs of double leg stretch. If you don’t know what double leg stretch is you are going to be “winging it” - I do feel this is one reason why reformer is taught so badly. If we want to really help our students to regain their physical health and work with various body issues we need to be really well trained ourselves. Plus the principles are expected to be known and in your body - mainly so you can inspire your students. Plus with matwork you can give your clients homework as most don’t have a reformer at home.

Foundation Day — Bridging the Gap

If you're starting into Reformer Teacher Training and you're not quite sure whether you know the classical repertoire inside out, this day is for you. It's not compulsory, but students who've done it tell me they wish they'd known about it sooner. Many people come to teacher training having only worked with contemporary teachers or attended general reformer classes, and exercises like horse box on the long box can feel completely new when you arrive. In a group class environment with the general public its hard to find a class that covers these exercises. The Foundation Day gives you hands-on time with the classical exercises in a relaxed, no-pressure environment — so that when teacher training begins, you can focus on learning to teach rather than trying to keep up. You'll also have a few weeks afterwards to keep practising before the course starts. This is a full on 4 hours . You can then get started into the work before the course and you will be flying it. The cost of the foundation day is extra and is 150 euro.

So prerequisites for the course if you wish to certify are either a Mat Pilates Teacher Training and 20 hours of Reformer Classes either online or in person. Send a log of the classes attended to info@suziedodd.com. The course is not designed to teach you reformer it is designed to teach you how to teach reformer, so please ensure you have a good practice and understanding of the exercises before signing up. If you wish to do my Mat Pilates Teacher Training course first you will be at a major advantage as you will have a lot of crossover between the courses and therefore your understanding will be so much deeper. If you are not sure give me a call we can discuss. My number is 0863137219

Back to the course - On the course we will work together to understand the exercises, the transitions between the exercises and how to teach modifications for students who struggle and progressions to keep your students growing on the pilates journey - but more than that you will really start to understand how the body works under resistance.

Your Pilates training journey with me is going to focus heavily on learning the Classical repertoire suitable to the demographic of the west of Ireland - developing your teaching skills so you are confident in your ability to cue, know how to use modify and progress exercises, and most importantly how to really help your students to progress and enjoy the art of reformer pilates. This repertoire covers Level beginners, intermediate and advanced - as well as a few super advanced moves so you won’t have to train ever again.

You will also work on deepening your own practice at the same time - I passionately believe in the significance of your own journey of discovery and experience and the development of your unique personal voice and style as a pilates teacher. Without a good home practice you will struggle to keep your teaching fresh and interesting for your students. Therefore having a reformer is not a total necessity but would put you at an advantage and make you a better teacher. You can pick up cheaper reformers on ebay, aliexpress or even facebook marketplace.

What we will cover in the reformer teacher training course in Galway, Tipperary and in 2026 Waterford

This 31 hour in person Pilates Teacher Training course is based on the work of Joseph PIlates. You will do plenty more hours completing homework and getting ready for assesment. I also run a course with the Best of Contemporary - but I really feel if you are going to be a great Pilates Teacher you need to know the source. Some of my pilates inspiration come from Romana, Brooke Siler, Benjamin Degenhardt, Michelle Larsson, Alan Hederman, Cara Reeser, Mejo Wiggins, Cathy Grant - to name but a few. I also have spent many years working in the style of Blandine Calais-Germain who is so strong on safe abdominal work . The focus in this course is understanding and teaching reformer pilates in such a way that your students look forward to coming to your class.

You will learn about alignment, extension, breath, initiation, anatomy, fundamentals of the pilates method, regressions and progressions. You will not be that teacher that counts to 10 - but the teacher that teaches.

There will be a full library of the exercises available to you on video to assist you in learning the choreography and how to teach the poses.

At the end of the course you will be ready to practice and teach the bulk of the Classical Repertoire of Reformer exercises - . You will learn to find the set up for success for each pose - starting position is so important, key elements to a pose , cues to fix misalignments and various images that really bring your reformer pilates classes to life with variety and different focus’.

This course would suit someone who wishes to work as a reformer pilates teacher, or a keen student who wants to learn more about reformer pilates.

Course Outline - Joe’s Repertoire

THE EXERCISES OF THE REFORMER

This is the meat and veg of the course. We will cover as follows

• Centering

• Rowing

• Long Box

• Long Stretch Series

• Stomach Massage

• Short Box

• Articulation

• Kneeling

• Integration

• Knee Stretch

• Pushups

• Splits

  It’s a lot of ground to cover you will learn how to cue these poses, demonstrate them, regress them if students find them too hard and advance them if students find them too easy. You will learn the contraindications of each pose so you can feel confident in your ability to teach safely. You will learn common misalignments that you see a lot on the reformer and how to fix them. You will also learn some key hands on adjustments to really help your students to go deeper.

QUALIFICATION IN REFORMER TEACHER TRAINING GALWAY and TIPPERARY

If you wish to certify you will be required to submit homework showing that you have a good understanding of the reformer and that you can teach all of the above series’ this will be videos of you teaching a student and uploading to Whatsapp. This takes some practice and time and will ensure that you succeed and become a great teacher. On our last day you will go through a complete run through of all the exercises as a personal practice assesment. If you don’t pass the assesment you can repeat it via zoom or youtube. Practice is the key stone to being a great teacher.

After qualifying you can gain insurance with Balens BV Europe.

COST OF THE COURSE

The cost of the course is 950 euros. A non-refundable deposit of 300 euro is required to book a place. You can pay the balance at the first weekend.

PREREQUISITES

In order to certify and attain insurance you need to have a Mat Pilates Teacher Training achieved and attended a minimum of 20 hours of reformer classes prior to the course. This can be online or in person. This is so you don’t waste your time. If you are coming just for your own enjoyment there are no prerequisites- but if you are a complete beginner it wouldn’t be a good starting point - no matter how fit you are. Of course if you just want to learn more about reformer and not certify that is absolutely fine and many people do.

I have met teachers who have just jumped into reformer trainings with no prerequisites - I did this myself - complete waste of time and money - let me assure you that your foundation is essential if you want to be a really good teacher. Otherwise you will just end up counting reps in an exercise and you will die of boredom and so will your students. This course is not about reading through a manual - it’s about me sharing the joy of reformer with you. Although reformer is on trend at the moment please don’t jump into a cheap online course its not enough - I have done them - waste of time and money. Equally its not worth 3000 euros - the market is a little awash with both ends of this spectrum. With all this in mind I look forward to training you and adding the reformer to your teaching skills.

Please ensure you read the terms and conditions. If you are not sure or you want to chat give me a call - 0863137219