PMA Featured in PilatesStyle: 25 Years of Preserving the Legacy and Shaping the Future of Pilates
As the Pilates Method Alliance celebrates its 25th anniversary, we are honored to be featured in PilatesStyle in a conversation reflecting on the history of the PMA, the evolution of the global Pilates profession, and the work still ahead.
In “The PMA at 25: Preserving the Legacy While Shaping the Future of Pilates,” PilatesStyle speaks with PMA President Pat Stevenson and Executive Director Stella Hull-Lampkin about what it means to support a Pilates community that has grown dramatically over the past quarter century.
Their conversation explores an important question for the entire profession: How do we continue moving Pilates forward while remaining connected to the principles, history, and depth of the method?
25 Years in a Changing Pilates Industry
The Pilates landscape looks very different today than it did when the PMA was established 25 years ago.
Pilates is now practiced around the world, across dedicated studios, fitness facilities, home studios, rehabilitation settings, virtual platforms, and increasingly large group environments. With that growth has come greater accessibility, new approaches to teaching, and an increasingly diverse international community of Pilates professionals and practitioners.
Throughout those changes, one idea has remained central to the PMA: there is room for many voices within the Pilates profession.
As Stella shares in the PilatesStyle feature, “One method expressed through many voices.”
Different schools, lineages, educational backgrounds, and approaches may shape how Pilates is taught, but shared principles continue to connect the global community.
Supporting Pilates Education and Professional Standards
The feature also looks back at the PMA's role in the development of Pilates teacher education and professional standards.
The organization was formed following the landmark 2000 court decision that established that the word “Pilates” could not be exclusively trademarked. As access to the method expanded, the Pilates community faced new questions about education, professional expectations, and how the integrity of the work could be supported as the industry grew.
Over the years, the PMA has contributed to that conversation through educational initiatives, professional development, industry standards, conferences, and programs designed to support Pilates teacher training around the world.
Today, that work includes the International Teacher Training Accreditation Program (ITTAP), which provides an established framework for Pilates teacher training programs seeking independent accreditation.
Standards are not about asking every Pilates professional to teach in exactly the same way. They create shared points of reference while leaving room for the diversity of teaching approaches that exists throughout the profession.
Preserving Pilates While Allowing It to Evolve
The rapid growth of Pilates has introduced the method to more people than ever before. Social media, digital fitness, online education, and virtual classes have also changed how people discover, learn, practice, and teach Pilates.
That visibility creates opportunity, but it also makes thoughtful Pilates education, mentorship, and professional development increasingly important.
As Pat explains in the feature, “Preserving lineage is not about limiting creativity. It is about maintaining high standards while allowing the method to evolve responsibly.”
For the PMA, honoring the history of Pilates and supporting its evolution are not opposing goals. Both are part of ensuring that future generations have the opportunity to experience the depth of the method while continuing to learn, question, research, and contribute to its development.
Looking Toward the Next 25 Years of Pilates
The future of Pilates will not be shaped by one organization, one school, or one approach.
It will be shaped by the teachers, educators, researchers, studio owners, students, advocates, and organizations contributing to the profession around the world.
As the PMA enters its next 25 years, our work remains centered on creating opportunities for that community to connect, learn, exchange ideas, strengthen Pilates education, support research, and participate in conversations about where the profession goes next.
Twenty-five years is an opportunity to honor how far the Pilates community has come.
It is also an invitation to keep moving forward, together.
Read the full PilatesStyle feature, “The PMA at 25: Preserving the Legacy While Shaping the Future of Pilates.”
