ENGAGED PILATES CLINIC
The Australian Physiotherapy and Pilates Institute
APPI was established 20 years ago by two Australian Physiotherapists, Glenn and Elisa Withers, on the basis of an academic scholarship from the Australian Physiotherapy Association. This initial study in the ‘Clinical Relevance of Pilates Exercise for clients with Back and Pelvic Pain’ led to the development of the APPI Method that we teach today. Glenn and Elisa’s study found that the benefits of the Pilates exercises were not being optimised due to the high level of strength, control and body awareness initially being asked of clients. If the movements were modified, the length of the lever (arms or legs) reduced, the demands of the spine considered in more detail, and the findings of relevant research at the time around how muscles work before and after pain, were all applied to the movements, then a new form of Pilates-based exercise could be a lot more successful in the rehabilitation field.
This ground-breaking approach led to the development of the step-by-step program of APPI. Every Pilates exercise was analysed on its effectiveness for a client that had suffered an injury. Modifications were made, and a unique exercise-level approach developed to allow a client to be trained correctly from an injured state to a fully fit, functional and efficient state. This allowed Pilates to be used by health and fitness professionals alike to empower clients to be able to embrace Pilates from any fitness level. This step-by-step approach led to the APPI Pilates Method becoming one of the most popular forms of rehabilitation training in the healthcare sector.
Over the following 19 years the APPI Pilates Method has continued to gain popularity, awards and recognition as an efficient and effective method of exercise rehabilitation. APPI is now firmly established as a world leader in Pilates training. APPI courses run throughout the United Kingdom, America, Australia, Ireland, Portugal, Germany, Turkey, Switzerland, South Africa, Malta, Hungary, Finland, New Zealand, UAE, the Gulf Region, Mexico, Luxembourg, Spain, Greece, Brazil, India and many more. APPI is proud to be leading from the front in the development of comprehensive, well-supported Pilates teacher trainer programmes. We train over 4000 Pilates teachers a year in over 22 countries. Our detailed and expansive continued education programme delivers over 20 additional Pilates modules that provide excellent ongoing learning opportunities. Our Pilates-specific product range delivers all you need for a successful Pilates business. Our online learning platform allows our students to learn from the comfort of their own home and practice classes from wherever they are in the world. Our award winning Physiotherapy and Pilates Centres based in London, UK deliver over 30,000 Physio and Pilates sessions a year.
Our method is built on our degree-level understanding of movement, anatomy and physiology, all of which we share with you through a range of learning tools from online lectures, apps, DVDs and on-course tutorials. Our success in improving the lives of thousands of people all over the world is testament to the integrity of the method itself. We look forward to sharing the secrets of our method with you through our comprehensive training programme.
The APPI Aproach
The APPI curriculum is unique in its design as it is the only Pilates programme in the world that was fully designed, taught and developed by Physiotherapists. Today, some 19 years after our initial review of the Pilates Method, APPI is supported by an international team of over 40 Physiotherapists and degree level movement re-educators that deliver our educational programmes. The success of the APPI method lies in the true understanding of your exercise selection. Our method works on a tried and tested 5 stage model. Within each stage are specific exercises for you to choose from based on the client in front of you. Unlike many other Pilates courses, we do not just deliver a series of exercises that you blindly follow. We will educate you on why a particular exercise is relevant for a particular person.
Once you understand how to implement the 5 stage model of programme planning, your decision making as a Pilates teacher becomes significantly improved and your clients’ results optimised. Our 5 stage model can only work if you have varied levels within each Pilates exercise. As mentioned previously, this has been key to the success of the method being achievable for all walks of life. Once a client understands the connection of the brain to the essence of a movement, clients are progressed along the pathway at a speed that is relevant to them. The APPI method, with over 100 different Pilates matwork movements, then allows the client to move into a more advanced, fitness building and body shaping program that will achieve the results they were hoping for. We truly believe that our method is unique. We believe that the results we see on a daily basis in our centres can be achieved by you. We believe in this, because we have seen it repeated over and over again over the last 19 years.
APPI Presenters
Our presenters are extremely passionate clinicians and put their skills into practice every day with the general and special populations, with some working at our APPI clinics centres in London. They use the content that they teach you on a daily basis in their own working environments every single day with their own clients and in their own clinics. What they teach you on your course is being taught from daily practice and experience, not just in theory.
✓ We don't offer open presenter applications, our presenters are only scouted and chosen based on exceptional skill throughout their attendance of our Matwork Certification Series and their exams
✓ Our current presenters are all clinicians who had at least 5 years’ experience working within the industry prior to attending the Matwork Series as a participant.
✓ Following an exceptionally high pass rate in their exam they were scouted, we advised them to go off to teach for another 2 years before we bring them back in to join the presenter pathway, this is so they can really consolidate their certification and experience first-hand what it is to be a fully certified Pilates Instructor.
✓ They then come back to observe the Matwork series multiple times from a presenters point of view and not just that of a participants, this is to keep up with competencies and know the course content inside and out
✓ We then take them through the rigorous presenter pathway schedules of learning how to teach people to teach, only passing once they have over 90% approvals across the board from us and their students.
Why start a career with APPI Health Group?
APPI’s approach has become recognised as the industry leader in safe and effective Pilates exercises. Our founders original work analysed the classical Pilates exercises and broke these down into four to six levels of each exercise. In doing this, Glenn and Elisa created a program that allows each and every client to benefit from the Pilates experience and does not require a high level of fitness to begin with. Our course tutors are all degree level practitioners and come from an extremely high level of knowledge of anatomy, movement patterning, movement re-education and as such have developed an in depth understanding of how people move and learn. Our approach is seen as the benchmark for safe and effective Pilates teaching around the world.