“LOLITA SAN MIGUEL DISAGREES WITH PILATES METHOD ALLIANCE STAND ON “PILATES DAY”
Lolita San Miguel, Pilates PMA Elder and one of two persons officially certified by Joseph and Clara Pilates to teach The Method, today expressed her disappointment with the position taken by the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) to make “Pilates Day,” which is to be held on May 2, an exclusive PMA celebration.
“Joe does not belong to the PMA alone, he belongs to the world,” Ms San Miguel said, “I fought alongside many others to take Pilates out of the hands of a few people who said they owned the Pilates name and everything connected with Pilates and we were successful. I will continue to oppose any attempt to make Pilates the exclusive property of anybody or any organization.”
“The PMA should be praised for its continued efforts to establish high standards of quality in the teaching of Pilates and in the certification of Pilates instructors. Obviously its success depends on its openness and willingness to attract as many Pilates professionals as possible and convince them that the PMA’s mission is absolutely necessary for the good of the Pilates industry and that its collateral operational efforts carry great merit. Nevertheless, trumpeting
‘Pilates Day’ as the exclusive trademarked property of the PMA is the wrong way of going about it and furthermore impossible to enforce.” “I dream of a ‘Pilates Day,’ she continued, “where millions around the world will perform The Hundred in stadiums, studios, gyms, plazas, etc., resulting in many new converts.
“I hope my respected friends and colleagues of the PMA Board of Directors will reconsider this alienating decision and make it an open invitation instead,” Ms San Miguel, who was one of the first PMA members and continues to be a member, concluded.
