To benefit from Pilates you need to find a good teacher. Please beware, there are many teacher out there who are not sufficiently qualified and could do your body more harm than good. As you will see from  The Standards page, Body Control's training is fully recognised by the Register of Exercise Professionals. There are also several other well known training bodies:

Body Control Pilates®: well established and respected training for Pilates instructors. Teacher have undergone an extensive course, and served an "apprenticeship" with a more experienced instructor. They are also required to keep their knowledge up to date by attending courses and workshops regularly. Unfortuantely there are very few Body Control Instructors in the North East of England.

Pilates Foundation: similar to Body Control Pilates® - their instructors have undergone extensive training and are very well respected.

Stott Pilates: Another fairly well established organisation, based in the USA but also offering training in the UK.

Modern Pilates: a more recently established training body. There instructors attend an extensive course, but they do not have to serve an apprenticeship.

Pilates Institute: the majority of instructors in gyms and health clubs are qualified with this body. It is a much shorter course with no apprenticeship system. There are some very good instructors who have trained with Pilates Institute, but the standard does vary.

Tips for Finding a Safe & Effective Pilates Class

Ask the instructor if they are qualified and with whom. Check against the above list, if you have not heard of the training body, then ask for more information or website details. Avoid large classes. Pilates cannot be taught effectively to large groups - a maximum of 12 people is recommended. The Instructor should ask new clients to complete a questionnaire to highlight any problems e.g. back, neck, shoulder and also to find out what their expectations are.