Meet Heather Erdmann | Pilates Educator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Heather Erdmann and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Heather, we’d love for you to start things off by telling us something about your industry that we and others not in the industry might be unaware of?
My industry is Pilates and the thing most people don’t know is that training to be a legitimate Pilates teacher takes at least a year, if not more in most cases! Comprehensively certified Pilates teachers teach the entire Pilates system – which includes many different types of apparatus, not just the reformer!

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
I have two businesses. One is an education company to certify future Pilates teachers called Rebel Pilates Collective. RPC originated in Houston but now teachers across the US and into Europe.

Locally, after selling my first studio in 77025, I opened a small classical space in Bellaire called The Contrology Co-op. Contrology is the name Mr. Pilates used for his exercise system. The Co-op opened in May 2021 and has been home for myself and my clients as well as a handful of other comprehensively certified classical teachers who are building their own businesses there. The Co-op is a rental space for teachers who want to have their own business to have a safe, clean, well maintained studio to train their clients and teach their classes. I love getting to support teachers who want to be on their own while also getting to benefit from the community we build together inside the studio.

Getting to this place in my career has been filled with ups and downs – probably like most entrepreneurs journeys. I’ve had several failed ideas — but more than didn’t fail which happily brings me to where I am today. Being a Pilates teacher is rewarding, fulfilling and full of interesting people and opportunities to help. The people I get to work with – students, faculty, clients and co-workers – make this the most rewarding career I could have ever imagined. I got my working start in telecommunications and I’m so grateful I decided to switch careers and go with my passion.

I wish more people knew that Pilates is a system, taught on many pieces of apparatus (not just the reformer) and that training is extensive. I wish more people knew that the benefits they hear about getting from Pilates like less pain, getting stronger, better posture, more energy, more body control — all come from the full system of Pilates that only fully certified teachers can provide. Because the industry is completely unregulated anyone can open a studio, anyone can teach, and consumers have to do some digging to find out if they’re trusting their body with someone legitimate or not. Pilates is a trend which has made way for a lot of people to try to cash in on the fad without proper education and that’s a sad thing to watch happen. That said, real Pilates was around before all of the reformer studios opened, and we’ll be around after the trend moves to something else. For those who love it, please check out studios with all of the equipment and teachers who list their training in their bios – you’ll be shocked at the difference that can make!

As for Rebel Pilates Collective – the training is based on making Pilates teacher training more diverse and inclusive while also teaching as closely to the authentic and original method as possible while also adapting for medical advances. I’m biased obviously but if anyone wants to become a teacher, I definitely think RPC is the best in class.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Eat: All the things – Houston has the best food options!
Visit: MFAH, Hermann Park, Cistern, Memorial Park, the Houston book crawl
Hang Out: at my house, in my garden, at a coffee shop, at Eden coffee (plants AND coffee!),

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I dedicate my shoutout to Mr. Joseph Pilates. Without his inventions, innovation and genius, I would not have the amazing career I have today.

Website: contrologyco-op.com and rebelpilatescollective.com

Instagram: therebelpilatescollective, heathererdmannpilates and contrologyco.op

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/heather-erdmann-23752514?trk=people-guest_people_search-card