Kudos

Read what others have to say about BASI and its educational activities

We receive a good deal of feedback from students and fellow professionals - and we're proud that so many people derive such value from BASI. We are gratified and humbled by your comments.

Please choose one of the links below and read what your peers have said.

Testimonials about Rael

I would like to express my gratitude for being accepted into your course. I have been looking for a mentor for many years and I have finally found it. The 'It' that I was looking for…I think I like the words Guru/Mentor, they sound more spiritual and connected.

I love that you are humble, strict yet supportive, and embrace everybody with a beautiful warm energy. You have given me hope, strength and enlightenment to be a better me! I heard a phrase recently which represents one part of what we are doing. You can give a man a fish or you can teach him how to fish. I believe that you are teaching us from your heart how to fish. This is a very rare quality and I am deeply touched to be working with you.

Renee Scott

More testimonials about Rael.

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Testimonials about BASI and the BASI Faculty

I am not only proud to be a part of this unbelievable organization - but also re-invigorated by the extremely high standard of work I'm surrounded by. It lifts me, and spins me (like a beautiful piece of music) and I want to work harder to remain worthy of it. I am forever grateful. It is your inspiration - you've made this organization what it is.  How lucky we all are.

Joleen Watson, BASI Faculty

More testimonials about BASI and the BASI Faculty

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Testimonials about BASI Teacher Training

Thank you for the opportunity to go through the BASI course. I have come away not just a good Pilates instructor but this training has aided all my training. These hours only show my work in Pilates and not how this work has influenced the other modalities that I currently teach. As well, these  hours are not a finishing point but more of a starting point. Since I am  already a personal trainer and yoga instructor, I have now added the Pilates  system to my repertoire. I love teaching Pilates and all that it has to offer. I look forward to more experience with BASI Pilates. I look forward to one day becoming a master trainer myself.

Suzie Gullett 

More testimonials about BASI Teacher Training

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Testimonials about BASI Advanced Education

 

Mentor Program

The mentor course was fun, challenging and inspirational.  I loved every moment and will come again and again to measure my success as I practice the movements covered.  Rael, as always, was a force to be reckoned with.  He has such amazing capabilities as a mover and is always inspirational as a teacher.  He challenged me to go deeper and push the boundaries of my current strengths.

Meredith Rogers, BASI Faculty

More testimonials about BASI Advanced Education

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Testimonials about the BASI Learning Library

 

Pilates Anatomy, by Rael Isacowitz and Karen Clippinger

I have already bought 12 for my instructors, clients, studio and even friends!!! What an awesome reference, but reads as fast as a novel; can't wait to turn the page to find the mysteries of the body's movements so wonderfully explored at every step!!! But then, like a familiar classic, you go back to your favorite sections and enjoy them at length, lingering on a favorite muscle or movement to delve deeper into understanding how Pilates is truly such a beautiful and efficient way to optimize each and every body we are blessed with. Bravo, Rael and Karen!

Jill Rossberg Carlton

More testimonials about the BASI Learning Library

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SPECIAL FEATURE

How BASI Pilates is different from other schools of Pilates

By Kristi Cooper White

I have studied Pilates with a few different teachers over the years.  I have worked closely with Kathy Corey of West Coast Pilates (formerly Fletcher Technique), Cathie Murakami (Synergy Systems, Physical Mind, and a student of Alan Herdman), and, of course, Rael Isacowitz of BASI Pilates. 

More recently, I took it upon myself to take lessons from a “classical” instructor (Shari Berkowitz, Power Pilates) in order to better understand the differences between the techniques and to gain more insight into the community as a whole.  Over the years, I have had a session with Jay Grimes, Bob Liekens and Siri Dharma Galliano when they passed through town. These experiences have shaped my perspective on the differences between BASI Pilates and the rest.

What is unique about BASI Pilates is that there is an expectation that what we teach is more than just a workout. We go beyond the other organizations by creating the expectation that beyond the workout, our clients will discover more about themselves and their lives via the exercises.  At BASI, the workout is important, achieving physical goals is important, but there is also an emphasis on teaching and incorporating the principles of this method in all areas of our lives. 

I believe this is the essence of Joe Pilates’ work and I don’t believe other organizations value that aspect of the work as much as BASI Pilates does. 

BASI instructors have the Block System, which demands a high level of knowledge of the repertoire, intellectually and viscerally, but also demands critical evaluation of the repertoire as it applies to the individual.  To be a BASI instructor, you are expected no only to teach the material and apply it logically to an individual, but you are also expected to bring all of who you are, as a person and a teacher, to the session. 

In fact, it is part of our philosophy to do this, and in my opinion this is where we really stand out. Our work is recognized all over the world by its unique level of detail and precision.  Our work speaks for itself, really. 

All BASI instructors rely greatly on what we learn from Rael.  When we utilize the information within the system he has created, there is no need to try to become a carbon copy of Rael (an impossible feat).  Instead, we can easily fall back on our training and bring more of ourselves to the sessions with our clients.  This is a factor that I believe is unique and rewarding for all involved.

In other organizations, the choreography of cueing is rampant.  You can almost exchange one instructor for another given the information and words will be the same.  In other words, my session with Bob Liekens was almost word-for-word the some as my sessions with Shari Berkowitz.  They were great workouts, but they had nothing to do with me, and there was a discernable disconnect between the instructor and me.

Rael does not expect us to sound like him when we teach.  He does not expect us to mimic his cues or follow his exact workout plans.  Instead, he expects us to think!  Learning the BASI Pilates approach has given us the knowledge, and taught us the importance of having the structure of the Block System to rely on so that we are more easily able to bring our personalities and our own life experience to our teaching. 

As a result, you have as many different “styles” of teaching within the BASI organization as you do people, but we share the common denominators of precision, flow and structure.  There is a uniformity underlying what we do and how we teach.  But, within that framework, BASI instructors illuminate the work as it pertains to his or her client and as it suits their teaching style.

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