Well, I just finished up my weekend of examinations for the Stott Pilates Matwork certification. I am so relieved I could cry! Since October when I began the training, I have deprived myself of reading for pleasure and have limited my reading of my Real Simple subscription (the best magazine in the universe, if you ask me!). Every time I did read my magazine or watch television, feelings of guilt came over me for not studying. Now I am happy to say that I picked up my book that I had put down in October and read it on the way to work this morning. I can also spend some time on Facebook status-surfing without worry that I’m wasting precious studying moments.
So, how did my exams go? I took the written exam on Friday and I feel pretty confident that I will make it to at least the 80% mark. (My total for the written + practical must = at least 80%, with a minimum of 75% for each portion.) Luckily, 25 points were allotted to muscle recognition from pictures and I felt uber-confident about those. I really took my time, though, and went through each question again at the end, just to be sure I didn’t make some d0d0-bird move.
I took my practical exam on Sunday and I was pretty nervous about it. I had the good fortune of having friends to help me do a “run-through” of the practical exam the week before and the morning of the exam. Thanks again, Katie and Krista! Although things didn’t run quite as smoothly as they did in the run-throughs, I felt much better prepared had I not done the run-throughs. Before the exam, I asked my instructor-trainer to indicate to me after the exam if I should be concerned or if I could relax, as I would not know the official results from the Stott Headquarters for 6-8 weeks. Yes, 6-8 weeks!!! How can they torture us poor students with such a long wait?!?! In any case, my instructor-trainer reassured me, in not so many words, that I need not be worried. :-)
So, yes, I am relieved to be finished with my training and certification process and now I can move on with my regular routine. I am also eager to be starting some new choreography projects soon. I will keep you all posted if I will be adding “Certified Stott Pilates Instructor” to my resume or not. Fingers crossed ….
-Rachel
