A Quiet Shift in the Studio
Let’s be honest, this is already happening. Instructors are using tools like ChatGPT to write class plans, generate cues, and organize teaching materials. It’s quick, it’s efficient, and, in a full teaching schedule, it can feel necessary.
But there’s a shift happening underneath that. It’s neither loud nor obvious, but it is there. And, if we don’t pay attention, it can start to change how teachers are being developed.
What the “ChatGPT Instructor” Really Is
The “ChatGPT Instructor” isn’t a person. It’s what shows up when parts of the teaching process get outsourced, when language develops faster than understanding. You’ll recognize it when you see it.
It looks like a structured class that doesn’t quite build. It sounds like good cueing that doesn’t change the body. It feels like transitions that move but don’t connect. I can usually tell within a few minutes. You can hear it in the voice; see it in the pacing. The body will always tell you what the teacher actually understands.
Why It’s Showing Up
This isn’t about blaming instructors. The reality is, they are carrying a lot. They’re teaching, managing clients, running businesses, and trying to stay current. Having a tool that can help organize thoughts or generate ideas can feel like support, and in many ways, it is. Used well, AI can help bring clarity and structure. It can offer a starting point and save time. There’s value there. But support is not the same as substitution.
Where the Line Is: Information vs. Embodiment
This is where the conversation has to get more precise. Pilates is not just information; it is embodiment. It is learned in the body, through repetition, correction, observation, and time. AI can give you a cue, but it can’t tell you if it worked. It can describe alignment, but it can’t see how someone is compensating to get there.It can outline a progression, but it doesn’t know if the body in front of you is ready for it.
Embodiment is what allows a teacher to recognize when a client is bracing instead of stabilizing
adjust load without changing the intention. It is what empowers a teacher to shift a cue in real time based on response. That doesn’t come from reading or generating language. That comes from doing the work—again and again—until you can see it, feel it, and respond to it without hesitation.
What I See in Training
In training, this is where I slow people down. Because this is the part you don’t skip. I’ll ask trainees a simple question: “Why this exercise?” Often the answer sounds right: It’s well said and organized. But when we look at the body, something doesn’t match.
The setup doesn’t prepare the movement. The cue doesn’t change the pattern. The progression isn’t earned. That gap, between what’s said and what’s happening, is everything. That’s where teaching lives. Not in how well you can explain something, but in how clearly you can see it and what you know how to do next.
The Risk We Need to Name
The issue isn’t AI. The issue is teaching something you haven’t actually embodied. If we’re not careful, we will start to see instructors who sound confident and capable, but are relying on language they haven’t fully developed through practice.
That becomes a problem the moment something doesn’t go as planned because bodies don’t follow scripts. They shift, compensate, resist, adapt. And when that happens, a teacher has to know what they’re looking at and how to respond without relying on something generated.
What This Means for Teacher Training
This is where standards matter. Organizations like the National Pilates Certification Program are grounded in one core question: “Can you teach safely and effectively?” Not “Can you describe it?” or “Can you organize it”. Can you teach it?
Written knowledge is no longer enough to measure competency on its own. Training has to continue to emphasize what cannot be generated: the ability to observe, to assess, and to make decisions in real time.
A More Responsible Use
This isn’t about removing AI from the process. It’s about being clear on its role. Use it to organize your thinking, to draft ideas. Then take it to your body: test it, teach it, adjust it. That step is what turns information into understanding. And that is what builds a teacher.
The Bottom Line
AI isn’t going anywhere and neither is the body. The body will always expose what hasn’t been learned. So yes, use the tools, but don’t confuse access with mastery, language with embodiment, or efficiency with experience. At the end of the day, this work is still what it has always been: a teacher, a body, and the ability to see, respond, and guide in real time. That part you still have to earn.
Tabatha Russell is an industry leader, Pilates teacher, and mentor with over 30 years of experience in movement education, founder of tabPILATES & Bodyworks Center, and a Board Member of the National Pilates Certification Program (NPCP). Her work focuses on teacher training and mentorship, translating the traditional Pilates method into impactful, individualized movement while developing the next generation of instructors.
Follow @tabathalrussell and @tabpilates.
Renowned for her ability to connect with clients, Tabatha offers dynamic group classes that challenge participants while fostering a sense of community and support. Her private sessions emphasize accessibility and personalization, tailoring classical Pilates techniques to individuals of all ages and abilities. Her empathetic approach empowers clients to grow both physically and mentally, making Pilates an inclusive and transformative practice.
Beyond her work in the studio, Tabatha is a passionate mentor, having trained over 100 Pilates educators. She founded the Pilates Professional Learning Community to uplift and support instructors, particularly those from historically excluded communities, by providing mentorship and resources to help them succeed.
Tabatha’s teaching philosophy emphasizes equity, inclusion, and empowerment, meeting individuals where they are and guiding them toward their goals. Her leadership and advocacy for diversity have helped shape a more inclusive Pilates industry.
A former professional dancer with a B.A. in Dance, M.A. in Education and extensive teaching experience, Tabatha has been featured in Essence.com, Cosmopolitan.com, and TheHealthy.com. She continues to inspire through movement, education, and community, ensuring Pilates is a source of strength and healing for all. Find Tabatha on Instagram: @tabpilates
