Episode Details
Back to EpisodesBeyond Classical: Ron Fletcher's Pilates Legacy With Kyria Sabin
Description
"The body floats on the breath. Without the breath, we don't have a core. We don't have a centre." - Kyria Sabin
In this episode, we are joined by Kyria Sabin, director of Fletcher Pilates International and one of the most respected custodians of a first-generation Pilates lineage in the world. Kyria worked directly with Ron Fletcher - a first-generation teacher who studied with Joseph and Clara Pilates and danced with Martha Graham - and has dedicated her career to preserving and evolving his approach to the method. Her path into Pilates was never planned; she was heading towards law school when a session at the Ron Fletcher Studio changed everything.
Kyria and Nic explore what it truly means to carry a lineage forward, why the "classical vs contemporary" debate misses the point, and what made Ron Fletcher's approach so unique - from his movement-based philosophy to his breath-centred teaching.
They take an honest look at the current state of Pilates education, the dangers of watered-down training, the rise of reformer-only studios, and what it actually takes to establish meaningful standards for the industry. And they go deeper into the spiritual dimension of Pilates - why client transformation so often shows up in relationships and sense of self first, and what Ron Fletcher would likely say if he saw where Pilates is today. (Spoiler: it's one word.)
Timestamps
00:00 Introduction to Kyria Sabin
00:10 Carrying Ron Fletcher's legacy - responsibility and blessing
04:47 What makes the Fletcher approach unique
08:31 Classical vs contemporary - why the conversation misses the point
12:42 Kyria's journey: from art world to Pilates
15:38 How Kyria trained - the apprenticeship model
17:24 Life in Tucson and accidentally staying for 35 years
18:39 The gift of seeing bodies and learning to teach
21:57 Taking over Fletcher Pilates International
23:13 Building a cohesive studio culture and team
26:35 Creating the Fletcher Pilates teacher training programme
28:39 What goes into a quality Pilates education
32:39 The 12-step framework that underpins the Fletcher programme
34:02 Why Pilates transformation shows up in clients' lives, not just bodies
38:45 What defines a high-quality teacher training programme
43:55 Should reformer teachers still be comprehensively trained?
56:29 What excites Kyria about the future of Pilates
58:21 What concerns her about where the industry is heading
01:00:22 Quick-fire questions
01:02:26 Where to find Kyria
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