A new record for the world’s largest Pilates class was confirmed last week, and it goes to…Spain! The official tally was 862 people, who came together for a May Pilates Day master class in Madrid, in conjunction with the Pilates Method Alliance.

Though Teaser reps had long been completed, the Spanish Pilates-for-health organization Fundación Pilates, which organized the event, finally earned official bragging rights last week, a near six-month wait. Guinness World Records awarded the class its stamp of approval on Oct. 21.

The record-breaker mat session ran for 40 minutes and was led by Mabel Cabrera, head of the teacher training program at Pilates Wellness & Energy® a Spanish Pilates studio chain. It was a part of a longer set of Pilates Day programming held in Madrid on May 9 that focused on bringing Pilates “to the street,” and spreading awareness of its health benefits. It seems that was successful—though 862 people participated in the mat class, more than 1,000 were on hand for the day’s events, which included demos, sessions for children, testimonials and some impressive choreography from the Wellness & Energy staff.

“It was very exciting to be at that Pilates Day event, knowing that they were going for a Guinness World Record,” said PMA executive director Elizabeth Anderson, who flew to Madrid to be on hand for the festivities. “The participation of the Madrileños was fantastic—whole families appeared ready for a really dynamic day, and they got one.”
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Pilates Day 2009

The Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) recently announced plans for its annual Pilates Day® activities, scheduled for May 2, 2009. Instead of focusing on a national event as it has in the past, this year the organization is providing more support and resources to help its members host their own grassroots Pilates Day events locally.

Held each year on the first Saturday in May, Pilates Day was created by the PMA to create awareness about Pilates, its health benefits and its history. It’s an opportunity for PMA members to educate their communities about Pilates and attract valuable local media attention to their businesses.

So, now is the time to get creative about your Pilates Day plans. You could hold a free workshop, host a day-long open house, teach a mat class in a park or community center, partner with other studios or health professionals for a bigger event, get kids involved—the sky’s the limit—as long as it’s accessible and fun.

To host a Pilates Day event, you must be a member of the PMA and submit an online application. The PMA will then send you an official event kit, a helpful electronic package which includes event ideas, planning tips and a sample time line and budget. To help members promote their events, the kit also includes advertising and PR tips, a sample media alert and press release, production-ready Pilates Day 2009 logos and customizable posters, postcards and business cards. Your event will also be listed on the Pilates Day website.

We can’t wait to see what kinds creative events people come up with. If you’re hosting a Pilates Day event, be sure to take pictures and email us a few. We’ll choose the best ones and post them on Pilates-Pro.com. You can also post them to the Pilates-Pro.com Flickr pool or our Facebook page.