Founder, The Hertfordshire School of Pilates
I first encountered Pilates in 1998 during my professional dance training at The Laban Centre in London. It was part of our regular curriculum and I fell in love with it immediately. When a knee injury took me off the studio floor, it was Pilates - on the reformer and cadillac - that brought me back to full strength. I remember sitting in one of those sessions thinking: this is what I want to do when I grow up.
Life had other plans for a while. Pilates wasn't available in my home town after I graduated, and it wasn't until 2008 - after having my daughter - that I found my way back to classes.
In 2010 I was diagnosed with breast cancer. It was the shake-up I needed to stop waiting and start doing. I trained as a Pilates instructor in 2013 and spent the next few years teaching in private studios, large gym chains, leisure centres, and in the community. In 2016 I opened my first studio.
Like so many small businesses, we navigated lockdown on Zoom, and in 2021 reopened in a new location - the studio that is now The Pilates Corner in Baldock.
In 2025 I was diagnosed with breast cancer for the second time. And for the second time, it pushed me towards something I had been putting off. I had been teaching for over a decade, I had the Level 4 qualification and the assessor designation, and I had watched too many good people complete their training and then struggle to turn it into something real. I wanted to do something about that.
That is why The Hertfordshire School of Pilates exists. Not to add another qualification course to the market - there are plenty of those - but to give people the training, the support, and the practical foundation they need to actually go and teach.
"I wanted every student to feel seen, heard, and like they had a mentor holding their hand as they went out into the industry - no matter what they planned to do with their qualification."
- Emma Lovelock
Every workshop is taught personally by me. I keep cohort sizes small - no more than 8 students - because I have seen what happens in a room of 30 and it is not the same experience.
A qualification should be the beginning, not the end. Too many new instructors qualify and then hit a wall when it comes to the real-world business of finding clients, setting prices, and building something sustainable. Our Professional and Signature pathways include fortnightly group coaching calls specifically to bridge that gap - not just to get you through the course, but to help you do something with it on the other side.
Alongside HSP, I still run The Pilates Corner studio in Baldock where I teach classes every week. That is not an accident. I believe you should learn from someone who is still in the industry - still on the mat, still working with real clients, still navigating the same challenges you will face when you qualify.
If you want to know more about the course or just want to ask a question before committing to anything, I would love to hear from you.
"Emma is an incredible source of Pilates knowledge and inspiration. The training at The Hertfordshire School of Pilates is accessible, highly personalised, and very well structured. Emma is personally invested in each participant's journey and knows exactly how to bring out the best in you. Her patience, knowledge and passion is outstanding. The course has surpassed all my expectations. Thank you, Emma."
Emily Morris
HSP Student
"Having known very little about the details and skill of Pilates, I've been immersed more than I ever thought I would. Emma teaches with such passion and thoroughness, it's hard not to be enthralled. It's a truly full course with loads of content and information that I feel I will 100% be a strong and helpful teacher."
Charley Vincent
HSP Student
