This October, BASI Pilates teacher training comes to Zen Rocks Sanctuary in Mani, Greece, in a retreat format for the first time. The October program offers three ways to train: Mat Teacher Training, Equipment Modules for BASI Mat graduates, or the full Comprehensive Teacher Training Program. The Mat training takes place from October 11–16, while the Comprehensive training runs from October 11–27, combining Mat and equipment education in one extended training period.

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Rather than attending the course and returning to your usual routine each day, the retreat allows students to stay within the Zen Rocks environment throughout the training, with dedicated time for classes, practice, rest, and life at the sanctuary.

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Choose your BASI Pilates training path

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Mat Teacher Training

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The BASI Mat Program is a foundation in Pilates principles, Mat repertoire, and teaching methodology.
Alongside the exercises, students study areas such as anatomy, movement analysis, posture assessment, cueing, and exercise adaptation. The curriculum covers the Mat repertoire from fundamental through advanced levels.
Mat is also an important foundation for students who later want to continue into Comprehensive training.

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October 11–16, 2026
Best for: Students beginning their Pilates teacher education who want to focus on Mat.

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Equipment Modules (for BASI Mat graduates)

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For BASI Mat graduates ready to continue their education, the Equipment Modules introduce the wider Pilates apparatus.
The BASI Comprehensive curriculum includes the Reformer, Cadillac, Wunda Chair, Ladder Barrel, Spine Corrector, Ped-a-Pul, and auxiliary apparatus.
Each apparatus offers different ways to work with resistance, assistance, stability, strength, mobility, and control. Studying them expands a teacher's understanding of how the Pilates method can be applied to different bodies and movement goals.

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Part of the October 11–27 Comprehensive retreat
Best for: BASI Mat graduates continuing into equipment training.

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Comprehensive Teacher Training

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The Comprehensive Program brings Mat and equipment education together.
Students study the full apparatus repertoire alongside the theoretical and practical elements of teacher education, including anatomy, movement analysis, exercise adaptation, cueing, and program design.
It is the most extensive of the three pathways and is designed for students who want a broad education across the Pilates system.

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October 11–27, 2026
Best for: Students who want to complete the full Mat and equipment pathway as one course of study.

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What makes the BASI approach different?
BASI Pilates was founded by Rael Isacowitz in 1989 and has developed an international teacher education system over more than three decades.
Its curriculum combines Pilates repertoire with the study of movement, anatomy, teaching methodology, and program design. Students are introduced to BASI's 10 Movement Principles and Block System, which provide frameworks for understanding movement and structuring Pilates programs.
The emphasis is on developing teachers who can observe, think, and adapt, rather than simply reproduce an exercise sequence.
That distinction becomes particularly important as students begin working with people who have different bodies, movement patterns, goals, and levels of experience.

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Why a Pilates teacher training retreat?
An intensive teacher training requires time to absorb a lot of information.
At Zen Rocks, students can stay within the retreat environment throughout the program, so the training does not have to fit around a daily commute or other commitments.
There is time between sessions to practice what you have learned, review material, or simply take a break before returning to the next class.
The setting also creates a more social side to the training. Students share meals, practice together, and spend time with others who are going through the same course.
This is what makes the Zen Rocks format different: the training is not simply held at a retreat venue. The retreat becomes the environment in which you experience the training.

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Zen Rocks Sanctuary, Mani
Zen Rocks is located in Mani, in the southern Peloponnese of Greece, surrounded by olive trees and the Mediterranean landscape.
The sanctuary brings accommodation, movement, food, nature, and shared spaces together in one setting. Students can move directly between training and the rest of their day without leaving the retreat environment. There is space to practice, walk, rest, or spend time with the other students between sessions.
The location is part of the experience, but the focus remains the training itself.

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Who is the retreat for?
The three pathways make the retreat suitable for different stages of Pilates education.
If you are starting your teacher training: The Mat Program gives you a foundation in Pilates Mat work and teaching.
If you are a BASI Mat graduate: The Equipment Modules allow you to continue into the apparatus.
If you want to study the complete system: The Comprehensive Program combines Mat and equipment training from October 11–27.

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If you are unsure which route is appropriate for your background, the BASI or Zen Rocks team can advise you before you register.

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Frequently Asked Questions

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Do I need to be a Pilates teacher already?
No. The Mat and Comprehensive pathways are designed for people undertaking Pilates teacher education. If you have previous Pilates training, your background may affect which pathway is most appropriate.

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Can I join the Equipment Modules without being a BASI Mat graduate?
The Equipment Modules within this retreat are intended for BASI Mat graduates. If you hold another Mat certification, contact the BASI or Zen Rocks team to discuss your eligibility.

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What is included in the BASI Comprehensive curriculum?
The Comprehensive curriculum covers Mat, Reformer, Cadillac, Wunda Chair, Ladder Barrel, Spine Corrector, Ped-a-Pul, and auxiliary apparatus, alongside the theoretical and teaching components of the program.

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Is the training suitable for complete beginners to Pilates?
BASI recommends some familiarity with Pilates and a basic understanding of human anatomy for its teacher training programs. If you are new to Pilates altogether, contact the BASI or Zen Rocks team before registering to discuss the best starting point.

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What language is the training taught in?
The BASI Pilates Teacher Training at Zen Rocks is taught in English.

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How do I book?
Contact us to book your spot.
BASI Pilates Teacher Training Retreat
October 11–27, 2026 · Zen Rocks Sanctuary · Mani, Greece

Thirty minutes past Kalamata, the road narrows, the olive groves thicken, and Wi-Fi becomes optional rather than assumed. This is the Mani Peninsula, and Zen Rocks Mani sits right in the middle of it: part boutique hotel, part retreat centre, built mostly from stone quarried down the road.

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Where exactly is it?
On the western edge of the Mani Peninsula in the Peloponnese, looking out over the Messinian Gulf. Kalamata is half an hour by car. A little further sits Kardamyli, the village the writer Patrick Leigh Fermor loved enough to spend the rest of his life in (his old house is a small museum now, if you're curious). Ten minutes past that is Stoupa, which local lore credits, reliably or not, with inspiring Zorba the Greek.

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What's around it?
Wild rosemary and oregano along the paths, olive trees a couple of centuries old, and Mount Taygetos rising behind everything. The closest big beaches (Kitries, ten minutes; Kardamyli, thirty) are stone and pebble rather than sand. For sand, it's Stoupa, another ten minutes on. Bikes are available if you fancy getting there yourself. Otherwise, there's a daily minivan.

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Is it actually sustainable, or does the homepage just say so?
The walls are local stone. The stools, benches and bed heads are hand carved by a local furniture family. Bed linen is organic cotton, the mattresses are coconut fibre, and the kitchen sources locally wherever it can. Organic waste is composted on site, plastic is avoided where possible, and the staff are local, not flown in for the season. It's a short list. But it's a specific one, and specific is usually the tell for whether "sustainable" means anything at all.

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What's it actually like to stay there?
Retreats run three or six nights as standard (shorter and longer stays can be arranged). A typical day: morning meditation, an Ayurvedic drink, two hours of yoga or Pilates, brunch, rest or a treatment, an evening class, dinner, sunset meditation. Or skip the programme entirely and just book a room. Zen Rocks doubles as a proper boutique hotel, and corporate teams have used it for offsites without a single downward dog required.

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Do you need to be "into wellness" to go?
No. Solo trip, a week with friends, a corporate offsite, a full teacher training, the building doesn't mind which one you're there for.
Curious? Book a room

This October, Zen Rocks Sanctuary and BASI Pilates Greece introduce a new immersive Teacher Training Retreat format within the global BASI education system. Taking place from October 11 to 16, 2026 for the MAT Teacher Training and October 17 to 27, 2026 for the Comprehensive Teacher Training, the retreat combines internationally recognised BASI Pilates certification with the experience of living and learning in nature.

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Created for aspiring Pilates teachers and movement professionals, the retreat allows participants to fully immerse themselves in study, practice, mentorship, and community while staying on-site at Zen Rocks Sanctuary in Mani, Greece.

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At the heart of this vision is Vivi Letsou, yoga educator, longtime Zen practitioner, and co-founder of Zen Rocks Sanctuary. Together with Eraj Shakib, Vivi created Zen Rocks as a place for transformation through movement, mindfulness, nature, and authentic connection.

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We spoke with our director Vivi Letsou about the inspiration behind the BASI Pilates Teacher Training Retreat and what makes this experience so unique.

1. What inspired you to create a Pilates Teacher Training in a Retreat format, and what gap did you feel was missing in traditional teacher education?

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A comprehensive Pilates education, as you may well know, is a very compact experience; It requires great attention, and copious amounts of practice and study. Being in a retreat in nature, away from destruction, surrounded by beauty and quietness where all your senses are pleased and your nervous system quiets down, your body is nourished by good food, gives you the “most ideal conditions” for focusing, learning, and enjoying the process.

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2. What does “authenticity” mean to you in the context of training future Pilates teachers?

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Authenticity is giving each person the freedom and encouragement to be themselves; knowing and understanding the Pilates process well, and feeling supported to be yourself you can become a confident teacher able to teach and to support others to be happy in their bodies.

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3. What makes this retreat different from other BASI Pilates teacher training programs?

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Pilates Teacher Training in Retreat is a brand new format which gives students and teachers the opportunity to give 100% attention to the process of learning and practicing Pilates. With all our needs being taken care of, we can focus completely on the practice and actually be able to relax more and enjoy the process more. Also, to form a new community of friends and colleagues. Some participants form strong friendships and stay in touch with their BASI classmates forever after. The BASI network is international and that means you can have a friendly studio to practice or work at in many places around the world this way.

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5. Why was the retreat format important to you instead of delivering this training in a regular studio setting?

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We do have a BASI Pilates Studio in the heart of Athens and have been offering BASI programs for 20 years now. Over the years we found out that many people would actually benefit from this focused intensive format a retreat offers. Both because otherwise their lives would not allow for a Pilates training that spans a much longer time, but also because the ideal environment of “a retreat in nature” is very helpful for practice, concentration, and assimilation.

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6. Can you walk us through what a typical day looks like during the retreat?

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We enjoy full and very pleasant days starting with an early morning walk or seated meditation, and then enjoying tea/coffee, a light breakfast gazing at the expanse of green hills and blue seas. The morning session includes theory and a lot of practice on the mat and on the Pilates equipment. A delicious vegetarian lunch awaits us midday and then a break for resting, swimming, and assimilating the material. In the afternoon the students get together to practice what they learned. After a short break for tea and treats, the afternoon session focuses more on anatomy, theory, and answering specific questions, emphasizing points of importance. Dinner at 7 is the social hour. Maybe a walk, maybe a talk close the night and we hit the bed early for a good rest. People often say they enjoy the best sleep and rest at Zen Rocks. It is the quietness or the relaxing nature vibes, or maybe the Cocomat bed comfort.

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7. What core competencies will teachers leave with by the end of the program, and how will they be assessed?

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We often use the phrase: be a well trained BASI Pilates teacher, continue with your practice and study till your exams and certification and then join the ranks for successful BASI Pilates Teachers internationally. You may have the chance to work in one of the hundreds of BASI studios around the globe.

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8. How is the BASI Pilates education different or more effective?

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BASI Pilates is a highly perfected method with great attention to the detail and mastery of each exercise. The method is supremely refined and the books are singularly clear and detailed. One can say though that the key to the beauty of BASI Pilates is: Flow! Based on the Block system that Rael Isacowitz has created, the flow of a mat or an equipment class is graceful, continuous, and very elegant. Mainly though: it gives the body a complete and well balanced work out.

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9. What prerequisite experience level is required, and is the program open to movement teachers from other disciplines?

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Familiarity with Pilates practice is recommended, but BASI Pilates lends itself well to teachers and practitioners of other modalities like dancers, movers, and athletes. However, studying the BASI Pilates teaches “everyone” a new language of movement that develops not just the body in new ways, but expands the mind as well.

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10. How many participants do you accept per retreat, and why have you chosen that group size?

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The groups are small and carefully curated. This gives us a great opportunity to ask questions and benefit from the intimate environment with the teacher.

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11. What role do mentorship, community, and personal reflection play throughout the experience?

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During this compact program you get a chance to connect with the teacher and ask questions, you share meals and extra time with the community and you are given the opportunity away from destruction to reflect and assimilate this rich practice of Pilates.

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12. What is included in the retreat cost, such as accommodation, meals, materials?
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The superb benefit of this BASI Pilates Training In Retreat is that everything is included and provided for you: accommodation in comfortable plush rooms, delicious healthy meals, books and study guides. The certification process is an extra added step and the post-training education like auditing and assisting classes can happen in the country students come from as BASI has host studios in 44 countries in the world.

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13. Can you share a story from a previous participant whose experience transformed both their teaching practice and personal growth?

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One of your past graduates is a Pilates studio owner from Zurich. She has had her own studio and was teaching for 10 years before she came to our training in retreat. Her understanding of the Pilates method elevated to a new level; she was superbly happy to learn the detail and perfection that BASI teaches and felt excited mentally as her body also became stronger and more relaxed at the same time. Going back she said her clients enthusiastically embraced the new cues and felt a difference as they witnessed “an upgrade” in their practice.

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14. What do you believe separates a good Pilates teacher from a truly exceptional one in today’s industry?

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“Exceptional training” is the key. BASI Pilates, as the name aptly verifies, offers a truly exceptional educational and training method with a scientific approach on the latest biomechanics, and that and this is why it is widely recognized as the flagship of Pilates Academies in the world today.

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15. Finally, for someone considering the retreat but feeling unsure about taking the leap, what is your personal message to them?

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Anyone with interest and curiosity should check out BASI, both the international and the Greek Academies on the web and contact us so we can walk them through the program and be able to answer their questions.