June 16, 2025 • 32 mins
In this inspiring episode of The Pilates Business Podcast, host Seran Glanfield sits down with Olivia Bioni—nationally certified Pilates teacher, educator, podcaster, and now author of The Pilates Teacher's Manual.
Olivia shares how mentorship, storytelling, and authentic connection can help Pilates instructors and studio owners reignite their passion and build sustainable, thriving careers.
Tune in to hear how Olivia transformed burnout into bold action and why your next best move might not be doing more, but thinking differently. If you're a studio owner feeling stuck, overwhelmed, or uncertain about the future, this is the episode that will remind you why you started and where you can go next. 🌟
Topics covered include:
- Building a sustainable Pilates career
- Starting a podcast and writing a book
- Overcoming imposter syndrome
- Mentorship and leadership in boutique fitness
- Creating scalable impact without burnout
Connect with Olivia : @pilatesteachersmanual
Website: https://pilatesteachersmanual.oliviabioni.com
https://book.oliviabioni.com/pilatesteachersmanual
Got a question for Seran? Add it here 👉
~~~
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
What if growing your Pilates business didn't mean
doing more, but perhaps thinkingdifferently?
What if mentorships andmeaningful conversations and,
yes, even a podcast could be thekey to scaling your impact and
perhaps even reigniting yourlove for teaching and this
(00:20):
incredible industry?
Well, in today's episode, I'msitting down with Olivia Bionni.
She's a nationally certifiedPilates teacher, educator,
podcaster and now author of thePilates Teacher's Manual, the
book.
Now she's built a globalplatform to help instructors to
(00:40):
really thrive and to share howmentorship and storytelling can
really shift the way that youperhaps grow in your career as a
teacher, an instructor and abusiness owner.
Well, hi there, I'm SarenGlanfield.
I'm a business and marketingstrategist just for boutique
fitness studio owners like you.
(01:01):
If you're ready to be inspiredand make a bigger impact, you're
in the right place.
All you need are a few keystrategies, the right mindset
and some support along the way.
Join me as I share the reallife insights that will help you
grow a sustainable andprofitable studio.
(01:22):
This is the Pilates BusinessPodcast.
Profitable studio this is thePilates Business Podcast.
Welcome back to the PilatesBusiness Podcast.
I'm Saran.
Thank you so much for joiningme here today.
This is the place to be if youwant to know how to go from
perhaps being a littleoverwhelmed and perhaps a little
overworked to being a littlebit more organized, a little bit
(01:43):
more inspired and, yes, even alittle bit more profitable in
your business.
Now you're in luck today, notonly because I've had my matcha
ice latte and I am trying reallyhard to speak really slowly
with you guys, so I don't loseyou, but we're really in luck
because I am joined today bysomeone who has made it her
(02:04):
mission to uplift and empowerand mentor Pilates teachers
around the world.
Olivia Bione is the founder ofOlivia Bione Wellness.
She's the host of the PilatesTeacher's Manual podcast and the
Pilates Student Manual podcastas well Two podcasts, you guys,
and I know how much work thatmust be.
(02:25):
And now, in on top of all ofthat, is the author of the
Pilates teacher's manual, thebook.
Now she's also taught acrossmany different studios and been
with inside of differenttraining programs, and her her
work to sort of spread the wordbegan in 2020 when she launched
(02:47):
that podcast, and I know so manyof you are always looking for
inspiration and to hear fromother teachers around the world
on how they've built theirbusiness and their career and
how to build a sustainablecareer in Pilates, and so I'm so
excited that you're here withus, olivia, welcome.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Oh my gosh.
Thank you for that very kindintroduction and thank you so
much for having me on the show.
I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
I'm so glad you're here.
I'm so glad you're here, andyou know, I think I like to
always give a strongintroduction, but there's
nothing like quite hearing fromyou, the guest, a little bit
more about how you came into theworld of Pilates and obviously
you have been quite the taken onquite a lot of projects in this
(03:35):
industry over that time.
So tell us a little bit abouthow it all came about.
I'd love to hear.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
It's one of those things where, looking back,
you're like oh so all of thosethings that I was doing that
didn't seem related have justtied together in this very cute
little bow.
So I've always been active.
I was a soccer player as a kidand played competitively through
high school and I had an injurywhen I was in high school and
it turned out that contactsports was not going to be the
(04:01):
way that I was going to be ableto keep moving my body, as
happens with a lot of athletes.
So I found yoga, which was alovely low-impact mind-body
connection sort of thing.
I was doing yoga, I did my yogateacher training, I got married
, I moved to Chicago and I wastrying to do the yoga thing.
And yoga studios tend to beorganized just a little bit
(04:23):
differently than Pilates studios, with big breaks between
classes and maybe if you'reteaching at a yoga studio you're
teaching one or two classes aweek.
You're not teaching enoughhours to really support yourself
, so then you're running allover the city trying to teach
enough hours to also pay yourrent.
I knew that that wasn't goingto work.
After like three minutes ofliving in Chicago I was like
(04:44):
this is not it, but luckily, Iwas also working at a studio
that had Pilates classes and Idid not fall in love with
Pilates the first time I saw it.
I saw the Allegro Reformerswith the tower attachments and I
was like, oh my gosh, thatlooks scary, that looks so
intimidating.
I don't know why anyonevoluntarily does that.
(05:05):
But look at me now.
I heard the person who wasrunning the teacher training
talking about the body and aboutmovement and I realized that
that depth was something thatwas missing in my yoga
experience and I said I wantthat.
I don't know about Pilates, butI know that that way that
you're talking, the way you'reengaging with clients, the want
(05:26):
that I don't know about Pilates,but I know that that way that
you're talking, the way you'reengaging with clients, the fact
that you're able to workone-on-one with people and teach
more classes, that definitelyresonates with me.
So I got into Pilates.
That way.
I signed up for teachertraining without ever having
been on a reformer.
So it does happen and I reallyfell in love.
And the more I taught, the moreI loved it.
The more people I worked with,the more I deepened my own
(05:47):
understanding and my firstteacher training I knew for me
that this was it and I felt likeI stumbled into it, but I was
there.
I also have a background intheater.
I have done a lot of theaterstuff and I also have a degree
in education, so I've done a lotof teaching stuff.
So, like the stars alignedthrough a whole lifetime
(06:26):
no-transcript not thediversified portfolio that I
thought it was, but now, withlockdowns, had a lot of time to
really think about how to makePilates work in a virtual space.
Like the whole reason behindstarting the podcast to begin
with was that I wanted to createa resource that I wish I had
(06:49):
when I started teaching, becausethrough I moved to Chicago in
2016.
In like three, four years, therewas a lot of stumbling, a lot
of making mistakes, a lot oftaking on more classes than I
was able to handle or teachingreally late in the evening and
turning around and teaching veryearly in the morning, and it's
not even that any of thosethings are bad and they were all
(07:09):
very valuable learningexperiences.
But I just thought to myself ifI could just tell a person
who's in their teacher trainingthat they don't have to do it,
that way they would be able tobe a successful teacher a lot
faster, they would feel a lotmore at home in the industry,
they would feel that this was asustainable career.
Not, you come out the gate withall of this enthusiasm, you run
(07:30):
yourself ragged for two yearsand then you have to quit.
So I was like I saw thathappening to other teachers.
I very nearly fell victim to itmyself and I was like I think
that there's a better way or atleast more than the way that you
might see just in front of youthat there's other options,
there's other places you canteach other ways to set up your
schedule.
So I originally started thepodcast with that in mind and so
(07:53):
I started Teacher's Manualfirst.
I started Student's Manualbecause the people I was
teaching group classes to werevery pleased that I had started
a podcast, but it didn't reallyapply to them and they really
wanted to learn more aboutPilates, but maybe not about
creating a sustainable scheduleas a teacher, but like the
background or the history ofPilates or what their teacher
means.
When they say stuff that we sayall the time like resist the
(08:15):
resistance, and they're likethat sounds cool, but what is it
?
Or why would I put my heels onthe footbar instead of my toes
when I do a bridge, like I don'tunderstand.
And teachers aren't givinglectures when they're teaching,
they're taking you through themovement part of it.
So I created that podcast as aresource for students who are
(08:37):
looking to learn more, whodidn't want to become teachers
necessarily Maybe they do downthe line but they wanted that
depth of understanding forthemselves and their Pilates
practice.
So I started that, and then,almost as soon as I had started
the podcast, I knew I wanted itto be a book, because podcasts
have this nice quality of havinga chat with someone.
It feels like you're talkingwith a friend, you're sitting
down, you're drinking coffee orhaving your matcha latte
(08:58):
together, but it is a little bitmore roundabout way of getting
to information.
So I wanted the book so thatyou could control F on an e-book
and find exactly what you'relooking for, scan the table of
contents and get right to it.
And so the book was a long timecoming, but it is officially
out now, very much inspired bypodcast episodes but trimmed
(09:20):
down and cleaned up, and I hopethat that is also a resource for
teachers as they continue inthis industry, yeah, so tell us
a little bit about so, when youstarted the podcast in 2020?
.
Like March, Like the first Ireleased, like the first, like
hey, I'm doing a podcast episodein February and then when you
(09:42):
shut down, like within the monthI had released three episodes
and I was like oh, boy.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Yes, yeah, and then a lot, and then a lot happened.
It wasn't just that month.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yeah, no, certainly yeah, and ongoing, definitely
yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Yeah, so you've taken , you you have.
I mean, I think it takes a lotof courage to do what you've
done and step into that role ofseeing the gap, um, and then
sort of deciding to be the oneto to fill it.
You know, I think it's it'slike, uh, it does take a lot of
courage and I would like to sortof dive into that a little bit
(10:17):
because, um, I I'm sure thereare moments where you is this
the right?
Do I want to do this, is this?
You know what?
How did you sort of get togrips with all of the feelings
that often comes with steppingup and stepping in to roles like
that.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
No, I definitely had those moments of kind of
faltering where I I did think tomyself that because I, when I
first started teaching, Ithought, well, I don't want
anyone to think that I'm a brandnew teacher, so I'll just say
I've been teaching for like afew years because I had been
teaching yoga and like I'd beenteaching movement and I'd been
familiar, and I didn't want totell people that when I started
(10:56):
teaching at Club Pilates in 2018, that I had been a teacher for
three months, you know like Iwas.
I was nervous and I wasembarrassed and I thought that
it wouldn't have the same impactbecause I was too new.
And then, even starting thepodcast, I did have an actual
few years of teaching under mybelt.
So I had really deepconversations with my partner
(11:18):
because I was worried.
I was like what if I amabsolutely making this up?
There is definitely someimposter syndrome.
What if I start saying thingsand people are like you're not a
real teacher?
Who are you to say anything?
But what my partner reallygrounded me with is that if
you've learned anything in thetime that you've been a teacher,
then you can share that withpeople.
(11:39):
You don't need more legitimacythan you've done it and you do
have these experiences and youcan share it.
So I definitely don't set outto have the answer for everyone,
but I can definitely exploreand use my own experience as a
teaching tool and and that andit's also one of those things
(12:02):
like I just read Atomic Habitswith my management team at Club
Pilates and like you build thehabit, like you become the
podcaster now use this platformto share with people.
So you know you're learning bydoing, but and growing by doing,
(12:30):
and just doing, like it's onestep in front of another.
It's like creating the systemthat you have the workflow in
place where it's not a questionof am I going to do this, it's
just, this is what I do, andthat like it didn't feel
courageous.
Like I'm thinking back on thetimes where I was like, oh man,
(12:55):
I don't know.
Or like what if what I say isgoing to be used out of context
or people are going to be madabout this because they disagree
or something.
But just coming back to, also,I always think of Emily
Dickinson's poem like if I canstop one heart from breaking,
like if I can help one teachercreate a sustainable career and
that one teacher teaches as manypeople as they teach over the
course of their career, thepositive impact is magnified and
(13:17):
amplified and just incalculablehow much positive impact
helping one person can have.
So I still don't think that Iknow everything, but I do know
things and I can offer guidanceand share my experience.
So that's really whatencouraged me to just take the
plunge and do the thing.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Well, I think that's so inspiring because I think so
many of us have thesehesitations and things, and it's
so inspiring because I think somany of us have these
hesitations and things and it'salways.
I think that to assume thatother people don't, I think, is
a misconception.
And so, you know, when you seepeople taking leaps like you
took and you continue to take,you know these are big deals.
(14:02):
You know you're two podcastsand a book plus you're teaching,
and this is a lot that you're.
You know you're you're doingand giving.
And I think to assume thatthere's this sort of uh, you
know that there is not sort ofother emotions happening
alongside it that you otherswould expect to also have is,
you know, it's not always, it'snot the case generally, and I
(14:22):
think what the differencebetween those who do like you
have done and those who perhapswait or pause or don't do, is
that you're willing to workthrough the feelings that come
with taking on something that isa little bit challenging and
perhaps a little bituncomfortable, and so for that
is incredibly courageous, Ithink.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Well, it's so funny that you say that, because
incredibly courageous, I think.
See that hesitation or thatself-doubt that can come up,
because a lot of times we'representing a very public persona
, like when we're teaching.
We're not complaining about,you know, the fact that our
sink's broken or maintenancerequests are backed up, or you
got a terrible night's sleep andyour cat puked on your pillow,
like you don't.
That's not how you lead thestuff that you're presenting,
(15:19):
but we're all human, having avery human experience, and we
have days where things comereally easy and we've got lots
of energy, and we've got dayswhere things are a little bit
harder.
And I think it's also very muchabout moving forward, regardless
of the speed.
It's not about how fast you getwhere you're going, but the
fact that you have a plan and adirection, that you want to go
(15:42):
and that you're you're makingyour way there because you know
you're doing this bio for me andtalking about all these things
I did and it's been, you know,five years.
So I think a lot of times weoverestimate what we can
accomplish in a day, butunderestimate what we can
accomplish in one year or fiveyears.
So if in 2020, you said oh, youknow this is what you're going
(16:03):
to do in five years.
I don't know if I would havebelieved you.
I'd be like, all right.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Okay, yeah, and that comes back to that Atomic Habits
book.
Right, if you've not, if ifthose listening have not have
not read that book or aren'tfamiliar with it.
It's a really interesting bookabout how to build great habits
and what kind of you know what.
What really moves the needleand makes a difference is a
really interesting book.
But that is that concept reallyas well is that we tend to sort
(16:28):
of overestimate what we can doin a short period of time and
underestimate what's possiblefor us long term.
We sort of are veryshort-sighted in lots of ways,
don't, I think?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Yeah, I mean I can share.
In addition to doing Pilates, Ialso still love yoga.
I do a ton of yoga and I'mgetting into running, kind of to
reclaim it, because as a soccerplayer you have to run a lot.
I was a midfielder and runningwas a lot of times a punishment.
If your coach was mad at youfor things, then you would get
to run for long periods of time.
So I'm getting to running iskind of reclaiming it and doing
(17:01):
this thing.
That's good for me, but formyself, not because someone's
yelling at me to do it and I,you know, just was able to run a
5k and that's been six months.
You know, starting from andlike people look at that and
they're like, well, of courseyou could do that, and I was
like, yeah, but when I started Iwas jogging for 30 seconds, you
know, and then walking forthree minutes.
So it's the incremental build.
(17:27):
It's not the cannonball.
Always that is the result.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
It's the dipping your toe in the pool and then just
like getting more wet as you goin.
You know Consistency andshowing up for sure.
Okay, tell us about the book.
I want to know.
You know we.
You know you have the podcastand then you had the second
podcast and you always wanted tobe an author.
Is that how that came about, orwas it something else that
(17:50):
prompted it?
And what was the process foryou like?
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Yeah, I don't think I was ever wanting to be an
author, although that is verycool and I do really enjoy.
I do enjoy that I can say thatnow.
For me, it was always about you, always about how can I help
the most people, how can Iconnect with the most people.
And when you're teachingPilates, you help all the people
(18:14):
in your classes.
So maybe you're teachingone-on-one sessions, so you're
helping one person every hour.
You're able to work with them.
If you're teaching groupclasses, great, maybe you can
teach 12 people in an hour.
Maybe you can teach.
If you're doing mat classes,you can teach a whole stadium in
an hour, potentially.
And so the podcast was alsolike people could find this when
(18:35):
I'm not there physically, but Icould be there and I can offer
that insight and really, ifpeople had questions, I could
direct them to something insteadof taking time to answer that
question.
I could be like oh, I talkedabout this for a good 30 minutes
.
You can go listen to me chatabout it.
So a book is something that'severgreen, that you can have on
(18:55):
your phone.
I've released it as an e-bookand I am a reader myself.
I love to read more thanlistening to podcasts.
I don't know, that's just themedia format and I know, as a
podcaster I feel like that'sprobably blasphemous to say but
I don't actually listen to a tonof podcasts, but I do read a
(19:19):
ton of podcast transcripts.
So there's that, a ton ofpodcast transcripts.
So there's that.
So reading is just my jam.
And I also thought a lot aboutpeople who maybe English isn't
their first language.
My partner, english is not hisfirst language and I'm not sure
if I'm the only one who's beenin that situation, but I think
it's.
And how sometimes when peopleare talking and I know
(19:39):
especially, like I'm learning tospeak Korean we don't always
pause at the spaces betweenwords.
So it can be really difficultwhen you're listening to
information to know whatsomeone's saying, especially
when you don't have the visualcues of the person's body
language.
Of the person's body language,it can be hard sometimes to
(20:02):
understand or if there's anidiom or slang or things like
that.
So I always knew I wanted liketranscripts of the podcast so
that people could read it andpotentially translate it.
And then seeing how many peoplewere listening to the podcast
on so many different continents,like I wanted to be understood
as much as reaching people.
So I thought the book would bea really great way to do that.
Reaching people.
So I thought the book would bea really great way to do that
(20:27):
and kind of the condensedversion that, if you're, I have
teacher friends who will listento my podcast while they're
doing dishes, and so it's greatto have that where you're doing
something else but you're stilltuned into the podcast.
But for people who want to reador want that resource and just
having a table of contents,where it's really easy, and
especially in the book, I wasable to group commonalities,
(20:47):
common ideas together.
If I was talking about groupteaching, or I was talking about
teaching privates, or I wastalking about, you know, working
in a studio or some of the softskills or just working with
people in general, things thatyou want to know right out the
gate, things that become moreinteresting to you the more you
teach.
I was able to organize some ofmy thoughts and kind of clean up
(21:08):
some of my thoughts, becausepodcasting can be a lot of not
quite stream of consciousnessbut you're sharing things and
sometimes you're learning whatyou're saying as you're saying
it.
You're making those connections.
So I was able to sharpen upsome of my points and really get
to the key of what I wanted toshare, which sometimes I'll be
(21:28):
having a podcast episode andthere's like the whole thing
could be condensed to onesentence that I finally got to
at the end.
So I wanted that resource to be, uh, to be there as well and
just kind of consolidated thatyou don't need the internet also
to be able to listen to it.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Right right, right right.
So how long did it take you toput it all together, because
there's so much I'm sure youwanted to put?
Did you find you just was likeI can't make this?
Speaker 2 (21:53):
5,000 pages long, oh my gosh.
Well, I kind of did and now I'mthinking like, oh man, like
there's more.
I didn't even talk about if youshould use music in your
classes, or like best practicesfor using music.
So there's already things thatI'm thinking about including or
reorganizing in like a secondversion or a second edition of
it.
I'd thought about it seriouslyfor about two years but then,
(22:17):
like really sat down to do it inabout six months and once again
going back to Atomic Habits,it's like okay.
Like saying you want to do thisand doing this are like not the
same, like we have to startdoing things to be doing this.
So part of it was working withan editor.
My sister also works as editingand doing editing work.
(22:37):
So I started like setting callswith her and having deadlines
and like really holding myselfto a bit of a schedule and then
also knowing that if I didn'thit those deadlines like these
are all very self-imposed goals,like I'm a very self-motivated
person.
So having the flexibility andthe grace that when things come
up and are crazy that if I don'thit, I got through this whole
(22:58):
section of the book today, likeit's okay, crazy that if I don't
hit.
I got through this wholesection of the book today, like
it's okay, but about six monthsof you know, going through the
podcast episodes, like what isthe most important?
What is you know in the in thebook?
Like what do I want people toknow?
What do I think is like themost important stuff?
So it was a lot of cutting downfor the book.
I like put everything that Ithought was potentially possible
(23:21):
and then just cut like crazyand just trimmed and reorganized
.
And it's kind of fantastic thatmy sister is not involved in
Pilates at all because then shecould ask very real questions
about things that a laypersonmay not know.
So it helped me get clearer onthings.
(23:41):
Because I also didn't take timeto just do the book.
Like I was still teaching myfull course load.
I was still.
I did take like an extra monthhiatus on the podcast but like I
was still doing the majority oflike working and living, I
didn't go on sabbatical.
So it probably could have beenfaster if I had turned
everything off to just focus.
(24:01):
But you know life happens and Istill really enjoy teaching and
I didn't want to stop that justso that I could do this.
So it took longer, but wellworth it, I think.
And then, as soon as I finished, I was like oh, and then I
could write another book aboutthis.
So I was like very ambitious,so like maybe it's like, oh's
like, oh, we have a boy.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Well, that's my next question is okay, so two
podcasts and a book, and what'snext for you?
What are your?
Because, obviously you're.
You are driven and motivated,like you say, but you have very
clear intention behind the theprojects and the work that you
do.
So where does that lead you?
(24:42):
Where do you feel like you'reheading next?
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yeah, I'm really lucky.
I have an excellent position inthe Club Pilates Chicago
organization.
So there's one owner who ownsnow nine studios in the Chicago
area and I work as a leadinstructor.
So, yay, more hats.
(25:07):
But I get to do a lot ofin-person mentoring for our
instructor team, who arefantastic and incredible and on
the ground teaching real peoplefrom six in the morning until
830 at night, like some of thebest teachers and colleagues
that one could ask for night,like some of the best teachers
and colleagues that one couldask for.
So definitely putting a lot ofenergy into working with people
in that capacity.
For myself, I'm also acontinuing education provider
(25:30):
for the National PilatesCertification Program, so I
think I'll be taking sections ofthe book where it's like group
class programming strategies andtrying to make a workshop.
So now you'll have it.
If you want to listen to itsuper long form, I've got it on
a podcast.
If you want to get in, get outon your own time, it's available
in a book.
And if you want to hang outwith me for three hours and we
(25:53):
can like chat about it, I'mlooking into developing a
workshop series where it's moreinteractive, because podcasting
and books are very much likehere you go into the world.
So I like the idea of havingthat connection with teachers
again and then also being ableto fill a gap that people have
(26:13):
that if they're nationallycertified Pilates teachers, they
do need to do continuingeducation and I've found for
myself that the continuingeducation that's like new
choreography on a piece ofequipment is like really fun and
worthwhile but doesn'tnecessarily improve your
teaching or improve or like giveyou the next level in your
(26:36):
career, kind of thing.
So workshop series definitelysomething about that Coming up
down the pipe no specifiedtimeline have not set that in
motion, but that's an idea.
That's kind of floating aroundin my head.
And then also thinking aboutkind of my teaching philosophy
(26:56):
and something that has come outof the podcast and me talking
through all of my ideas and youknow why I teach, the way I
teach, why I teach how I teach,who I teach all of those things
coming together, kind ofdistilling that into what I'm
loosely calling dimensions ofdifficulty and exercises,
progressions and regressions.
(27:16):
It's not a line as much as it'sa three-dimensional space that
you can play with that.
You can play with range ofmovement and flexibility, you
can play with coordination, youcan play with complexity and you
can play with load, and all ofthose things go together in
Pilates.
And so thinking about ways toget even clearer about that so
(27:42):
that I can share because this issomething that Pilates teachers
have to do all the time you seesomeone and you want them to do
a plank or something and theycan't do the plank, and so then
you have to ask the questionokay, they can't do the thing
that I'm asking them to do, likewhat isn't working?
How can I adjust it now,because it's happening in real
time?
And then how can I know for thenext time I cue this exercise,
(28:06):
that this is like a commonpitfall or a common issue that
someone might have with thisexercise?
How can I know that that'scoming and then be ready and
like maybe start the exercisesmaller?
So I love playing with that.
It feels like very much likebeing a DJ, but it's like a
Pilates DJ kind of thing, and solike what can you dial up?
What can you dial down?
Where can you offer support?
(28:26):
How can you offer challengewhen you've got super rock stars
who can just like do anything?
And so really seeing exercisesas a spectrum versus this is the
rollover.
But it's like what if youwanted the rollover to be harder
?
Like okay, like what if youwanted the rollover to be harder
?
Like okay, like what are yougoing to do?
Like, if a person can't lifttheir hips?
Like how are we going to getthem there?
(28:47):
So, like building bridges, notonly for teachers and helping
them understand in teaching youknow where they can, how they
can grow, but also for thepeople you're teaching.
Like how can we identify gaps,anticipate gaps and then, you
know, grow from there.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
So if I read another book, it's that one.
That's the one.
Yeah, I did a fantastic likeMatt Reformer Tower, like medley
, yesterday with my fantasticinstructor and it was very fun.
And it's like you know you do,you know I, I'm, you know I, I
follow the classical um, youknow method um, predominantly
(29:25):
with all of my Pilates that I do, just cause that's my world and
my teachers and are all thatway and um, and then you throw
in a little change here andthere.
It's like oh, this is, this isfun and it's the same, but it's
different and it keeps thingskind of fun.
You know it's great.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I mean, that's all Pilates man.
Like whether you're changingthe piece of equipment, changing
the exercise, it's the sameshapes and they're just echoing
and calling back to each other.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Yeah, Facing a different way, doing it all
different.
Anyway, it was great.
It was great fun.
Well, I would love to see that.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
So I'm going to we'll bring you back on when you have
that.
Yes, the next book definitely.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Well, fantastic.
Well, thank you so much, Olivia, for being so open and honest
and about your journey and whatyou're doing.
Why don't you just quicklyshare how people can connect
with you and all of your workand all of the different things
that you do?
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Yeah, I'll definitely send the links to Sarah and so
that she can share them.
But I'm on Instagram.
I have Olivia Bionni.
Wellness is just me If you wantto follow the podcast.
I've got Pilates Teacher'sManual and Pilates Student's
Manual on Instagram and alsoFacebook.
My spot for Pilates merch andthe book is shopoliviabionnicom.
And then I do have a podcastcommunity where we get to do
(30:39):
monthly coffee chats and checkin about anything People who
have questions about exercises,who have questions about what
teacher training they're curiousabout things like that.
That's buymeacoffeecom.
Slash Olivia podcasts, but Ilook forward to connecting.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Fantastic.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
I really, really appreciate itand appreciate everything that
you do to support all of ourteachers in our industry.
It's so fantastic.
Thank you Well, right back atyou, saren, if you enjoyed what
(31:17):
you heard today.
I would absolutely love it ifyou could go to wherever you're
listening to this and rate andreview this podcast.
It would mean a ton to me andalso help to get this out there
into our fantastic community ofteachers and studio owners, so
that they, too, can feelencouraged and inspired on their
journey.
Did you love this episode andwant more?
(31:46):
Head to spring3.com and checkout my free resources that will
help you run a profitable andfulfilling studio business.
And, before you go, one lastreminder there is no one way to
do what you do, only your way.
So whatever it is that you wantto do, create or offer, you've
got this.
Thanks again for joining metoday and have a wonderful rest
(32:07):
of your day.
What if growing your Pilates business didn't mean
doing more, but perhaps thinkingdifferently?
What if mentorships andmeaningful conversations and,
yes, even a podcast could be thekey to scaling your impact and
perhaps even reigniting yourlove for teaching and this
(00:20):
incredible industry?
Well, in today's episode, I'msitting down with Olivia Bionni.
She's a nationally certifiedPilates teacher, educator,
podcaster and now author of thePilates Teacher's Manual, the
book.
Now she's built a globalplatform to help instructors to
(00:40):
really thrive and to share howmentorship and storytelling can
really shift the way that youperhaps grow in your career as a
teacher, an instructor and abusiness owner.
Well, hi there, I'm SarenGlanfield.
I'm a business and marketingstrategist just for boutique
fitness studio owners like you.
(01:01):
If you're ready to be inspiredand make a bigger impact, you're
in the right place.
All you need are a few keystrategies, the right mindset
and some support along the way.
Join me as I share the reallife insights that will help you
grow a sustainable andprofitable studio.
(01:22):
This is the Pilates BusinessPodcast.
Profitable studio this is thePilates Business Podcast.
Welcome back to the PilatesBusiness Podcast.
I'm Saran.
Thank you so much for joiningme here today.
This is the place to be if youwant to know how to go from
perhaps being a littleoverwhelmed and perhaps a little
overworked to being a littlebit more organized, a little bit
(01:43):
more inspired and, yes, even alittle bit more profitable in
your business.
Now you're in luck today, notonly because I've had my matcha
ice latte and I am trying reallyhard to speak really slowly
with you guys, so I don't loseyou, but we're really in luck
because I am joined today bysomeone who has made it her
(02:04):
mission to uplift and empowerand mentor Pilates teachers
around the world.
Olivia Bione is the founder ofOlivia Bione Wellness.
She's the host of the PilatesTeacher's Manual podcast and the
Pilates Student Manual podcastas well Two podcasts, you guys,
and I know how much work thatmust be.
(02:25):
And now, in on top of all ofthat, is the author of the
Pilates teacher's manual, thebook.
Now she's also taught acrossmany different studios and been
with inside of differenttraining programs, and her her
work to sort of spread the wordbegan in 2020 when she launched
(02:47):
that podcast, and I know so manyof you are always looking for
inspiration and to hear fromother teachers around the world
on how they've built theirbusiness and their career and
how to build a sustainablecareer in Pilates, and so I'm so
excited that you're here withus, olivia, welcome.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Oh my gosh.
Thank you for that very kindintroduction and thank you so
much for having me on the show.
I'm so excited to be here.
Speaker 1 (03:13):
I'm so glad you're here.
I'm so glad you're here, andyou know, I think I like to
always give a strongintroduction, but there's
nothing like quite hearing fromyou, the guest, a little bit
more about how you came into theworld of Pilates and obviously
you have been quite the taken onquite a lot of projects in this
(03:35):
industry over that time.
So tell us a little bit abouthow it all came about.
I'd love to hear.
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:40):
It's one of those things where, looking back,
you're like oh so all of thosethings that I was doing that
didn't seem related have justtied together in this very cute
little bow.
So I've always been active.
I was a soccer player as a kidand played competitively through
high school and I had an injurywhen I was in high school and
it turned out that contactsports was not going to be the
(04:01):
way that I was going to be ableto keep moving my body, as
happens with a lot of athletes.
So I found yoga, which was alovely low-impact mind-body
connection sort of thing.
I was doing yoga, I did my yogateacher training, I got married
, I moved to Chicago and I wastrying to do the yoga thing.
And yoga studios tend to beorganized just a little bit
(04:23):
differently than Pilates studios, with big breaks between
classes and maybe if you'reteaching at a yoga studio you're
teaching one or two classes aweek.
You're not teaching enoughhours to really support yourself
, so then you're running allover the city trying to teach
enough hours to also pay yourrent.
I knew that that wasn't goingto work.
After like three minutes ofliving in Chicago I was like
(04:44):
this is not it, but luckily, Iwas also working at a studio
that had Pilates classes and Idid not fall in love with
Pilates the first time I saw it.
I saw the Allegro Reformerswith the tower attachments and I
was like, oh my gosh, thatlooks scary, that looks so
intimidating.
I don't know why anyonevoluntarily does that.
(05:05):
But look at me now.
I heard the person who wasrunning the teacher training
talking about the body and aboutmovement and I realized that
that depth was something thatwas missing in my yoga
experience and I said I wantthat.
I don't know about Pilates, butI know that that way that
you're talking, the way you'reengaging with clients, the want
(05:26):
that I don't know about Pilates,but I know that that way that
you're talking, the way you'reengaging with clients, the fact
that you're able to workone-on-one with people and teach
more classes, that definitelyresonates with me.
So I got into Pilates.
That way.
I signed up for teachertraining without ever having
been on a reformer.
So it does happen and I reallyfell in love.
And the more I taught, the moreI loved it.
The more people I worked with,the more I deepened my own
(05:47):
understanding and my firstteacher training I knew for me
that this was it and I felt likeI stumbled into it, but I was
there.
I also have a background intheater.
I have done a lot of theaterstuff and I also have a degree
in education, so I've done a lotof teaching stuff.
So, like the stars alignedthrough a whole lifetime
(06:26):
no-transcript not thediversified portfolio that I
thought it was, but now, withlockdowns, had a lot of time to
really think about how to makePilates work in a virtual space.
Like the whole reason behindstarting the podcast to begin
with was that I wanted to createa resource that I wish I had
(06:49):
when I started teaching, becausethrough I moved to Chicago in
2016.
In like three, four years, therewas a lot of stumbling, a lot
of making mistakes, a lot oftaking on more classes than I
was able to handle or teachingreally late in the evening and
turning around and teaching veryearly in the morning, and it's
not even that any of thosethings are bad and they were all
(07:09):
very valuable learningexperiences.
But I just thought to myself ifI could just tell a person
who's in their teacher trainingthat they don't have to do it,
that way they would be able tobe a successful teacher a lot
faster, they would feel a lotmore at home in the industry,
they would feel that this was asustainable career.
Not, you come out the gate withall of this enthusiasm, you run
(07:30):
yourself ragged for two yearsand then you have to quit.
So I was like I saw thathappening to other teachers.
I very nearly fell victim to itmyself and I was like I think
that there's a better way or atleast more than the way that you
might see just in front of youthat there's other options,
there's other places you canteach other ways to set up your
schedule.
So I originally started thepodcast with that in mind and so
(07:53):
I started Teacher's Manualfirst.
I started Student's Manualbecause the people I was
teaching group classes to werevery pleased that I had started
a podcast, but it didn't reallyapply to them and they really
wanted to learn more aboutPilates, but maybe not about
creating a sustainable scheduleas a teacher, but like the
background or the history ofPilates or what their teacher
means.
When they say stuff that we sayall the time like resist the
(08:15):
resistance, and they're likethat sounds cool, but what is it
?
Or why would I put my heels onthe footbar instead of my toes
when I do a bridge, like I don'tunderstand.
And teachers aren't givinglectures when they're teaching,
they're taking you through themovement part of it.
So I created that podcast as aresource for students who are
(08:37):
looking to learn more, whodidn't want to become teachers
necessarily Maybe they do downthe line but they wanted that
depth of understanding forthemselves and their Pilates
practice.
So I started that, and then,almost as soon as I had started
the podcast, I knew I wanted itto be a book, because podcasts
have this nice quality of havinga chat with someone.
It feels like you're talkingwith a friend, you're sitting
down, you're drinking coffee orhaving your matcha latte
(08:58):
together, but it is a little bitmore roundabout way of getting
to information.
So I wanted the book so thatyou could control F on an e-book
and find exactly what you'relooking for, scan the table of
contents and get right to it.
And so the book was a long timecoming, but it is officially
out now, very much inspired bypodcast episodes but trimmed
(09:20):
down and cleaned up, and I hopethat that is also a resource for
teachers as they continue inthis industry, yeah, so tell us
a little bit about so, when youstarted the podcast in 2020?
.
Like March, Like the first Ireleased, like the first, like
hey, I'm doing a podcast episodein February and then when you
(09:42):
shut down, like within the monthI had released three episodes
and I was like oh, boy.
Speaker 1 (09:46):
Yes, yeah, and then a lot, and then a lot happened.
It wasn't just that month.
Speaker 2 (09:53):
Yeah, no, certainly yeah, and ongoing, definitely
yeah.
Speaker 1 (09:57):
Yeah, so you've taken , you you have.
I mean, I think it takes a lotof courage to do what you've
done and step into that role ofseeing the gap, um, and then
sort of deciding to be the oneto to fill it.
You know, I think it's it'slike, uh, it does take a lot of
courage and I would like to sortof dive into that a little bit
(10:17):
because, um, I I'm sure thereare moments where you is this
the right?
Do I want to do this, is this?
You know what?
How did you sort of get togrips with all of the feelings
that often comes with steppingup and stepping in to roles like
that.
Speaker 2 (10:33):
No, I definitely had those moments of kind of
faltering where I I did think tomyself that because I, when I
first started teaching, Ithought, well, I don't want
anyone to think that I'm a brandnew teacher, so I'll just say
I've been teaching for like afew years because I had been
teaching yoga and like I'd beenteaching movement and I'd been
familiar, and I didn't want totell people that when I started
(10:56):
teaching at Club Pilates in 2018, that I had been a teacher for
three months, you know like Iwas.
I was nervous and I wasembarrassed and I thought that
it wouldn't have the same impactbecause I was too new.
And then, even starting thepodcast, I did have an actual
few years of teaching under mybelt.
So I had really deepconversations with my partner
(11:18):
because I was worried.
I was like what if I amabsolutely making this up?
There is definitely someimposter syndrome.
What if I start saying thingsand people are like you're not a
real teacher?
Who are you to say anything?
But what my partner reallygrounded me with is that if
you've learned anything in thetime that you've been a teacher,
then you can share that withpeople.
(11:39):
You don't need more legitimacythan you've done it and you do
have these experiences and youcan share it.
So I definitely don't set outto have the answer for everyone,
but I can definitely exploreand use my own experience as a
teaching tool and and that andit's also one of those things
(12:02):
like I just read Atomic Habitswith my management team at Club
Pilates and like you build thehabit, like you become the
podcaster now use this platformto share with people.
So you know you're learning bydoing, but and growing by doing,
(12:30):
and just doing, like it's onestep in front of another.
It's like creating the systemthat you have the workflow in
place where it's not a questionof am I going to do this, it's
just, this is what I do, andthat like it didn't feel
courageous.
Like I'm thinking back on thetimes where I was like, oh man,
(12:55):
I don't know.
Or like what if what I say isgoing to be used out of context
or people are going to be madabout this because they disagree
or something.
But just coming back to, also,I always think of Emily
Dickinson's poem like if I canstop one heart from breaking,
like if I can help one teachercreate a sustainable career and
that one teacher teaches as manypeople as they teach over the
course of their career, thepositive impact is magnified and
(13:17):
amplified and just incalculablehow much positive impact
helping one person can have.
So I still don't think that Iknow everything, but I do know
things and I can offer guidanceand share my experience.
So that's really whatencouraged me to just take the
plunge and do the thing.
Speaker 1 (13:39):
Well, I think that's so inspiring because I think so
many of us have thesehesitations and things, and it's
so inspiring because I think somany of us have these
hesitations and things and it'salways.
I think that to assume thatother people don't, I think, is
a misconception.
And so, you know, when you seepeople taking leaps like you
took and you continue to take,you know these are big deals.
(14:02):
You know you're two podcastsand a book plus you're teaching,
and this is a lot that you're.
You know you're you're doingand giving.
And I think to assume thatthere's this sort of uh, you
know that there is not sort ofother emotions happening
alongside it that you otherswould expect to also have is,
you know, it's not always, it'snot the case generally, and I
(14:22):
think what the differencebetween those who do like you
have done and those who perhapswait or pause or don't do, is
that you're willing to workthrough the feelings that come
with taking on something that isa little bit challenging and
perhaps a little bituncomfortable, and so for that
is incredibly courageous, Ithink.
Speaker 2 (14:57):
Well, it's so funny that you say that, because
incredibly courageous, I think.
See that hesitation or thatself-doubt that can come up,
because a lot of times we'representing a very public persona
, like when we're teaching.
We're not complaining about,you know, the fact that our
sink's broken or maintenancerequests are backed up, or you
got a terrible night's sleep andyour cat puked on your pillow,
like you don't.
That's not how you lead thestuff that you're presenting,
(15:19):
but we're all human, having avery human experience, and we
have days where things comereally easy and we've got lots
of energy, and we've got dayswhere things are a little bit
harder.
And I think it's also very muchabout moving forward, regardless
of the speed.
It's not about how fast you getwhere you're going, but the
fact that you have a plan and adirection, that you want to go
(15:42):
and that you're you're makingyour way there because you know
you're doing this bio for me andtalking about all these things
I did and it's been, you know,five years.
So I think a lot of times weoverestimate what we can
accomplish in a day, butunderestimate what we can
accomplish in one year or fiveyears.
So if in 2020, you said oh, youknow this is what you're going
(16:03):
to do in five years.
I don't know if I would havebelieved you.
I'd be like, all right.
Speaker 1 (16:06):
Okay, yeah, and that comes back to that Atomic Habits
book.
Right, if you've not, if ifthose listening have not have
not read that book or aren'tfamiliar with it.
It's a really interesting bookabout how to build great habits
and what kind of you know what.
What really moves the needleand makes a difference is a
really interesting book.
But that is that concept reallyas well is that we tend to sort
(16:28):
of overestimate what we can doin a short period of time and
underestimate what's possiblefor us long term.
We sort of are veryshort-sighted in lots of ways,
don't, I think?
Speaker 2 (16:38):
Yeah, I mean I can share.
In addition to doing Pilates, Ialso still love yoga.
I do a ton of yoga and I'mgetting into running, kind of to
reclaim it, because as a soccerplayer you have to run a lot.
I was a midfielder and runningwas a lot of times a punishment.
If your coach was mad at youfor things, then you would get
to run for long periods of time.
So I'm getting to running iskind of reclaiming it and doing
(17:01):
this thing.
That's good for me, but formyself, not because someone's
yelling at me to do it and I,you know, just was able to run a
5k and that's been six months.
You know, starting from andlike people look at that and
they're like, well, of courseyou could do that, and I was
like, yeah, but when I started Iwas jogging for 30 seconds, you
know, and then walking forthree minutes.
So it's the incremental build.
(17:27):
It's not the cannonball.
Always that is the result.
Speaker 1 (17:29):
It's the dipping your toe in the pool and then just
like getting more wet as you goin.
You know Consistency andshowing up for sure.
Okay, tell us about the book.
I want to know.
You know we.
You know you have the podcastand then you had the second
podcast and you always wanted tobe an author.
Is that how that came about, orwas it something else that
(17:50):
prompted it?
And what was the process foryou like?
Speaker 2 (17:53):
Yeah, I don't think I was ever wanting to be an
author, although that is verycool and I do really enjoy.
I do enjoy that I can say thatnow.
For me, it was always about you, always about how can I help
the most people, how can Iconnect with the most people.
And when you're teachingPilates, you help all the people
(18:14):
in your classes.
So maybe you're teachingone-on-one sessions, so you're
helping one person every hour.
You're able to work with them.
If you're teaching groupclasses, great, maybe you can
teach 12 people in an hour.
Maybe you can teach.
If you're doing mat classes,you can teach a whole stadium in
an hour, potentially.
And so the podcast was alsolike people could find this when
(18:35):
I'm not there physically, but Icould be there and I can offer
that insight and really, ifpeople had questions, I could
direct them to something insteadof taking time to answer that
question.
I could be like oh, I talkedabout this for a good 30 minutes
.
You can go listen to me chatabout it.
So a book is something that'severgreen, that you can have on
(18:55):
your phone.
I've released it as an e-bookand I am a reader myself.
I love to read more thanlistening to podcasts.
I don't know, that's just themedia format and I know, as a
podcaster I feel like that'sprobably blasphemous to say but
I don't actually listen to a tonof podcasts, but I do read a
(19:19):
ton of podcast transcripts.
So there's that, a ton ofpodcast transcripts.
So there's that.
So reading is just my jam.
And I also thought a lot aboutpeople who maybe English isn't
their first language.
My partner, english is not hisfirst language and I'm not sure
if I'm the only one who's beenin that situation, but I think
it's.
And how sometimes when peopleare talking and I know
(19:39):
especially, like I'm learning tospeak Korean we don't always
pause at the spaces betweenwords.
So it can be really difficultwhen you're listening to
information to know whatsomeone's saying, especially
when you don't have the visualcues of the person's body
language.
Of the person's body language,it can be hard sometimes to
(20:02):
understand or if there's anidiom or slang or things like
that.
So I always knew I wanted liketranscripts of the podcast so
that people could read it andpotentially translate it.
And then seeing how many peoplewere listening to the podcast
on so many different continents,like I wanted to be understood
as much as reaching people.
So I thought the book would bea really great way to do that.
Reaching people.
So I thought the book would bea really great way to do that
(20:27):
and kind of the condensedversion that, if you're, I have
teacher friends who will listento my podcast while they're
doing dishes, and so it's greatto have that where you're doing
something else but you're stilltuned into the podcast.
But for people who want to reador want that resource and just
having a table of contents,where it's really easy, and
especially in the book, I wasable to group commonalities,
(20:47):
common ideas together.
If I was talking about groupteaching, or I was talking about
teaching privates, or I wastalking about, you know, working
in a studio or some of the softskills or just working with
people in general, things thatyou want to know right out the
gate, things that become moreinteresting to you the more you
teach.
I was able to organize some ofmy thoughts and kind of clean up
(21:08):
some of my thoughts, becausepodcasting can be a lot of not
quite stream of consciousnessbut you're sharing things and
sometimes you're learning whatyou're saying as you're saying
it.
You're making those connections.
So I was able to sharpen upsome of my points and really get
to the key of what I wanted toshare, which sometimes I'll be
(21:28):
having a podcast episode andthere's like the whole thing
could be condensed to onesentence that I finally got to
at the end.
So I wanted that resource to be, uh, to be there as well and
just kind of consolidated thatyou don't need the internet also
to be able to listen to it.
Speaker 1 (21:43):
Right right, right right.
So how long did it take you toput it all together, because
there's so much I'm sure youwanted to put?
Did you find you just was likeI can't make this?
Speaker 2 (21:53):
5,000 pages long, oh my gosh.
Well, I kind of did and now I'mthinking like, oh man, like
there's more.
I didn't even talk about if youshould use music in your
classes, or like best practicesfor using music.
So there's already things thatI'm thinking about including or
reorganizing in like a secondversion or a second edition of
it.
I'd thought about it seriouslyfor about two years but then,
(22:17):
like really sat down to do it inabout six months and once again
going back to Atomic Habits,it's like okay.
Like saying you want to do thisand doing this are like not the
same, like we have to startdoing things to be doing this.
So part of it was working withan editor.
My sister also works as editingand doing editing work.
(22:37):
So I started like setting callswith her and having deadlines
and like really holding myselfto a bit of a schedule and then
also knowing that if I didn'thit those deadlines like these
are all very self-imposed goals,like I'm a very self-motivated
person.
So having the flexibility andthe grace that when things come
up and are crazy that if I don'thit, I got through this whole
(22:58):
section of the book today, likeit's okay, crazy that if I don't
hit.
I got through this wholesection of the book today, like
it's okay, but about six monthsof you know, going through the
podcast episodes, like what isthe most important?
What is you know in the in thebook?
Like what do I want people toknow?
What do I think is like themost important stuff?
So it was a lot of cutting downfor the book.
I like put everything that Ithought was potentially possible
(23:21):
and then just cut like crazyand just trimmed and reorganized
.
And it's kind of fantastic thatmy sister is not involved in
Pilates at all because then shecould ask very real questions
about things that a laypersonmay not know.
So it helped me get clearer onthings.
(23:41):
Because I also didn't take timeto just do the book.
Like I was still teaching myfull course load.
I was still.
I did take like an extra monthhiatus on the podcast but like I
was still doing the majority oflike working and living, I
didn't go on sabbatical.
So it probably could have beenfaster if I had turned
everything off to just focus.
(24:01):
But you know life happens and Istill really enjoy teaching and
I didn't want to stop that justso that I could do this.
So it took longer, but wellworth it, I think.
And then, as soon as I finished, I was like oh, and then I
could write another book aboutthis.
So I was like very ambitious,so like maybe it's like, oh's
like, oh, we have a boy.
Speaker 1 (24:21):
Well, that's my next question is okay, so two
podcasts and a book, and what'snext for you?
What are your?
Because, obviously you're.
You are driven and motivated,like you say, but you have very
clear intention behind the theprojects and the work that you
do.
So where does that lead you?
(24:42):
Where do you feel like you'reheading next?
Speaker 2 (24:47):
Yeah, I'm really lucky.
I have an excellent position inthe Club Pilates Chicago
organization.
So there's one owner who ownsnow nine studios in the Chicago
area and I work as a leadinstructor.
So, yay, more hats.
(25:07):
But I get to do a lot ofin-person mentoring for our
instructor team, who arefantastic and incredible and on
the ground teaching real peoplefrom six in the morning until
830 at night, like some of thebest teachers and colleagues
that one could ask for night,like some of the best teachers
and colleagues that one couldask for.
So definitely putting a lot ofenergy into working with people
in that capacity.
For myself, I'm also acontinuing education provider
(25:30):
for the National PilatesCertification Program, so I
think I'll be taking sections ofthe book where it's like group
class programming strategies andtrying to make a workshop.
So now you'll have it.
If you want to listen to itsuper long form, I've got it on
a podcast.
If you want to get in, get outon your own time, it's available
in a book.
And if you want to hang outwith me for three hours and we
(25:53):
can like chat about it, I'mlooking into developing a
workshop series where it's moreinteractive, because podcasting
and books are very much likehere you go into the world.
So I like the idea of havingthat connection with teachers
again and then also being ableto fill a gap that people have
(26:13):
that if they're nationallycertified Pilates teachers, they
do need to do continuingeducation and I've found for
myself that the continuingeducation that's like new
choreography on a piece ofequipment is like really fun and
worthwhile but doesn'tnecessarily improve your
teaching or improve or like giveyou the next level in your
(26:36):
career, kind of thing.
So workshop series definitelysomething about that Coming up
down the pipe no specifiedtimeline have not set that in
motion, but that's an idea.
That's kind of floating aroundin my head.
And then also thinking aboutkind of my teaching philosophy
(26:56):
and something that has come outof the podcast and me talking
through all of my ideas and youknow why I teach, the way I
teach, why I teach how I teach,who I teach all of those things
coming together, kind ofdistilling that into what I'm
loosely calling dimensions ofdifficulty and exercises,
progressions and regressions.
(27:16):
It's not a line as much as it'sa three-dimensional space that
you can play with that.
You can play with range ofmovement and flexibility, you
can play with coordination, youcan play with complexity and you
can play with load, and all ofthose things go together in
Pilates.
And so thinking about ways toget even clearer about that so
(27:42):
that I can share because this issomething that Pilates teachers
have to do all the time you seesomeone and you want them to do
a plank or something and theycan't do the plank, and so then
you have to ask the questionokay, they can't do the thing
that I'm asking them to do, likewhat isn't working?
How can I adjust it now,because it's happening in real
time?
And then how can I know for thenext time I cue this exercise,
(28:06):
that this is like a commonpitfall or a common issue that
someone might have with thisexercise?
How can I know that that'scoming and then be ready and
like maybe start the exercisesmaller?
So I love playing with that.
It feels like very much likebeing a DJ, but it's like a
Pilates DJ kind of thing, and solike what can you dial up?
What can you dial down?
Where can you offer support?
(28:26):
How can you offer challengewhen you've got super rock stars
who can just like do anything?
And so really seeing exercisesas a spectrum versus this is the
rollover.
But it's like what if youwanted the rollover to be harder
?
Like okay, like what if youwanted the rollover to be harder
?
Like okay, like what are yougoing to do?
Like, if a person can't lifttheir hips?
Like how are we going to getthem there?
(28:47):
So, like building bridges, notonly for teachers and helping
them understand in teaching youknow where they can, how they
can grow, but also for thepeople you're teaching.
Like how can we identify gaps,anticipate gaps and then, you
know, grow from there.
Speaker 1 (29:01):
So if I read another book, it's that one.
That's the one.
Yeah, I did a fantastic likeMatt Reformer Tower, like medley
, yesterday with my fantasticinstructor and it was very fun.
And it's like you know you do,you know I, I'm, you know I, I
follow the classical um, youknow method um, predominantly
(29:25):
with all of my Pilates that I do, just cause that's my world and
my teachers and are all thatway and um, and then you throw
in a little change here andthere.
It's like oh, this is, this isfun and it's the same, but it's
different and it keeps thingskind of fun.
You know it's great.
Speaker 2 (29:40):
I mean, that's all Pilates man.
Like whether you're changingthe piece of equipment, changing
the exercise, it's the sameshapes and they're just echoing
and calling back to each other.
Speaker 1 (29:48):
Yeah, Facing a different way, doing it all
different.
Anyway, it was great.
It was great fun.
Well, I would love to see that.
Speaker 2 (29:54):
So I'm going to we'll bring you back on when you have
that.
Yes, the next book definitely.
Speaker 1 (29:59):
Well, fantastic.
Well, thank you so much, Olivia, for being so open and honest
and about your journey and whatyou're doing.
Why don't you just quicklyshare how people can connect
with you and all of your workand all of the different things
that you do?
Speaker 2 (30:16):
Yeah, I'll definitely send the links to Sarah and so
that she can share them.
But I'm on Instagram.
I have Olivia Bionni.
Wellness is just me If you wantto follow the podcast.
I've got Pilates Teacher'sManual and Pilates Student's
Manual on Instagram and alsoFacebook.
My spot for Pilates merch andthe book is shopoliviabionnicom.
And then I do have a podcastcommunity where we get to do
(30:39):
monthly coffee chats and checkin about anything People who
have questions about exercises,who have questions about what
teacher training they're curiousabout things like that.
That's buymeacoffeecom.
Slash Olivia podcasts, but Ilook forward to connecting.
Speaker 1 (30:55):
Fantastic.
Thank you so much for beinghere.
I really, really appreciate itand appreciate everything that
you do to support all of ourteachers in our industry.
It's so fantastic.
Thank you Well, right back atyou, saren, if you enjoyed what
(31:17):
you heard today.
I would absolutely love it ifyou could go to wherever you're
listening to this and rate andreview this podcast.
It would mean a ton to me andalso help to get this out there
into our fantastic community ofteachers and studio owners, so
that they, too, can feelencouraged and inspired on their
journey.
Did you love this episode andwant more?
(31:46):
Head to spring3.com and checkout my free resources that will
help you run a profitable andfulfilling studio business.
And, before you go, one lastreminder there is no one way to
do what you do, only your way.
So whatever it is that you wantto do, create or offer, you've
got this.
Thanks again for joining metoday and have a wonderful rest
(32:07):
of your day.
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