Are you a Pilates teacher feeling confident in your craft? This episode is for you! We're diving into why exploring movement outside of Pilates can make you an even better instructor and enrich your personal life.
Discover how trying new forms of movement can deepen your understanding of the body, build stronger connections with your clients, and provide fresh perspectives for your teaching. You'll learn how embracing diverse movements can help you empathize with clients' non-Pilates activities, prevent burnout, and even boost your class attendance. Plus, find out why engaging in movement purely for yourself, without the pressure of teaching, is vital for your well-being. It's time to expand your movement horizons – your clients (and your body!) will thank you.
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Show Notes:
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Episode Transcript
Hello.
Hello everybody.
Welcome and welcome back toPilates Teachers' Manual, your
guide to becoming a greatPilates teacher.
I'm Olivia.
You get the latest updates whenyou join my community at
buymeacoffee.com/OliviaPodcastsor follow along on Instagram at
@PilatesTeachersManual.
Pilates Teachers' Manual (00:28):
The Book is available now.
You can purchase it and otherpodcast merch at
shop.OliviaBioni.com.
You can also purchase my book onAmazon in Kindle format, but it
is more expensive to account forthe cut that Amazon takes.
Good news, there's an easyworkaround.
You can convert any file,including my book, in either
(00:50):
it's EPUB or PDF format into aKindle friendly file by visiting
amazon.com/sendtoKindle.
You can save your wallet and getthe same awesome book able to be
read on your Kindle.
The EPUB format will keep all ofthe ebook features of like page
turning and table of contents,but the PDF also works.
(01:10):
Just know that it is a PDF.
You may have to zoom in or movearound the page.
Just depends on how you'replanning on reading the book.
Today's episode is all about thebenefits of doing more than just
Pilates, both for working withour clients and also for
ourselves.
I wanna preface this by sayingnot all advice or insights that
(01:31):
I share on the podcast apply toeveryone at every stage of their
teaching journey, But if you'recurrently feeling confident
within the Pilates sphere,there's a big benefit to looking
outside of the Pilates spherefor movement, inspiration, and
growth.
Obviously, if you're in themiddle of your Pilates teacher
training, or you're preparing totest out or you're studying for
(01:52):
the National Pilates exam, it'scompletely worth focusing on the
matter at hand and reallydoubling down on your Pilates
studying, like maybe you don'tpick up cross country skiing at
the same time.
But if you're feeling reallygood and strong and capable
within the Pilates world,dipping your toes into non
Pilates movement can be reallyadvantageous and make you a
(02:13):
better Pilates teacher.
Even though we're Pilatesteachers, we don't have to only
do Pilates.
I would argue, and I will arguein this episode, that it's
better if we do more than justPilates, because doing other
forms of movement helps usbetter connect with our clients
and their various interests.
(02:34):
Maybe your clients do Pilatesonly, and we can always connect
with our clients about Pilatesbecause baseline, that's what
they're here to do with us, andwe have so much Pilates
knowledge and insight that wecan share with them when we
teach them.
We can always come back andconnect with them about Pilates.
But our clients often do otherthings.
(02:54):
They play sports.
They run and ski and swim.
And when we do those things too,maybe not everything that they
do, but we can easily build arapport with our clients.
We have so much to chat aboutwhen either before class or
after class.
We have so many more connectionsthat we can make between what
we're doing in the Pilatesexercises and what they're doing
(03:17):
outside of class.
Connecting with our clients ishuge.
Building that relationship ishuge, and this is just another
way that we can do that.
By doing some other type ofexercise in addition to Pilates,
for ourselves, we learn moreabout movement and we get new
perspectives on Pilates as well.
(03:38):
For example, I can confidentlyexplain the difference between
yoga and Pilates because I doPilates and I do yoga, so I can
point out what's different andwhat's similar, because I know
based on personal experience.
I know that coming from yoga,what held me back from trying
the reformer for so long.
After a lifetime of doing yogaon a mat, the equipment was
(04:00):
really intimidating.
So I can empathize when newPilates clients are also
intimidated by the reformer.
I can share my story about howmuch Pilates has supported my
yoga practice because it has.
I've gotten better at armbalances and inversions because
the resistance training I do inPilates has made me so much
stronger.
I am really honest and earnestabout that when I talk with my
(04:23):
clients because I'm not justsaying it to say it or that's
what the script says, but Ireally believe it and I have
that personal experience.
I've shared on the podcast thatI've recently taken up running
and I enjoy running.
And it's magnified the benefitsof what I do in Pilates.
I know in my brain that yourcalves and your quads and your
hamstrings are all importantwhile you're running.
(04:45):
But now that I am running, Irealize how important they are,
and how important things likefootwork are to stretch and
strengthen all those muscles inthe legs.
I now have an embodiedunderstanding of how the
repetitive action of runningfeels in my body because I've
done it, and then I've wanted todo a back bend or a twist or a
(05:07):
forward fold, something thatisn't the shape that we make
when we're running.
I know how those higher impactexercises feel in my knees and
my ankles and my hips after I gofor a long run.
So when a client comes in andthey're wearing like a Shamrock
Shuffle shirt or a half marathonshirt, I have something that I
can talk with them about.
It's like built in commonground, and I'm better able to
(05:29):
serve them because I have abetter understanding of what
they're doing outside ofPilates.
So when I have clients in myclasses who also run or do yoga,
I can share my experience withthem and offer suggestions based
on this deeper understanding ofwhat their body needs because I
felt it in my body and thoseneeds are my needs and my body.
(05:50):
You know, I can share the whybehind what we're doing in the
Pilates class and how thosePilates exercises will support
them doing the other things thatthey do and love.
Movement doesn't have to be aneither or situation.
This can be a really big and.
I love Pilates.
I love the Pilates equipment,but Pilates doesn't have very
(06:13):
heavy load and some clients arelooking for that, so they might
be a member at a gym where theycan lift heavy.
For clients who are trying toadd more cardio into their
lives, Pilates is not the bestway to get cardiovascular
exercise.
A jog or a swim or a bike ridewill always challenge your heart
more than doing Pilates.
(06:33):
And that's okay.
The great thing is I don't haveto convince my clients that
Pilates is the best thing forthem or the only thing that they
should be doing, but it can be avaluable part of their movement
journey that complementseverything else that they do,
just like it's a valuable partof my personal movement journey.
I think you can hear the passionin my voice as I'm sharing this,
(06:56):
and this passion for movementmakes me a better Pilates
teacher.
It makes me more engaged with myclients because in addition to
teaching a rockstar Pilatesclass, I get to go above and
beyond and connect with myclients as people who exist
beyond the once a week classthat I see them for, for in
Pilates.
This connection and rapportbuilding makes clients want to
(07:17):
work with me and take class withme because there's the value add
of Pilates and my knowledge inother places that has a positive
impact on my attendance.
It helps me connect with morepeople.
It helps my bottom line in termsof getting paid per head in my
classes, and it also gets morepeople doing Pilates, which is
(07:38):
great.
If anything, it makes it evencooler that I've chosen Pilates
as the medium that I wannateach, that I see the value in
so many other types of movement,but this is the one that I've
chosen to share with otherpeople as an instructor.
(07:58):
Exploring movement beyondPilates can also be a form of
self care.
I'm a member at a yoga studio,and I do not teach at that
studio.
When I go there, I'm there to bea student.
I don't get asked to coveranother instructor's class last
minute because they're notfeeling well, and I don't have
to worry about being a model forother people in the class.
(08:19):
What I mean by that is sometimesa perk that comes with teaching
at a Pilates studio is that youcan take classes at that studio
for free or a discountedmembership or something, which
is fantastic and I do see valuein that.
For me, I don't like being inclass with a lot of my clients
because I feel like they'relooking at me and not
(08:39):
necessarily judging, but maybelike as a model or like, this is
what it should be like andthere's always this balance of
like being an employee and haveto be like on and just doing
this thing for yourself at thesame time, and that could just
be me, but that tension makestaking classes where I teach a
(09:00):
little bit less fun.
But I love being in a class andjust being a student with all
the other students.
So for me it's very liberatingto not be seen as a teacher when
I'm in a space that I just getto be a student and do this
exercise for myself.
I also think it's healthy tohave hobbies and not make your
(09:21):
job your entire personality.
We are so lucky as Pilatesteachers that we get to do work
that we love, but we don't haveto do it a hundred percent of
the time.
I've shared a lot of my movementhistory in this episode, but I'm
always working on and learningso many different things in the
movement world, all at the sametime.
(09:44):
I'm working on handstands and Lsits, ideally to pike into a
handstand.
I'm learning to skateboard.
I'm working on running longerdistances and with more ease.
I do yoga a few times a week.
I'm not trying to be a superstaror be the best at any of those
things.
I'm just enjoying myself, takingcare of my body and celebrating
(10:06):
all of the incredible thingsthat my body can do.
Moving my body makes me feelgood and gets me in a really
positive head space, which alsomakes the time that I focus on
Pilates more meaningful.
When my cup is full, when I'm inthat good place, I can give so
much more of myself to theclasses and clients that I
teach.
I'm energized.
(10:27):
I am enthused.
I have things to share, to teachreally, while I'm teaching.
Even if Pilates is really theonly thing and the only way that
you like to move, there is adifference between doing Pilates
for yourself and teachingPilates to others, or even doing
Pilates in order to program foryour classes.
(10:51):
So whether you do Pilates byyourself at home, or you take
classes at a studio, or evenwork one-on-one with a teacher
who teaches you, that timethat's for you is so incredibly
valuable.
Moving for yourself helps combatburnout and boredom and helps
you continue to make connectionsin your movement practice, which
(11:13):
you can then share with yourstudents when you teach.
So this is your invitation to dosomething outside the Pilates
studio.
Maybe you take a hike or gobowling or play some pickleball.
You don't have to be good at it,but it's fun to try new things.
And if you really end up lovinganother form of exercise, it's a
(11:34):
great thing to add to your life.
You aren't cheating on Pilatesby doing more than Pilates.
If anything, you will appreciateyour Pilates foundation even
more and have more things toshare with your clients when
you're in the studio.
Huge thank you to all mysupporters on Buy Me A Coffee.
I'm really looking forward toconnecting with you for a coffee
(11:56):
chat.
We can talk about all thedifferent types of movement that
you're exploring.
I hope you all have a greatcouple of weeks and we'll talk
again soon.
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