I have always felt that Pilates has empowered me both physically and mentally and I hope to transmit that to my clients and students. It doesn’t have to be all depth all the time and a session should obviously not be psychoanalysis, but the truth is that sometimes, a session may lead to a heart-to-heart conversation that brings up important questions about our lives and practice.

And we may come to understand that we’re actually avoiding a
particular exercise out of fear. If we don’t talk about our fears, how can we
ever overcome them?

For some time now, I’ve worked with a wonderful client (and a
fellow Pilates instructor) who has issues going into extension due to an old
injury to her lower back. She hesitates and freezes as we head into one, and
the tension that builds in the room could be cut with a knife. It blocks her
body and nervous system completely. It challenges our sessions and both of us.
Me, because I have to gain her trust, even more than I would a normal client. I
have to be extremely clear when we’re going into an exercise that involves
extension – and can ́t give her any surprises. I have to invent as we go and
think, which piece of equipment will make this less scary? What cueing does she
needs? Am I babying her too much, being too cautious and making her feel silly?
When is the right moment to push – and when do I leave it for next week?

When we first started working together, I had to stop pushing
before we reached a 100% to avoid overwhelming her, whereas with other clients
and especially other instructors, I would normally push further. It challenges
her, but she has to understand why this is so scary and question whether there
may be a reason other than the past injury. Then with that answer, she has to
decide whether we work towards overcoming the fear or not. To master it, or
simply avoid it.

Almost 10 years ago, when I was recovering from a long-term injury
and surgery to my foot, I fell into darkness when I understood I had to say
goodbye to my career as a dancer. For a moment, I saw everything coming to an
end, and the effort without its prize. I questioned who I was without dance,
and I was in pain. But somewhere in the feeling of having lost my ability to
move, I became bored and tired of my negative self – and with my foot in a
cast, I lay down on my mat. In a moment of stillness and peace, I found the source
to change energy and something shifted inside me. I started to move. I went
through a lot of the Pilates mat repertoire right there – and for the first
time in months, I felt that all was not lost. I could move, not like before,
but I could move. That grey and rainy afternoon in Germany a seed was planted
and a dream started to grow thanks to movement. I decided that I was going to
work to help other people have that same feeling on the mat – that movement
heals.

I think it takes time to reach a point in your teaching when you
truly understand how to use the private and personal. But it’s crucial for me
as a teacher to bring that energy to my teaching, and I’ve made the decision to
share my experiences in classes. To teach closer to the heart. Through that
decision, I’ve been able to accept my own journey as a retired dancer at the
age of 25, because it has led me to where I am now. It has given me the tools
to work with young athletes, and the strength to witness them crying through
their injuries. I tell them my story and say there’s light somewhere. I tell
them this sucks – because there’s no better word for it – but we will power
through it together.

I want all my clients
to achieve the impossible things they have in their head. I want us to tick
things off the “hate list” together and go for the scary. If you say I can ́t,
I say, “let ́s try.” You tell me you’re scared, and I tell you, “I’ve been
scared too.” I say, trust your own ability – I have you and always will.

Source

In the last 12 months I’ve experimented with the way I teach more than usual. And I’m not going to lie, after years of trying to teach exactly like those who I admired it took all the courage I had to feel ok in going ‘rogue’ and to go searching for my own story.

I’ve moved from a place of feeling anxious about teaching and letting my fear of people storming out in disgust overwhelm me (worst case scenario mindset) to a place of creative expression, belonging, joy and experimentation (best case scenario mindset). Here’s what I’ve learned.

If you can’t let
go enough to be 100% you then the story you tell through movement is not going
to be authentically yours and the humans in front of you (aka clients) can feel
that even if they can’t name it!

It seems so simple now but
what I realized is that a fear-based mindset slowly seeps in over time. It can
start by thinking you’re not creative enough to design your own class so you
replicate others, or it can be a fear of making a mistake, low self-worth and
not accepting yourself.

Let people see you

You have to learn to catch
yourself in those moments where you go on autopilot, you’re not present in the
room and your head is somewhere else or your kicking yourself internally for
the mistake you made! Don’t hide. Keep going, let people see you!

Teaching is more than knowing the repertoire!

It’s so easy to hide behind
the exercises, to hide behind a fake kind of energy or someone else’s style,
formula or class plan that isn’t your own. We all need to remember……

People do not come
to your class because you know the Pilates repertoire. They follow you because
they like the stories you tell, the connection they feel and the way you create
change through movement.

Showing up as yourself is a skill

For many of us, learning to
show up for ourselves is the hardest part. It’s a skill we need to cultivate
and it takes time and patience. I started out by journaling, writing myself
little teaching mantras and creating trigger moments that would help me get
into a confident teaching mode! As I walked to the studio I used to repeat to
myself, ​“my only job is to be me, I know
enough to lead a great class, I am enough, I am valued and worthy to lead.”

Don’t let perfection rob you of the joy of teaching!

Finally realizing that I was
actually robbing myself of the absolute privilege and joy of teaching was a
wake up call and then meeting that with the courage to try and different
approach and to let myself off the ‘perfectionist’ hook was the first step for
me to really become the creative instructor I want to be!

My full circle moment

After being consistent in this
approach for a good 6 months I had a breakthrough moment​.

I found myself in front of a class singing the Pilates
version of the Hokey Pokey before I moved on to breathe work! Yes, I even
surprised myself. 90% of the time when I’m teaching it feels like I’m a part of
some kind of science experiment meets goofy comedy show, because that’s the
wonderfully weird story of me. The one thing I now know for sure is that people
actually enjoy my classes the most when I’m completely authentic.

Source

Cleaning your Pilates equipment is hugely important for the
look of your studio, the feel of each exercise, and the safety of your
clients. There are four different
cleaning solutions I recommend for your equipment. I prefer using all of these in spray form
with a microfiber cloth.

Water

Plain water from your tap is hugely beneficial for 90% of
the cleaning you need to do. This is my
go-to solution for cleaning the following places:

• Reformer rails
• Reformer frames (wood and metal)
• Wood roll-down bars
• Metal and wood push-through bars
• Reformer wheels
• Chair pedals and other dusty/dirty areas

The problem with cleaning with some solutions (not all) is that they can mix with skin oil, sweat,
or body lotions to make a sticky buildup.
Patience is key, here. Take a few
extra seconds to scrub rather than jumping to a heavier duty solution right
away.

Water + Dish Soap

For a little extra cleaning power, I recommend 1 teaspoon of
dish soap with 16 ounces of water. (Yes,
regular Dawn® dish soap!) This is great
for these applications:

• Cleaning vinyl after each client
• Extra scrubbing power (remember, just a
  microfiber cloth!) for tough grime of both metal and wood surfaces

Note: for tough stains
on reformer rails, use water and some aluminum foil from your kitchen folded
into a small scrub pad for extra oomph.
Check out this link for more info on this technique.

Silicone Spray

While the results you might get with Silicone spray seem
magical, please be careful not to use this too liberally or on parts that
aren’t listed below.

• Trapeze Canopy tubes where the sliders move (instagram
  link here)
• Spray on springs to silence twang-like noises (youtube
  link here)
• Spray on chair handle knobs to silence squeaking
• Spray squeaky pulley axles (instagram
  link here)

Note: It is a myth
that silicone spray is good for your Reformer rails. Please avoid using this on your wheels and
rails.

BB Clean

This awesome, natural disinfectant can be used in any of the
situations that water or soapy water can be used for a little extra all-natural
cleaning and disinfecting power.

Finally, my pro tip is to be patient. I prefer taking 10-15 wipes with water and a
rag than using one wipe with a solution that has some heavy chemicals in
it. Your equipment has the ability to
last upwards of twenty years, but if you want the wood finish and the metal
coatings to last that long as well, using fancy cleaning solutions for the sake
of saving a few seconds of effort isn’t recommended.

Source