#PracticeWhatYouTeach: What I learned from noisy seals!

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img_0193Let me tell you about some of my favorite students. They are loud, giggly and sometimes don’t listen to anything I say.  They often interrupt me when I’m teaching to ask questions like, “Can we do mermaid today, can I pick what we are pretending to sit against during Spine Stretch, or Mom did you check on the dog today (from my son of course!)” When I first started teaching them movement this really drove me a little (ok a LOT) crazy as a teacher.  I often felt like a failure if all of them weren’t breathing properly, paying attention perfectly and doing exactly what I wanted them to do.

My favorite students also love to make up their own exercises, show me what new thing they did in dance or karate practice, and I often get hugs from them when they thank me for class afterwards.  When they want to, these students can lay on a mat and practically perfectly execute the Pilates exercises that Joe created with amazing coordinating breath! During the school year I have been teaching the students of Hillside Christian School a Pilates class once a week for 6 years now. It’s always a highlight of my week.  Every week I learn things that make me a better teacher and make be a better practitioner of the Pilates work.

When I started teaching at Hillside I  learned pretty quickly that teaching Pilates and movement to kids is completely different from teaching adults.  I am constantly bringing the lessons I learn from them into my own practice and into my teaching.  After my weekly session with the kids this week I was reflecting on the many, many things that the kids have taught me and made a quick list:

  1.  Having fun and moving is more important than perfect movement! Do you ever watch kids play and move? They don’t overthink things, they move with ease and most importantly enjoy what they are doing!  They trust their bodies! I’m all for safe movement, but sometimes Pilates instructors overcorrect!  Most adults just need to move more!
  2. It’s OK to demonstrate exercises or start to do them with a student!  It has been ingrained in my head that my job is not to be getting a workout in while I am teaching…but I have to tell you I get a great workout in on the days I teach the kids! Why?  Because they are visual learners and I’ve found the best way to get them moving is to get down on my mat and do the exercises with them while I teach.  It took me a long time to be OK with this but let me tell you it has helped them learn 110% quicker than me trying to teach them simply with my words!
  3. Go with the flow.  As a teacher I have learned to tailor each session to the energy of the class. If it’s the week before Christmas and nobody can sit still because they are way to antsy…I have to get a little more creative to keep the class under control.  I have to mix it up with random bouts of running in place, jumping jacks and silly variations of exercises.  Yes…you guessed it…I’m not afraid to use this creative teaching tactic on adults either (you never know what I might throw into your regular mat routine on any given night!)
  4. Sometimes all you need is a little motivation to try your best.  You wouldn’t believe how a simple little”surprise” prize for the best behaved student encourages everyone to show up and do their best.  (Yes I use this for adults at the studio all the time…. get a free Tshirt for getting your classes in, play studio Bingo and earn a free pair of Toesox!)
  5. One of my favorite lessons…Animal noises while you are doing an exercise make it much more fun. I’ve tested this with adults too…it’s true!  Some of the best form I’ve seen of the Seal is in a room overflowing with the noise of barking seals.  And the swan exercise is much more fun if you pretend you are a snake hissing and slowing slithering up to look at your prey!

Hope you enjoy this little clip from 2015 when some of the kids came to the studio for our annual Pilates Day celebration!!

 

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Meet me at the Bar, I mean Barre!

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img_6583This week I got a call from one of my instructors that something came up and she needed someone to sub her Barre & Pilates class in the evening and couldn’t find anyone else to do it. I said I could cover it for her.  Normally subbing a Pilates class is no big deal and I’m pretty comfortable just jumping in and teaching whatever class it is. I have to tell you barre work is a little different though.  If you know me at all you know that I am not a dancer, my hips are tight,my turnout is horrible and coordinating movement to music takes me hours of practice!  I like the barre work as it’s really good for me but it’s not necessarily my thing when it comes to teaching.

It turn out one of my favorite workouts this week ended up being prepping for Barre & Mat class.  I threw some music on and played, and once I got over my “I’m not good at teaching barre attitude” it was pretty fun. I practiced some barre work so I would be familiar enough to teach it and got a great workout in along the way.

My students in class that night were wonderful (they were great sports about trying my barre variations!) and we had fun playing with the barre work and of course doing some of our Pilates Mat work.  It was a great reminder to me of how good it can be to get outside of your comfort zone and do something you don’t normally do.  I may have to Meet You at the Barre more often!

 

 

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Public Speaking Terrifies me!

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from a wordpress blog - https://stagustaf.files.wordpress.com/2013/05/I suck at talking.  Give me a pen and paper or a keyboard and I’m a happy camper but communicating with my voice is something I’ve always struggled with.  It does not come natural to me.  It’s not that I don’t enjoy being around people and talking, I just always feel like when I talk nothing comes out how I want it to come out.  I would much rather be the listener in a group of people who only chimes in with little bits of well thought out conversation.  After conversations I’m always thinking to myself…why did I say that, why didn’t I say this,  that’s not what I wanted to say…..     Needless to say public speaking terrifies me!  And it doesn’t matter if I’ve had months to prepare for something..I still get terrified and still feel like I suck!

Maybe you are saying to yourself right now, Don’t you talk for a career?  Don’t you spend your time one on one and in group settings teaching people Pilates (mainly using your words)?  The answer to that is yes I do and there are many days when I ask myself how in the world did I get here???  This was one of those weeks where I asked myself that question about 50 times.  My week started off teaching a full day of Pilates Teacher Training workshop to 8 new trainees.  What this means for me is that for about 6 solid hours I stood up in front of a group of people and talked with 8 sets of eyes and ears focused on my every word and even taking notes!!  Just writing about this makes my stomach a little queasy! Fortunately, usually once I get into my teaching zone I forget about my nervousness and my love of what I’m teaching shines through.

pilatesunfilteredLike most weeks, I taught my usual schedule of around 20 private Pilates sessions and 10 group classes (again…more talking..) And then something happened that was more terrifying than all of my live speaking time….A recorded interview of me talking to Jenna Zaffino aired on her new, super amazing podcast Pilates Unfiltered.  For someone who hates talking, I can tell you that even worse than having to talk in front of others is listening to yourself talk.  I listened to the podcast so I could remember what I had said. Knowing that quite possibly hundreds of other people could listen to it too is terrifying!   Unlike other speaking opportunities I’ve had on local news stations or in front of local community groups where I’m talking most likely to people who don’t know a whole lot about the topic of Pilates, this podcast is specifically geared toward other Pilates instructors and enthusiasts!  I compare this to being in junior high and having to talk in front of all the “cool kids”.  Quite possibly, Pilates instructors that I’ve admired for years for their amazing teaching and their incredible knowledge of the body and the Pilates work…. could listen to this. Did I mention my stomach is queasy just writing this??

1-steve-jobs-1I’m hoping that by sharing my fears this week, I might inspire someone to follow their heart.  You see as much as I suck at talking, as much as I hate putting myself out there so people can hear me suck at talking I know that it’s what I need to do.  I decided a long time ago that life is too short to not do what you are passionate about.  Life is too short to not push yourself to grow and expand.  I’m not exactly sure where I’m headed in life or what my exact purpose is but I do know that I’m pretty passionate about how amazing the Pilates work is and how it can be used as a health tool in anybody’s life.  I have a career that I absolutely love and believe in with my whole heart even if I do have to push past my discomfort of talking in front of others.

I want to send a big thank you out to Jenna for being such an amazing supporter in my Pilates journey and for being an inspiration for myself and everyone who is daring to put their passion out in the world.  And a thank you to all those supporting people in my life (way too many to list) who love and support me in whatever I do, no matter how it turns out! I’m going to go do some Pilates now and try to forget about the uncomfortableness of sharing me (the parts I like and the parts I don’t) with the world!

 

 

Practice What You Teach: Squats are fun??

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Every Saturday morning I get the chance to teach a very inspiring group of spunky women who take their Pilates practice pretty seriously.  And by seriously I mean they are dedicated to make their Pilates practice part of their lives.  It’s rare that they miss a weekly class, but more than that it’s that they truly incorporate movement into their lives and they love sharing it with others.  When it comes to their Pilates practice…they all are beautiful movers who come to class each week and give it their all.  It reminds me of one of my favorite Joe quotes,” Patience and persistence are vital qualities in the ultimate successful accomplishment of any worthwhile endeavor.”  These women live that quote and I’m extremely honored that I get to be part of their journey watching them grow in their movement practices and learning from them every time I teach them. Now that I’m done bragging about my rock star clients, let me get to today’s blog…   patience-quote

My Pilates practice last week got kick started by my Saturday morning Return to Life Pilates Mat Class crew.  Our class focus last week was flow and transitions.  If you practice Pilates you know this is code word for “no rest between exercises” and “Pilates just became a cardio workout”!  The class started standing, transitioned to the mat and nobody quit moving until they finished standing after their last Pilates push up.  I can tell you that this type of class leaves you feeling taller, stronger, fully mobile in your spine and kind of ready to collapse and take a nap! It’s the kind of class that takes every ounce of your determination and will power to stay focused so that you can give it your all and finish the whole thing with as much control and fluidity as when you started.

So when we finished just a couple of minutes before class end time I was a little surprised at what happened next.  Once of the women said,”Hey, we’re here anyway let’s finish it out with some squats.  How about 50?”  In my head I was thinking,”Really… you just did this amazingly hard, super intense workout and you want to throw in some extra squats??” But when I looked at everyone else and asked “Who’s in?” EVERYONE said “let’s do it!”  So we did 50 squats and I joined in (because if they could do 50 squats after the workout they just did, surely I could do them after a morniimg_8903ng of teaching!).

I’m not going to lie…I was sore.  I was sore that day and for probably 3 days after!  All I could think was clearly I need to be doing more squats in my life!  I also kept thinking,”How cool is it that I have such an amazing job where I not only get to do something I love on a daily basis but I also get to be inspired by amazing clients on a daily basis!!”  In case you’re wondering…I’ve been doing more squats throughout my days and it must be helping as when this Saturday rolled around and we decided to do those 50 squats again at the end of class they were a little easier!

And to complete the story, we decided this week to include the other Saturday morning classes and clients who were at the studio in our squat fun.  So this week we grabbed the other class that had just finished and those coming in to attend the class after and we did our 50 squats.  My Return to Life crew was calling out the count as we went(apparently they don’t trust my counting!) and by the time we got to the last ten everyone in the room was counting down, smiling and finishing up their 50 squats!  Afterwards there was lots of positive chatter…”great job, way to go, glad you joined us, etc.!”

I don’t know about you, but I rarely take it upon myself to do 50 squats(even though I know how great they can be for your body..).  It’s not that I mind them so much, I just don’t think of it or find the time. I’m so grateful for all of our amazing supportive clients at the studio that help create an atmosphere of comaraderie, health, and inspiration that has me happily doing 50 squats on a Saturday morning…just for fun!  And if you’re coming to class next Saturday…I hope you’ll join us!

 

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Happy Pilates Exercises

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mindfulnessThis week has been slightly busier than normal for me with my kiddos heading back to school, our new fall class schedule starting, a new class of teacher trainees starting and just general first of the month busyness at the studio. As I reflect back on my Pilates movement time this week I’ve realized that I did lots of Short Spine on the reformer, and two or three mini reformer workouts in between clients throughout my days. If you were wondering why Short Spine, why reformer…I was thinking the same thing.  Here’s what I came up with!

Generally on busy weeks I don’t think much about my workouts and tend to just do what fits in my schedule and what my body feels like it needs. This theory easily explains me doing lots of Short Spine on the reformer.  Short Spine on the reformer is one of my “happy Pilates exercises”.  I love how Short Spine makes my body feel long and stretched out but also makes me work and concentrate on what I’m doing.  If I’m feeling tired or tight throughout my day I can jump on a reformer and do 5 or 6 Short Spine repetitions and I feel happy and energized.  So I’ve decided clearly I used Short Spine this week as my happy pill as I was navigating a busy, chaotic week!

pilates happy hourAs for my mini reformer workouts, I’ve decided that my decision to do these workouts was subconsciously from my need to use my movement time to de-stress and reconnect to myself.  There is something absolutely genius about the design of the reformer and the sequence of exercises that helps me not only get a work out in but also refocus my brain! Even when I have 50 other things on my mind, I can lay on the reformer, start doing my footwork, and before long I am focused, concentrating on my movement and working my way through the sequence of exercises.  I almost always end up doing more than I had thought I would when I got on and I always feel better and more focused afterwards!  Much more than a workout this week my reformer time definitely was my refocus, reconnect to myself health tool!

Do you have exercises, or movements that you use not only to create strength, flexibility and balance in your body but to help you and your body deal with the stress of daily life? I would love to hear about your “happy Pilates exercises” or favorite workouts when life is busy!!

 

 

#PracticeWhatYouTeach: Play More, Learn More, Do Something Different

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I love to play with movements and exercises in my own body and I love to help others figure out how to do the same.  This week I was watching a little video my friend Jenna had posted using a couple of Magic Circles and it inspired me to grab some circles and play with how I could incorporate (both of) them into a pretty traditional Pilates Mat sequence.  The result of me playing was figuring out that there were so many possibilities outside of the “traditional” magic circle exercises I often used that allowed me to work deeper in exercises, get more out of certain exercises, and have fun doing it.  After I played I of course wanted to share it with others…so I added what I played with into a couple of my mat classes….calling it Double Magic Circle Mat Class!

The beauty of this process of me playing and then sharing with clients is that they start to learn to play too! And by play I mean they feel comfortable not just doing the exact version I’m instructing but changing it to something that might feel better in their body, something that helps them feel the work of the exercise more or something that might challenge them more.    And when you learn to play with movements you start to figure out that you have the ability in your body to make big changes to how it feels and moves(we are so much more in control of our health and bodies than we realize!).

I think as instructors sometimes when we teach the same exercises over and over and we forget to actually “teach and inspire”. We simply recite the words and instructions we know so well. {I’m completely guilty of this so I’m assuming there might be a few other teachers out there who have done this occasionally)  And while there is nothing wrong with what we’re saying, it also doesn’t necessarily “teach and inspire” clients to “do something different”.

insanityI feel like the quote,”You can’t keep doing the same thing over and over and expect to get a different result” is so relevant in movement.  As a movement teacher one of the biggest gifts you can give clients is teaching them how to “do something different” to keep progressing in their movement practice.  And that doing something different doesn’t necessarily mean you have to change the exercise itself, but we can give clients a different way to experience the movement of the exercise, a new way to think about a movement or a new way to execute a movement with a prop.  By teaching them to play with movements they learn to connect to their bodies more, engage more and trust themselves to makes adjustments and changes to an exercise so it suits their body.

Here’s to another fun week of playing and learning and using movement as a health tool to inspire your life!!!