Interviews (PRO)

Diastasis Recti is not one of the glamorous or popular “side effects” of pregnancy.

In fact, many women don’t know that this condition even exists until they have a baby and then realize that no matter how many sit-ups they do they still can’t get their flat stomach back.

While statistics are still being collected as to how many women are actually affected by DRA, some of the older studies show that about 36% of women will have separation of the abdominal muscles 6-8 months postpartum. Another research shows that DRA is also linked with pelvic floor dysfunction, incontinence, pubic symphysis discomfort and lower back pain.

As Pilates instructors we work with women before, during and after pregnancy. We have an opportunity to establish a strong foundation to prevent or at least minimize abdominal wall dysfunction in the postpartum period. We are their first line of defense and their hope to restore their function after delivery.

Today I’m talking to Diane Lee, a physical therapist from Canada. She is well known for her clinical work on thoracic, lumbar and pelvic floor as well as pelvic disorders and pain symptoms. She is one of the pioneers in the diastasis recti research as well as the author of several books and publications including The Pelvic Girdle: An integration of clinical expertise and research(aff) and The Thorax: An Integrated Approach (aff).

Questions Discussed in this Interview

Did you know that 94% of consumers research products online before buying? Or that three out of five people use search engines as a go-to shopping and service resource? (official Google statistics)

We live in the tech world where information is available at our fingertips. While word of mouth is still one of the best advertising strategies in the Pilates world it’s not the only one anymore. People are searching for Pilates studios on Google, they are checking out Facebook and Twitter for deals or friend recommendations, they are using directories to find real reviews.
You can’t be sitting on the offline sidelines anymore. Online marketing is the reality of the modern life and it can be quite enjoyable if you have fun with it.

Your clients are more likely to hear about you or find you ONLINE than through any other channel of promotion or advertising.

Online marketing might be another thing that you don’t have the time for, I get it, but you can’t ignore it if you want your business to succeed. Bring more clients through your Pilates doors with these simple tactics.

10 Essential Steps to Create a Steady Flow of Customers to Your Pilates Business in the Web 2.0 World

To make things practical for YOU you will download a Practical Worksheet that will

• help you convert website visitors into customers,
• identify “weak Points” that make you lose potential clients,
• engage your current social media followers and turn them into your clients,
• explain WHY you need a newsletter and HOW to set it up,
• guide you to make your first video (and figure out WHY you need it),
• discover new ways to expose your business to new clients
• and much more

One of my clients who is in her 70s right now and had double knee replacement told me once “If I knew that I would live that long I would have started doing Pilates at your age!”

At the time of our conversation I was 28 years old and I have been practicing Pilates for 5 years. Yet, I didn’t feel that I started early enough.

I remember reading an interview with Daria Pace, granddaughter of Romana Kryzanowska, when she shared her memories of having Pilates sessions as a child with her grandmother. Of course, she had an opportunity to take classes from Joe’s protégé and yet I was thinking that learning the Method so early was the biggest gift that she received.

I believe that any instructor out there would agree that teaching Pilates to children will be the most useful self-care tip that children can get. But how do you start teaching Pilates to kids? Working with children is so much different from working with the adults.

Today I am talking to Amanda Rhine, the owner of Discover Happy Pilates Studio in Decorah, IA. She has been teaching Pilates to children for 3 years and she shares her experience of working with probably the most challenging and most amazing population of Pilates clients – CHILDREN.

Questions discussed in the interview (INCLUDES: Practical Worksheet and Full Transcript)

1. How to develop essential skills for teaching Pilates to children
2. How to market and promote Pilates for children
3. How to get local exposure for Youth Pilates classes
4. Which exercises to include in a session
5. The best age to introduce Pilates to children
6. The length of the classes
7. What props/equipment to use
8. The biggest benefits of starting Pilates at a young age
9. The most rewarding part of teaching Pilates to children

Brett Miller is the new bold voice of the Pilates community. Chances are you have read his inbox magazine PilatesIntel or seen his comments in various Pilates forums. Brett lives and teaches in Stockholm while “marrying” his passion for Pilates with a full time career in software development.

I first came across Brett’s magazine Pilates Intel about a year ago and have been following it ever since. I have witnessed a rapid growth of his resource and was amazed at the abundance of interesting Pilates articles that came across my inbox over this past year. There were two things that absolutely amazed me about Brett:

1. The questioning mind. Brett is never afraid to challenge any Pilates truth or rule. His discussions are not about being right or wrong, they are about hearing different points of view that get all of us closer to the best way that we can practice and teach Pilates.
2. Career/Pilates balance. At first I thought that Pilates was Brett’s whole life. It seemed that he spent so much time traveling, teaching and talking to all the other instructors that there was no way that he could have been doing it part time. I was blown away to find out that Brett was successfully combining his Pilates passion with being a full time software developer.

Questions discussed in the interview with Brett Miller (INCLUDES: Full Transcript and Practical Worksheet)

1. The secrets to finding balance between a full-time career and Pilates.
2. How to find a complementing occupation to supplement Pilates income.
3. The “Why” of running an inbox magazine.
4. Brett’s definition of Pilates.
5. How asking questions makes you a better teacher.
6. Brett’s recent biggest discovery.
7. 3 factors that hinder the explosive growth of the Pilates industry.
8. Best tips for a successful Pilates practice.
9. 3 steps to become a better teacher.

Let’s dive into the world of Classical Pilates with Andrea Maida. Whether you are a contemporary or a classical Pilates teacher you will learn a lot from this interview.

• Have you ever thought about the importance of the Classical Pilates order?
• Or do you personally feel “confined” by the strict order?
• Do you enjoy repetition in Pilates?
• Or do you feel that you constantly have to come up with something new for your clients?

The choice on how to teach is yours and I am not trying to make this decision for you. However, as always, I encourage you to question and to dive deeper into Pilates.

There is a reason and purpose for each exercise in Pilates.

Contrology (pilates) is not a system of haphazard exercises designed to produce only bulging muscles.
~Joseph Pilates

And we shouldn’t treat a Pilates workout as a conventional gym workout. Instead, let’s try to figure out the genius of Joseph Pilates and his system. Andrea Maida, an extraordinary classical Pilates teacher, has been intrigued and excited about exploring the importance of the classical Pilates order in her personal practice and while teaching her students. Today she wants to share with you what she has discovered along with several other Pilates “revelations” that have revolutionized her Pilates vision.

I hope that this interview will help you develop a fresh look on classical Pilates order and how to use it to the benefit of your clients (and yourself.) Listen, learn and ask your questions.

Questions discussed in the interview (NEW: practical worksheet, classical Pilates order and full transcript!)

As a Pilates professional, how curious are you about the way the human body moves?

I must admit, I am an information-junkie when it comes to the human body. Every client that I teach, every class that I take makes me want to learn something else and dig a little deeper into human anatomy and biomechanics. And then apply this knowledge to Pilates. Brrr! Just the thought of learning sends goose bumps of excitement down my entire body.

As Pilates professionals, we stand in a unique position to educate our clients about their movements and their bodies. We don’t teach Pilates because it is the latest fitness craze or because it is guaranteed to chisel a sexy booty or abs of steel.

We teach Pilates because we know the POWER of the method to change our client’s lives, to help them move in ways they never could or never thought they could again.

“Pilates is Empowering,” it’s the thought that Shari Berkowitz and I kept coming back to during our conversation a couple of weeks ago. Shari has been on my “priority list” of people to get in touch with ever since I seriously got into Pilates. My first introduction to her teaching was through Pilates Style magazine. Soon after that first article, I discovered Shari’s teacher blog The Vertical Workshop and I was hooked (it’s the best in-depth Pilates resource for any movement teacher or student – and it’s free!)

Shari Berkowitz teaches numerous Pilates workshops, seminars and continuing education courses in the US and world-wide. Her mission is moving scientific theories forward into practical application in Pilates and in any other movement modalities.

Questions discussed in the interview (NEW: practical worksheet and full transcript!)

1. Application of modern biomechanics to Pilates.
2. Simple Pilates definition for new clients.
3. Most valuable modern scientific theories in application to Pilates (and best resources to follow!)
4. Safe Spinal Articulation from the perspective of modern biomechanics.
5. How to establish proper spinal articulation and muscle engagement from the very first session with a new client.
6. How to excite a client who is interested in purely cosmetic results about creating a mind-body connection and learning Pilates principles.
7. Best ways to successfully teach group Pilates classes.
8. How to teach multi-level Pilates classes.
9. Three crucial tips on being an empowering Pilates instructor that clients want to come back to.