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.
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Back injuries are the most debilitating and at the same time common injuries of the modern society. Poor body alignment, sedentary lifestyle as well as inefficient body mechanics contribute to the fact that about 80% of adults experience lower back pain at some point of their lives. Eliminating or preventing back pain is one of the top reasons why people start doing Pilates.

Modern research proves the efficacy of the Pilates method to treat and prevent back pain. However, findings published by Professor Stuart McGill of the University of Waterloo in Canada show that traditional core strengthening exercises that involve loaded spinal flexion can and will eventually lead to back injuries. To learn more about professor McGill’s teachings please read Pilates for Healthy Backs: Teach Safely, Work Out Wisely. That is why it is important to teach Pilates (or any other fitness modality for that matter) with safe spine flexion techniques in mind. This is the only safe way to gain all the benefits of Pilates and enjoy a pain-free back.

Today I am talking to Rebecca Leone, a Pilates educator whose mission in life is educating the Pilates community about safe spine teaching techniques. So open your scratchpad or Evernote and start taking your notes as you listen to this interview. There is a lot of information to digest!

In this podcast we will discuss the following questions:

If you like eating ice cream does it mean that you know how to make it from scratch?

I know it seems that ice cream has nothing to do with Pilates but I beg to disagree. If you love Pilates then you can compare it to eating the most delicious ice cream. As a teacher you probably also find pure joy in teaching Pilates, educating clients about better body mechanics and spending your free time learning and becoming a better instructor.

However, in order to be a successful instructor you need to have clients; you need to grow your business whether as an independent contractor working at a studio or as a studio owner.
Teaching Pilates is like eating your favorite flavor of ice cream, it comes natural to you. But building the business aspect of your Pilates career is like trying to fix that ice cream from scratch. You need to have the recipe, the tools, the ingredients and the time that is required for this job.

Today I am talking to Gina Axelson, the creator of the Profit with Pilates training course for Pilates professionals. She is a fully certified Pilates instructor, a former studio owner and an amazing Pilates business coach.

Questions Discussed in the Interview

I asked Gina to share her best tips on how to run a profitable Pilates business. In this interview you will learn the answers to the following questions:

1. What does it take to run a profitable Pilates business?
2. Where should the instructors spend their time (besides teaching, of course) to ensure the stable growth of their business?
3. What are the vital cornerstones of marketing a Pilates business?
4. What is the #1 piece of advice for the instructors who love teaching and hate selling?
5. What are the expenses of running a Pilates studio?
6. When should you expect to see the business support itself financially?
7. How can a studio owner hire good Pilates instructors and retain them?
8. What are the biggest mistakes that you see instructors making that prevent them from running a profitable Pilates business?
9. What is the recipe for a profitable Plates business?

Would you have liked to have taken a class from Joseph Pilates himself?

It would have been pretty awesome, don’t you think?

Unfortunately, most of the instructors and Pilates devotees today didn’t have the privilege of working with the Genius of the Method but first generation teachers still possess the knowledge and spark that they learned from Joe himself.

The more time passes by the less likely we are to take Pilates just the way it was created by Joseph Pilates. But one instructor and her supportive husband set out on a journey to preserve the Pilates Method as close to the original Work as possible.

Alisa Wyatt has created a Pilates video website where anyone can take classes and workshops taught by Jay Grimes (first generation teacher), Bob Liekens, Alycea Ungaro (author of the Pilates bestsellers Pilates: Body in Motion, The Pilates Promise and The Pilates Practice Companion) as well as other wonderful second generation teachers.

View Alisa Wyatt’s profile on Pilates Bridge

Here is what you can learn from our conversation (NEW: you can watch a video or read a complete transcript):

• Practical ways to transition from a regular job to teaching Pilates.
• Most important teaching lessons learned from Pilates elders: Romana Kryzanowska, Kathy Grant and Jay Grimes.
• Creative ways to teach the most challenging Pilates movement (and Kathy Grant’s way to cue this movement.)
• How to build the first session with a new client.
• Best Pilates resources for any Pilates instructor.
• The #1 piece of advice for any Pilates instructor.

The number of hip and knee replacements has increased by 84% in the past decade making these surgeries the 12th most common inpatient procedures in 2010. Due to the nature of a Pilates workout, it is the perfect program to facilitate recovery after hip/knee surgery.

Osteoarthritis is the most common reason for a total or partial hip and knee replacement. Just in the United States alone osteoarthritis affects 13.9% of adults ages 25 and up and 33.6% of those 65 and up (according to CDC statistics.)

This Ultimate Pilates Guide will look at the following questions:

1. What unique benefits does Pilates offer after a knee/hip replacement?
2. Why is it ideal to do Pilates before surgery?
3. What muscle imbalances are most common after hip/knee surgery?
4. What are the main areas of focus of a Pilates workout?
5. When is it safe to start a Pilates-based rehabilitation program?
6. General precautions after hip/knee surgery
7. How does Pilates therapy compare/differ from PT?
8. What are some of your clients saying about the results of their Pilates program?
9. Best Apparatus/Reformer exercises for this population
10. What is the best Pilates homework after surgery?
11. Best Pilates mat exercises after hip/knee replacement

Have you ever considered running a home-based Pilates studio?

Many passionate Pilates instructors find that running their business from home is a wonderful opportunity to do what they love without the hassles and risks of a traditional storefront studio. The biggest perk of working from home is having minimal overheads (or none at all.) However, there is more to running a Pilates home studio then just putting a Reformer in your spare bedroom. Listen as I talk to Andrea Haritan, a Pilates instructor who is living her dream of running a home-based Pilates studio in the Lake Norman area, NC.

Andrea is a movement professional with over 40 years’ experience as a dance student/performer/teacher, group fitness instructor/personal trainer, and Pilates instructor/student. Before becoming a fully-certified STOTT Pilates instructor, she earned a master’s degree in Human Movement from Boston University and was certified by the PhysicalMind Institute to teach Pilates Matwork and by Alternative Fitness to teach Pilates Reformer. Andrea enjoys encouraging her students to move more efficiently which results in them ultimately feeling better and looking better.

Questions discussed in the interview

1. What is better, running your own studio or working at a studio?
2. What are some of the challenges of running a home studio?
3. What is the best strategy for finding clients for your home studio?
4. What are the benefits in your opinion of a home studio?
5. What Pilates equipment/props are a must for a home Pilates studio?
6. Are there any aspects of running a Pilates home studio that you would like to warn other instructors about?
7. The most important piece of advice for any beginner instructor.
8. Bonus: comparison of STOTT Pilates training vs Balanced Body training

Andrea Haritan’s profile on Pilates Bridge