Movement Practice

Generosity & The Business of Pilates

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“What I love most about Polestar and Brent Anderson’s message is the spirit of generosity.” – Mara Sievers

I remember reading a newsletter Brent wrote a while ago encouraging us to visit other Pilates studios, even the ones that are not teaching our technique or style. We can learn from everyone. Each new piece of information, every creative variation enriches us. Every life experience for that matter.

There is no reason to be afraid of other styles, schools or teachings.

When I first opened my studio, I felt a significant amount of stress to fill my classes and make everyone love Pilates so that my studio and I would thrive. This stress took quite a toll on my mental and physical wellbeing, so I made the conscious decision to eliminate the self-imposed stress of competition. I have to admit that it was initially more of a “fake it ’til you make it” effort, but over the years, I can honestly say that I have completely dropped the fear of competition.

Last year I visited a Pilates studio and took a session with the owner. During our session a man came in the door who was curious about Pilates and wanted some information. After briefly showing the man around the studio, she let the prospect go. She told me that her schedule was booked and she doesn’t need new clients. That’s wonderful for her, but she missed an opportunity to generously share the Pilates method with someone who’s interested by referring him to another nearby studio.

In order for the Pilates method to thrive, we all need to thrive. In this example, the studio owner could have brought business to another like-minded, hard working business owner. The man who came in would have remembered that this lady was generous enough to help him get what he was looking for even though she got nothing out of it. I think it’s better for us to be inclusive than exclusive, and this type of generosity and honesty gains respect in the community.

At my studio I get the occasional request if we offer barre classes, which we don’t, but I know of a studio in my town that does, so I refer them to that studio. Although barre is a different movement style, the spirit of generosity still applies.

Recently, a classically trained instructor who had moved to the area contacted me with her interest in teaching at my studio. After her demo and some thinking, she decided not to teach at my studio and eventually opened her own about 20 minutes from me. I saw this as a fantastic opportunity for me to experience classical equipment, which was new to me. I had been terribly curious about it and wanted to experience first hand what everyone was talking about. As soon as her studio was set up and ready to go, I booked a session and learned a bunch of new things that helped my body and inspired my teaching. She is a very different teacher from me, and she will attract very different clients.

Here are some reasons why I would refer a client to another teacher or studio:

  • I’m fully booked and can’t fit the client into my or the studio’s schedule
  • One of my current clients has a different mindset and approach to Pilates: if I feel I have to convince them in every lesson that what I do has value, then it might be better to refer them out… we’ll both be happier
  • If I or my studio don’t offer the day, time or type of class that the student is looking for, it’s more important that the student gets to do their preferred movement, even if it’s somewhere else

As Pilates teachers, it’s our goal to help people have positive movement experiences and to build awareness of mind and body. Whether they reach that goal through us or our “competitors” doesn’t matter so much; what matters is that people are moving and finding happiness.

Keep a generous spirit even or especially when the stresses of our lives make us withdraw, contract, and pull back. Sharing opens your heart to others, and people will love and remember you for it.

Your turn! Share your story of Generosity & Pilates in the comments section below.

Mara Sievers NCPT, is a Polestar Graduate, Practitioner and the creator of the Pilates Encyclopedia.  “Pilates is an amazing method, and it can be hard. It requires a lot of time to master. With its many details, it can seem overwhelming at first. Even after completing a comprehensive training, there is still so much to learn.“

If It’s Available…

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In any movement practice that you teach, you will encounter students of all levels and ability. The Pilates industry caters to many different class settings, environments, and sizes. I used to teach group mat classes that had both seasoned movers and an elderly lady that could not get on the floor without assistance. Currently I teach mostly semi privates; the differences in any two bodies, even roughly at the same level, are vast. How is an instructor supposed to handle these differences? How are we supposed to keep our clients safe and still meet their goals? How can we teach the same class to so many different bodies? Here is a way you can make make multi–level classes work.
 I have a magic phrase that I use multiple times a day: “…if it’s available.”
When I am cueing through an exercise and need to make it more challenging for one student but not the other I use these words. It does a couple of things for me. First of all, it makes the client have to take initiative in their own practice. They can choose separately if the next level is in fact available to them or not. Secondly, I’m not drawing attention to them by saying, “you on the right do this, and you on the left do that.“ Thirdly, I am often shocked who chooses the harder way. Several instances come to mind when my “lower level” client executes the progression seamlessly and with ease and grace. It’s an awesome surprise and it makes me rethink how I initially looked at that person. On the other hand, the more “advanced” client sometimes chooses not to take the progression. Regardless of why, maybe they’re tired, don’t feel good or it‘s simply too hard for them, these clients don’t feel like they are regressing,  and instead are honoring what feels good for their body. 
 
Here is an example of how I use it. Let’s say we are doing thigh stretch on the tower. I have set up the exercise and we have done a few rounds and when one or all look clean and ready to progress, I say: “If it’s available to you, scoot two inches forward towards your tower. It will create less spring tension and you will have to rely on your body more to come up to tall kneeling. Or you can stay where you are and repeat.” Sometimes everyone moves, no one moves, or they try to move forward, see it’s not for them and move back to the original spot. Wording it this way creates an environment of choice and independence.
 
I didn’t realize I said this phrase so often until after class one day a new client came to talk to me at the end of a session. She told me that she appreciated my choice of words. This person had come from another studio and was always the one that the instructor verbally pointed out and made modifications for. It made her leave Pilates feeling disempowered and a little embarrassed, even though the other instructor was probably doing only what they thought was best. 
 
 Now don’t get me wrong, this doesn’t work in every situation and sometimes the clients choose the progression a little too early for their body. But it’s a good stepping stone to work with multi–level classes. Try it and see if it works for you, only if it‘s available!
Written By Polestar Graduate and Practitioner Becky Phares of Lafayette Louisiana.
Find Becky on Social Media: @the_body_initiative 
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The Journey Within: Movement as Meditation

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Whenever I hear someone say, “that’s not yoga”, I always chuckle inside because they remind me of an earlier version of myself. Yoga, Pilates and GYROTONIC® have become a sort of trinity for me. These mind body techniques have one main thing in common: they all ask you to be present. These practices guide the thinking part of ourselves inward into a space of focused attention that transcends time and space. When we are fully present there are no words, lineages or traditions, there is the lack of all that has been or will be, so that the here and now may reveal itself. The traditions of yoga, Pilates, Qi-Gong, etc are vehicles that transport our psyche out of the time space continuum into the present moment; the eternal now. Nowadays when I hear this type of comment of, ‘that’s not yoga’ or ‘that’s not Pilates’, or my favorite, ‘you teach Pilates like a yoga teacher,’ rather than defending why it is or isn’t a certain thing, I realize that we are all struggling to name and categorize the nameless, which is the experience of being whole and not separate from our source. Through the repetitive practice of visiting this internal space of awareness and communion with source energy, the illusion of separation begins to fall away. This practice of being in the now is like peeling an onion with an infinite center. There is no where to go, the whole point of the practice is just to peel the onion of the Self for the sake of simply being present. As we aspire to align with That which is ideal, optimal, correct and appropriate, we are reminded that we are in constant flux. What felt ‘correct’ one day may not feel that way the next. What was ‘correct’ for one body, may not be for the other. This is absolutely fascinating and humbling if we can let go of our desire to be ‘correct´. The ability to perceive our own physical, mental and emotional daily changes and to develop the sensitivity to see them in others requires the discipline of time. Teachers and practitioners of mind body disciplines hopefully live and teach based on personal sweat, tears and time spent in awareness, as opposed to time spent repeating ideas they have never experienced. As teachers we have the privilege of sharing and guiding others into this sublime experience of being through movement. When we are able to clearly communicate an experience of awareness to our students they, sometimes unknowingly, enter into this space of being here now and become inspired, excited, joyful and grateful… hence, the healing is occurring. As we grow in our practice, we become the practice itself and ideas like, ‘that’s not yoga’ become silly as we realize everything is yoga. Yoga literally means to yoke together, from the yuj, often defined as “to add”, “to join”, “to unite”, or “to attach.” As we cultivate the experience of being in the now, whether it be on a reformer, mat or airplane, we create unity within ourselves and the need to define what it is that makes us feel connected begins to fall away. The world becomes the yoga mat as we grow into the practice, and as we grow into the practice, it becomes us…and it never ends so you’re constantly being given opportunities for conscious change and living! Let’s co-conspire and co-create this summer at the Polestar Life Conference! Keynote speaker, Marilyn Schlitz’s address, “Bridging Consciousness, Science and Society” will explore the science behind subtle energies, bio fields, and mind body practices, so that we may learn to embrace our innate gifts of healing for ourselves, our relationships, and our world. Learn more from Polestar Educator Christi Idavoy by visiting her studio or following her online.