Pilates Teaching Tips

9 Tips to Self-Regulate your Nervous System

by Leave a Comment

You are here: Home / Archives for Pilates Teaching Tips

Written by Polestar Graduate and Mentor for Polestar Pilates UK, Kristin Loeer.

There are many reasons for why we become Pilates Teachers. A love for public speaking does not tend to be one of them.

Kristin Loeer

As soon as we start teaching, groups, in particular, we realize that there is a side to this profession that is rather nerve-wracking. Day in, day out we walk into a large room filled with people who are all looking back at us expectantly. We feel the pressure to deliver something amazing and begin to tense up. We don’t know what to do with our hands and we can’t quite look people in the eye. We crack a nervous joke and blank unamused faces stare back at us in response. Too scared to repeat such an awkward display of disconnect we buckle down and escape into our “Pilates Teacher Mode”. 

We speed up a little as we talk, somehow needing to fill the silence and give people more to do, to make sure they are satisfied and do not have time to decide that they don’t like us. 

Somehow, we manage to get through the hour and as people leave, we hope desperately for a smile or a “thanks” from someone, so we know we did a good job after all. What sticks in our mind are all those people that leave without even looking at us. ‘Do they hate me?’ – we wonder. And while we are still wondering that, the next group of people are coming in and it starts all over again. At the end of the day, we are confused and exhausted and beginning to accept that there is a side to this job that makes us feel rather exposed and disconnected. 

While the described above is perhaps an extreme scenario as far as Pilates Teaching experiences go, I can say that I have certainly been there during the early years and I know that many of you have been too. This kind of challenging teaching experience is particularly common at the start of our career when we take on cover classes or work for health clubs where groups are large and unfamiliar.

And while things may improve with time and experience, many of us can not quite shake off the protective “Pilates Teacher Mode” completely and never quite feel fully authentic and at ease when we teach. 

It is no surprise that we feel so challenged in situations like this. Stepping in front of an expectant crowd and allowing ourselves to be seen can evoke a fight or flight response in our nervous system. This deeply instinctive mechanism causes us to lose the ability to rest into ourselves and socially engage with other people. In the end, we have spent an hour trying to manage our own stress while in the public eye, trying to connect with people and teach them healthy movement. Accumulatively this is a jarring process that could well be the first step to burnout if work situations like this persist. 

We can use Stephen Porges’ Polyvagal Theory to get a better understanding of what is happening to us in classes as described above. 

When we are at peace and enjoying the company of others we are in a ventral vagal state. We feel grounded, calm, and at ease. Our body is able to take care of all internal processes like digestion, restoration, musculoskeletal and cognitive function in an easy and balanced way. We feel connected to and seen by others in ways that make us feel safe and validated. This ability to socially engage with other people is something that fuels our ventral vagal state further. We have a sense of “I can.” about us and our ambitions. Most of us will have an experience of this and some of us feel at home in this state of being more so than others. 

If we are under a lot of stress, experiencing pain, or managing difficult relationships, we may not find a ventral vagal state easy to maintain. When we then enter the studio in this state, we quickly begin to pick up the signals that trigger a sympathetic nervous system response. We perceive many unfamiliar eyes suddenly looking at us expectantly or even challengingly.

We are suddenly under public scrutiny and feel the pressure to perform and deliver. We tense up, our eyes go wider, and we cannot see the room as a whole anymore as we fixate on this or that. We become a little uncoordinated or even walk into things.

We get a mental block and cannot think properly. Our voice and movements speed up and our breath becomes shallow. We cannot look people in the eye. Even if we are aware of these changes, it is difficult to control or influence them. The body has gone into a sympathetic nervous system state associated with expecting or preparing for a fight or flight situation in a moment when we are desperate to connect with people and create an environment for health and well-being. 

How frustrating is this? In our attempt to make it work, we put more pressure on ourselves, and our sense of “I can” changes to “I must.” 

Unfortunately, no matter how much we try to hide how we really feel 70-80% of our communication with others is non-verbal and a lot of it is subconscious and instinctive.

Chances are that the class participants pick up on our sympathetic nervous system state, which means that now neither of us are able to socially engage with each other or find a state of well-being. 

If this experience is repeated again and again, we may eventually collapse into a dorsal vagal state, a form of nervous system shut down. We may experience symptoms like headaches, chronic tension, stiffness and pain, voice problems, and chronic exhaustion. At this point we have a sense of “I can’t.” and something has to seriously change for us to be able to get back to “I can.” 

What can we do about this? Ideally, we want to be and remain in a ventral vagal state as much as possible when we work with our clients. We want to be able to connect with them, put them at ease and role model physical and mental well-being. 

Below are a few simple tips that can help you self-regulate your nervous system in preparation of those challenging classes as well as during your teaching.

Before The Class:Take A 15 Minute Time Out

Perhaps the most important question we want to ask ourselves is: how do we enter the studio? Are we already in a sympathetic nervous system state when we arrive? If we are, it will be very difficult for us to shift this while under the pressure of a teaching situation. Schedule 15 minutes before the class in which you can take time out for yourself where you are undisturbed. 

Grounding

Grounding is extremely powerful in helping us shift into a ventral vagal state. Spend some time acknowledging the contact and support you are receiving from the ground and other areas in which you are making contact. Feel your feet on the floor and perhaps lean into a wall or back of a chair and feel the sense of support and holding this gives you. 

Self-Contact

Give your body some support by making gentle contact with your hand on your heart, stomach, or thighs. Follow your instinct, keep it simple and give this time. Track the sensations that arise. 

Identify A Resource

Ask yourself what else might help you settle and feel more the way you want to feel. Would a hot drink be helpful or maybe your favorite music on your mp3 player? Maybe you put on your favorite leggings that make you feel great? It is those little things that can be a great resource to us when it comes to settling our nervous system. You can also connect to a resourceful memory of a time when you felt the way you want to feel now. As we connect to such memories, our body resonates.

Track Your Sensations

You may observe energy rising. This is okay. Allow it to travel through you and keep acknowledging your soothing resources and the contact and containment from the ground, your surroundings and self-contact. Chances are that energy will settle if you allow a little time for this. Once you feel calmer and more relaxed, spend another moment to really soak up this nervous system state with your awareness before you enter the studio. 

This 15-minute preparation will make a huge difference to your following teaching experience as it will be easier for you to maintain your ventral vagal state and your clients may also feel more inclined to connect with you from the get-go. 

During the Class

Notice your Triggers and Slow Down

When you feel the very first triggers that challenge your calm, allow yourself to slow down. You have more time than you think. We quickly feel under pressure to act, especially in a fight or flight state. Know that you have time to attend to yourself. 

Acknowledge the Ground

You also have contact with the ground here, just like before. Notice it and allow it to support you. You do have the time to sense the ground and acknowledge that it is always there to support you. Notice how it feels to acknowledge this. 

Self-contact  

Placing your hand to your heart, putting one hand into another, touching the back of your neck, whatever helped you soothe yourself before, is perfectly acceptable to do while teaching a Pilates class. There are plenty of those gestures that we do subconsciously all the time, so chances are nobody will notice as you get a powerful reminder of your ability to self-soothe. 

 Remember that you can 

If you notice yourself thinking that you must make it through or that you must give people a positive experience, take a breath and remember that you actually don’t have to do anything at all, but that you can absolutely do this, otherwise you would not be where you are, doing what you do.

If you can follow the above steps in full you will find your teaching experience change. Not only in these challenging teaching scenarios, but also in your work with private clients and more familiar or smaller groups. However, if you are easily stressed or uncomfortable when teaching, don’t be discouraged if the above steps are not solving your problem completely right away. Often a little more support, guidance and practice is needed to help our nervous system regulate itself in challenging situations. Feel free to contact me if you would like more information on this subject or if you are seeking further support. 

Kristin Loeer is a Polestar Graduate, Mentor for Polestar Pilates UK, and a Somatic Movement Coach. You can find Kristin at her website and on social media at @kristinloeer_movement

Generosity & The Business of Pilates

by Leave a Comment

You are here: Home / Archives for Pilates Teaching Tips

“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.“

Efficiency: Should it Always be the Goal?

by Leave a Comment

You are here: Home / Archives for Pilates Teaching Tips

Teaching Pilates has made me realize that the more I know, the more I don’t know. With any profession, hobby or skill set I am sure that’s the case. After ten years of teaching, I finally feel that I have a true understanding of the way the body works and how to help people achieve their goals. Regardless, I will always find a way to learn new things even in the most unexpected places. 

My current love is efficiency in movement. I have researched and experimented with how to make both my Pilates practice and life more efficient. Let’s say I am working with a client and we are doing feet in straps. The most efficient way to perform this exercise is to hinge from the hips and bring the legs up and down with ease and grace. If the client would tense up all of their muscles to do this relatively simple movement, they could potentially lose degrees of range and overexert themselves. It’s like cleaning my house in high heel shoes. I can definitely make it happen, but why would I waste time and energy walking around in those things when I can make my body work less to do the same thing in bare feet. 

This brings me to a new thought… is efficiency always the right choice? I learned the answer in the most unusual place: checking the mail. When I get my mail the most efficient way to do this is to walk a straight line to the box, take the mail out, and walk back inside. However, when I ask my 9-year-old daughter to do this same task she takes twice as long, because she cartwheels, finds a rock to throw, balances on the ledge of the curb and opens the mail box with her foot. Now, we both executed the same task, but Hazel took more time and effort and had way more fun accomplishing the same function.

So translating this to yourself you have to, like all things, decide your intention in doing a certain thing. What is your goal? In exercise and chores, efficiency might be the answer. What about everything else? It would be more efficient to take a picture of something than to paint it. It would be more efficient to buy meat at the store than to go hunting in the woods. It would be more efficient to walk across the stage than to dance across. It would be more efficient to use a computer program to compose a song than to learn how to play the piano. If you are looking to do all things in life fast and easy, you could lose joy and zest. Efficiency is the right choice when you need it to be.

Becky Phares, NCPT is a Polestar Pilates Graduate, Practitioner and contributor to the Polestar Life Weekly Blog.  With more than 10 years of teaching Becky teaches at her studio The Body Initiative Pilates Studio in Lafayette, Louisiana.  Find Becky and her Studio on Facebook: The body Initiative Pilates Studio and Instagram @the_body_initiative_ .