Introduction
I’ve been teaching Pilates for almost five months now, but it’s still not the same as doing it. I’m a big proponent of experience over knowledge, but there are a few things I wish I knew when I started teaching. Sometimes pilates teacher training Sydney struggles in doing Pilates the right way.
It’s easy to get caught up in the details.
As a teacher, I’ve learned that it’s easy to get caught up in the details. We’re constantly thinking about what we can do differently next time—whether that means changing our teaching style or trying out some new exercises. It’s important to be able to see things from the big picture and focus on that instead of getting hung up on small details.
It’s also important for students who are taking classes from you to see things from a larger point of view. You need to be able to help them understand where they’re at and what they need right now so they don’t feel overwhelmed by all of the changes happening inside their bodies.
Class can be challenging in a variety of ways.
The most challenging thing about teaching pilates is getting the right amount of resistance, intensity and focus from your students. It’s also important to make sure that everyone feels safe in the class and can do all of the movements without feeling like they’re going to fall over or hurt themselves.
To do this, it helps to have a good sense of how much resistance each person needs for each exercise. You don’t want someone who has never done this type of movement before having too much resistance because it will prevent them from getting a good stretch; however, you also don’t want someone who has been doing these exercises regularly having too little resistance because they won’t feel challenged enough and won’t get any additional benefits out of their workout.
It’s especially challenging when you’ve got an entirely new group of people who haven’t done Pilates before coming into your class on any given day—you have no idea how strong they are or if they’re even going to be able to complete some exercises that take more strength than others (such as rolling up into First Position).
You want to make sure they know they’re doing it right.
You always need to be looking at your students and seeing what they’re doing. You have to know when they’re doing it right, and you have to know when they’re doing it wrong. There are a few ways that I can tell if my students are doing something incorrectly:
- If they’re not breathing, then something is wrong with the exercise
- If their face goes white or red, then something is wrong with the exercise (this could mean that it’s too hard for them)
- If there’s too much tension in their body, then something is wrong with the exercise (this means they’re either pushing too hard or not engaging in their core)
Once you know that your student needs help with an exercise, you can use one of three methods for correction: verbal cues; physical cues; or visual cues. Here’s how each works!
You need to move with intention.
In order for you to truly know what you are trying to achieve, it’s important that you also understand the benefits of Pilates and how each exercise will help. For example, if you want to strengthen your core, then it’s essential that your pelvis is stable while doing an exercise like the roll-up. If one or both of these aren’t present in your body during this movement, then there will be a disconnect between what’s happening on the inside of your body and its appearance on the outside (your face!). You need to be able to feel what’s going on inside yourself so that there isn’t a disconnect between what’s happening inside and out – otherwise known as being “unconscious” while exercising (this can happen with any kind of physical activity).
Knowing where you’re feeling movement in your body is also important because this helps with awareness when learning new movements or making changes to existing ones based on feedback from someone else such as myself (aka “The Teacher”). For example: knowing whether we’re working primarily with flexion/extension along an axis – like side bending versus rotation around our vertical axis for instance; or knowing which muscles are contracting during different exercises like curl ups versus leg lifts so we can properly target those specific ones instead of just working out whatever muscle happens across them before continuing onto another type
If you don’t use your core, you don’t do Pilates.
One of the most important lessons I’ve learned from teaching Pilates is that you need to use your core.
I’ve been a big fan of Pilates since high school, when my mom introduced me to it. At first, all I knew was that if I did Pilates with her every morning, she would feed me breakfast. But over time, I learned how valuable it is to have strong abdominal muscles (i.e., “the core”).
Turns out there are other benefits too:
- Core strength helps you maintain good posture in all kinds of activities–not just Pilates! You’ll find yourself standing taller and looking better when you’re at work or out in public because those muscles are helping support you in various ways throughout the day.
- Strong abdominal muscles also help perform other exercises more effectively—and they can improve sports performance as well—especially if those activities require quick movements from side-to-side or up and down (for example: running).
People need to be relaxed, but not completely.
What I’ve learned is that people need to be relaxed, but not completely.
If you’re too tight, it’s hard for your muscles to relax and for blood flow to get into your muscles. That’s why I make sure we start our exercises with a lot of breathing and stretching. When you are learning how to let go of muscle tension and think more about relaxing the mind and body, then you can begin working on the actual movements in Pilates.
This doesn’t mean everyone should be super loose-limbed; there must still be some tension so that your muscles can oppose themselves during a movement (think plank or arm balance). It also means that students should be able to breathe freely when they’re doing exercises like Hundred or Crisscross as well as move their body freely during any exercise where they aren’t holding their breath or tensing up too much
There’s a lot more I wish I knew about Pilates when I started teaching.
It’s been a long five months. I feel like I’ve learned so much, but there are still some things I wish I could go back and tell myself when I started teaching Pilates.
- The importance of core engagement
- Breathing—and its connection to core engagement
- How important it is to connect with your students on a personal level and see them as people, not just clients/participants/students (or whatever you want to call them)
Conclusion
I’ve learned a lot in the past five months, and I hope that this article has been helpful to you as well. Pilates is a great way to stay healthy and fit, but it’s also something that you can use to improve your overall life quality. If you have any questions about the process or would like more information on how we can help at our studio in Austin, TX then contact us through email!
