Instructor Spotlight: Baylee Saltmarsh
1. Tell us a little about yourself and your Pilates background.
My name is Baylee Saltmarsh, and I’m from Perth, Western Australia. My journey with Pilates has been a little unconventional, I’ve spent the past few years living in the Caribbean, with time in New York where I was both teaching and developing Pilates programs for boutique hotels and private members’ clubs. I’ve moved back home to be closer to loved ones and I’m now building my online Pilates and movement studio, Balance By Baylee, which I launched in November 2025. Alongside that, I mentor trainers from all around the world, teach across a few studios in Perth, and run pop-ups whenever I can to stay connected with the local Pilates community. I’ve been teaching for almost 10 years now, which feels surreal to say! I’m naturally driven and dedicated, I care a lot about what I do and the people I work with, but I’m also all about keeping things real and not taking it all too seriously.
2. How did you discover Pilates?
Like many others, through dance and injury! I was training in track and field when I tore a major tendon in my foot. I’d already been dancing from a young age, so my physio suggested I take up ballet to help strengthen my ankle during rehab. Not long after, I left school to train full-time as a ballerina, and Pilates became part of our conditioning program. At the time, I didn’t know a lot about it, but I was really drawn to how detailed and intrinsic it felt. I was also working closely with an occupational therapist during those years, who played a huge role in helping me better understand and unlock my body for dance. I remember making a promise to myself back then, that if my career in ballet didn’t work out, I wanted to do something that still supported others in pursuing it. That’s ultimately what led me to Pilates, it feels like the perfect intersection of everything I value; rehab, strength, creativity, and functional movement.
3. How do you keep learning?
It’s not one person or one place, it really is everywhere. I’m constantly observing movement in everyday life. If I’m watching someone walk along the coastline and notice postural patterns or imbalances, I’ll mentally file that away, study it, and use it to build out programming ideas or expand my exercise library. In the same way, if I’m watching a high-level sprinter or athlete, I’ll break down how they move, train, and produce force, and look for ways to translate those principles into my sessions. I think I’m just very observant and genuinely obsessed with movement in all its forms. When I notice gaps in my knowledge, I go looking for answers. I’ve invested a lot into continuing education over the years, but some of the best free tools we have are podcasts and platforms like Google Scholar. I learn a lot from sports scientists and performance coaches that way, and I’m constantly pulling ideas from different disciplines and refining them back into my work.
4. The best advice you were ever given as a teacher?
It wasn’t from a teacher, it was from a client when I was going through a bit of a tough time, they said “be here now.” It’s as simple as that, we get pulled in so many different directions and our mind can get distracted by whatever else is going on, so I come back to it a lot. Be here now, in this room, with these bodies, with these people. It’s a privilege and gift to do this work!
5. Is there something you try and instil in each of your clients?
We are not fragile, and our bodies are designed to move! I try my best to work with the person, not against them. I use each session as a space to build awareness, confidence, and an understanding of how and why they’re moving. Time after time, clients hold themselves back so I encourage exploration, play, and curiosity in movement. As the practice continues to evolve, I also always come back to the roots of Pilates as it’s important not to lose sight of its original methodology.
6. The best Pilates course you ever did was?
The clinical diploma I completed doesn’t teach you Pilates, but I definitely loved that and would highly recommend it. Pilates-specific, I’d say the Cadillac and Tower course I did with Balanced Body, in New York. Ann Toran was my teacher and really brought me back to my ballet days. Her wisdom is beyond, and she’s a true testament to the idea that if you take care of your body, you can continue moving through life strong and well.
7. What’s your favourite piece of equipment to use with clients in studio and why?
The Reformer and Tower. They’re both so accessible and adaptable, and allow for truly functional, resistance-based movement, which ticks every box for me. There really is something for everyone on them, regardless of experience or ability. You also can’t mimic feet in straps anywhere else??! It just doesn’t hit the same as it does on the Reformer.
8. How do you stay motivated?
I think my motivation comes from how fast-moving our industry is not just Pilates, but health and fitness too. There’s always something evolving, which means there’s always more to learn, and I actually really love that. I’m genuinely passionate about what I do and the direction my career is heading, but I also feel a strong responsibility to stay current and maintain integrity in my work. Staying fit and practising what I preach is a given, a non-negotiable. My biggest motivator is never wanting to be in a position where I don’t know something. It’s a lifelong practice, and one I’m always working to master.
9. What makes you laugh the most?
My boyfriend, hands down! and our dog Enzo, he nibbles when he gets excited, which honestly feels like being tickled times a thousand.
10. What’s your favourite way to spend a day off?
Wednesday is my day off at the moment, so grab a coffee and go for a walk with a friend and my dog to start the day. I’ll head to the gym, a Pilates class, or contrast therapy, just anything that gets me out and about because it’s the day that movement is actually about me, and not work. Also meal prep! I enjoy playing around with recipes when I have more time up my sleeve. I also love to work on the more creative side of my online studio - so vision boards, concept planning, all that fun stuff to get the creative juices flowing.
11. How many pairs of grip socks do you own? Do you love or hate a stretch band?
I own a fair few, but I’m very much a barefoot girl at heart, so I only wear grip socks when they’re required in class. Stretch bands I also love, I don’t use them a whole lot but when used effectively I think they’re a really great tool.
12. Does your family ‘really know’ what’s involved in your job?
Early on, Pilates felt more like a passion or hobby, so I don’t think my family fully understood where it could lead or what it could entail mainly because I didn’t know either! But once it took me overseas, it became a lot bigger and more real for all of us.