What Constitutes a Good Pilates Practitioner?
The other day a colleague of mine asked me if I knew a good Pilates teacher that I could send her way to work in her newly opened studio. That got me thinking, good at class flow, good with physical injuries, good with the mind, good with interaction, a teacher that comes from a reputable organization? What constitutes a good teacher?
Being a “good” Pilates practitioner is much more than Body, Mind and Spirit albeit very important. It is how to apply the latter and how to handle the individual nuances of each client or group. How do we become that good teacher everyone is looking for? We can probably agree that the more we teach, the more we are grasping to understand what being a good Pilates practitioner entails. Having recently acquired another new client, that broke into tears during the first minute of our interview, I was once again reminded of the emotional aspects involved with exercise-therapy classes, whether private or group. So many clients are enrolling and arriving in classes now with much more than classes on their minds. They are arriving with stress, insecurity, mental depletion and fear to name a mere few conditions. Not only can emotion and fear intertwine in a session, but also the concerns of ability, ridicule, courage, coordination and even survival are issues to contemplate whilst teaching. So how do we handle these issues?
Seemingly we need to be a multifaceted Jack of all trades. Whether the client/patient is coming to us for an innate or genetic complication, or with behavioural or strategy difficulties, we will need to address the issues that are presented to us, in order for the person to have a positive movement experience, plans for progression, a program and realistic goals. There is more to it than mechanical or strategy presentations. Since the majority of us are not Psychologists or Psychiatrists, perhaps we need to refer out depending on the case. We have truly arrived in this state of existence so to make the clients time and journey with us progressive and positive we need to focus on their psyche as well as their class plans, goals and future in their movement experience.
If we need to contend with fears as well as a class program, we might have a look at how Psychologists or Psychiatrists might approach the situation. I was told by a Psychology friend of mine that fear arises from different aspects of life, including survival, dangers, novelty, learning and social situations. These fears are valid and we need empathy to deal with them in a Pilates class environment. This could be a slow process or not, but one that we seriously need to respect and evaluate how our programs can facilitate fear as well as movement. Fear, anxiety, depression, loneliness, can be felt physically just as much as joy, success, motivation and love. We therefore need to incorporate more than our Pilates training to accommodate clients with emotional situations that are affecting physical movement, hence, perhaps furthering the clients’ fear of accomplishment or abilities as an example.
Since we are not Psychologists or Psychiatrists, perhaps we should go back and think again of some of the global Pilates principles, but in a broader sense of the original suggestion. BREATH is probably the most relevant and known and can be used in many ways. Without engaging in any exercises, use the BREATH to encourage calmness, cleansing of the soul, steady the heart rate, filling the heart, lungs and body with fresh hopes and dreams perhaps in a determined and thoughtful way forward. CONTROL doesn’t necessarily mean control of the body or equipment, it can mean controlling ones’ emotions and having the MOBILITY to do so. We can guide the clints/patients with these principles by paying full attention to their needs. By speaking softly, choosing correct wording and creating an environment where they can trust our application of the knowledge that we do have. Once we have achieved this, we can move on to CENTERING and ALLIGNMENT, and once again not solely concentrating on the body but rather the spirit, as a healthy spirit will create a healthy body. Seek to encourage the belief that they can indeed achieve what they seek. Finally, we can start on FLOW, PRECISION, and INTEGRATION and instil these principles into the person or groups trusting in us. This I believe is what makes a good teacher. One that is working in harmonious and intuitive communication with the client/ patient we have been given to work with. Let us teach with empathy and compassion, it works wonders.
Heidi Wright is a Master Teacher in the genres of Pilates and Ballet. She has been an International and residential guest instructor, lecturer, practitioner and published writer in both genres since 1992 and is a graduate in Pilates Mat, Allegro, Studio and Post Rehabilitation with Polestar Pilates and with Pilates elder Lolita San Miguel. She is a NCPT and a member of the PMA. Heidi also works with dancers suffering from injuries of overuse, surgery or simply those that are in special needs for their professions.