For Courtney Miller, effective Pilates teaching is not a performance. It is an exchange between the instructor and the people in front of them.
“There is an exchange that needs to happen,” she says. “It lifts you up. It lifts them up.”
After more than two decades working across teaching, education, presenting and studio ownership, Courtney has developed an understanding of movement and people that extends well beyond delivering exercises or following a predetermined class plan.
Great teaching, she believes, requires an instructor to read the room, understand what clients need and make informed decisions in real time. This is not simply about responding instinctively. It comes from having the knowledge, confidence and empathy to interpret what is happening and adapt accordingly.
“Instead of going in to perform, I’m just going in to help,” she says. “If I can help somebody, then I have done my job.”
Teaching the person in front of you
Courtney regularly asks clients whether a cue or adjustment has helped. It is a small but important exchange that encourages them to consider what they are experiencing, while giving the instructor useful information about what to do next.
“I ask people all the time, ‘Did that help?’” she says.
Earlier in her career, Courtney felt pressure to keep talking throughout a class. Silence seemed like a sign that the energy might drop.
“If I stopped talking, I thought the class would just die,” she recalls. “It was like my voice was the heartbeat of the class.”
With experience, her approach changed. Rather than trying to say everything, she became more interested in whether clients were absorbing, questioning and understanding what was being taught.
This is particularly relevant in an industry where terminology is often passed from one generation of teachers to the next. Instructors may repeat familiar cues without fully examining what those words mean - or whether the person hearing them understands the same thing.
Courtney wants teachers to feel confident enough to question what they have learned and explore the reasoning behind it.
“If you don’t have the confidence to ask, ‘You know what? I don’t really understand what this means,’ you’ll never know and you’ll keep repeating it,” she says.
Her experience with Montessori education, through her son’s schooling, has also influenced the way she develops instructors. She was drawn to its progression from concrete concepts to abstract understanding and its emphasis on critical thinking.
“I’d way rather teach my teachers how to think critically in the class and how to pivot in real time,” she says.
Being able to pivot does not mean abandoning structure or relying solely on instinct. It means having enough depth of knowledge to observe what is happening, identify what needs to change and choose an appropriate response.
Finding your voice as a teacher
When Courtney began her career, many of her educators came from a formal ballet background. Their approach was highly professional, but it could also feel strict and removed.
As a new instructor, she initially believed she needed to emulate that style to demonstrate her own professionalism. Over time, she realised it did not reflect her personality. She began allowing more warmth, emotion and individuality into her teaching, although she says developing the confidence to do that took time.
For Courtney, becoming an exceptional instructor requires more than memorising exercises or delivering a perfectly rehearsed class. Teachers need to develop their own voices, remain open to connection and become comfortable enough with vulnerability to truly speak to the people they are teaching.
Finding an individual voice does not mean rejecting education or lineage. It means building upon that foundation and learning how to communicate it authentically.
Mentorship can play an important role in this development. Courtney recalls reaching a point in her career when it was difficult to identify someone doing what she hoped to do and willing to guide her.
One person who stood out was Pilates Anytime co-founder Kristi Cooper.
“Kristi from the very get-go was, ‘How can I help others? How can I bring teachers onto my platform to allow them to shine in their way?’” Courtney recalls.
That experience showed her what professional support could look like: not producing teachers who sound or move exactly like their mentors, but helping them become more capable and confident versions of themselves.
Creating more meaningful client experiences
Courtney is increasingly focused on creating opportunities for clients to understand the method more deeply.
Pilates Republic has introduced workshop-style classes that examine a smaller selection of exercises in greater detail. Clients receive hands-on guidance, have opportunities to ask questions and participate in discussions about spring tensions, equipment settings and the intention behind the movement.
“It’s not a workout; it’s a workshop,” Courtney says of the format.
The response has reinforced her belief that clients want more than a transactional experience. They may arrive with questions they have been hesitant to ask during a regular class, or discover that terminology they have heard repeatedly was never fully explained.
“They wanted to come to learn more,” she says.
For Courtney, this curiosity presents an opportunity for studios and instructors to create more meaningful experiences. That does not mean making every class highly technical. It means finding appropriate ways to encourage discussion, exploration and education.
It also means recognising that a Pilates studio can provide something increasingly valuable: genuine human interaction.
Courtney finds it disappointing when a 45-minute class feels less personal than a brief conversation in a coffee shop, particularly when someone has attended the same studio for months.
She believes this disconnect does not necessarily mean an instructor is unkind or uninterested. It may reflect their own insecurity or uncertainty about their role. Perfectionism and fear of judgement can make teachers less willing to be vulnerable, ask questions or initiate a personal exchange.
People can also be surrounded by others and still feel isolated if they are not genuinely connecting. Courtney believes studios have an important role to play in changing that.
“I hope we’re going to see more emphasis on human connection because we need it, because we’re losing it in other interactions,” she says. “I hope that the studio turns into a place where people can connect.”
Building Pilates Republic differently
When Courtney opened Pilates Republic in 2018, she was not simply looking to create another Pilates studio.
After years of travelling internationally to teach, she wanted to establish roots, build a local community and create greater consistency for herself and her young son.
The brand brought together the different strands of Courtney’s professional background, including Pilates, personal training, yoga, TRX and barre. Rather than travelling between separate businesses to access those experiences, she wanted to bring them into one considered environment.
Since then, Courtney has spent years developing Pilates Republic’s programming, its proprietary Rebel Reformers and the overall client experience. The concept combines traditional Pilates principles with innovative fitness ideas without losing its roots in the method.
“I love the idea of history and lineage and pride,” she says. “But I also love innovation and creativity and evolution.”
Courtney’s position is not that every studio should resemble Pilates Republic. It is that founders should consider what they uniquely contribute and build from a clear sense of intention.
“The world needs more Pilates studios and the world needs more creative ideas,” she says.
Growth, competition and originality
Courtney has watched the Pilates landscape around her change significantly. When she first entered her local market, there were only a small number of studios in the surrounding area. Today, there are many more.
She does not consider that growth inherently negative.
Having previously taught in Australia, where group reformer Pilates studios were already far more common, Courtney saw a strong market and an expanding community rather than something to fear.
“Wow, there’s more people to do Pilates,” she recalls thinking.
Greater competition can encourage businesses to reconsider what they offer, clarify their identities and continue improving. Courtney says increased competition has encouraged her own team to examine where Pilates Republic can evolve.
“The saturation actually makes my business better,” she says.
At the same time, she believes originality remains important. There is a growing tendency towards sameness across boutique fitness, but Courtney sees this as an invitation for founders to draw upon their own experiences, skills and communities.
“You have to share with the world what your gift is, what your passion is,” she says. “I do think it’s going to look different person to person or business to business.”
Studios will inevitably share certain characteristics, but their founders’ intentions and experiences can shape something distinctive. For Courtney, there is room for different approaches as long as businesses remain thoughtful about what they are creating and why.
“How many people can we help through movement?” she asks.
Using technology without losing connection
Courtney is enthusiastic about innovation and believes technology will significantly influence the next phase of Pilates.
“The trajectory of technology is going to impact our business, and we need to be at least open to those shifts,” she says.
She anticipates more technology-supported studio experiences, greater integration between movement and holistic wellness tracking, and continued evolution in Pilates equipment.
Having designed the Rebel Reformer, Courtney is particularly interested in how equipment can shift and respond to the needs of modern studios and clients.
She also expects more businesses to combine Pilates with other wellness experiences, including recovery technologies, infrared environments and red-light therapy, as clients look for more efficient ways to support their wellbeing.
But her enthusiasm for technology does not diminish her belief in the instructor’s role.
Technology can enhance access, information and the overall Pilates experience, but it should not eliminate the personal connection that makes great teaching powerful. The opportunity is to use innovation thoughtfully while protecting the relationship between teacher and client.
This balance reflects Courtney’s broader view of the future: respect Pilates’ foundations, remain open to creativity and use new ideas to help more people connect - to movement, to their teachers and to one another.
“At the end of the day, it is love and connection,” she says. “How lucky are we to be in a profession where we get to connect with people?”
