Creating workshops that speak to your clients
As Studio Manager at Northern Rivers Pilates (NRP) in Lismore, NSW, Australia I aspire to create a positive movement experience for my clients in the studio but also for them in a practical sense outside of the studio and to give them the confidence and opportunity to continue their practice at home. As part of the NRP Workshop series, we hold two hour workshops every month on a Friday afternoon which are open to the NRP community to continue their education about their bodies and their movement. I initially wanted to begin these workshops to give the clients the space and time for themselves to become more attuned with their body, but to also create habits and rituals to continue their movement at home. All of our workshops are around giving the clients ways to better their bodies when they are not in the studio, as we don't want our clients to become reliant on the studio space. When a client has the confidence to create movement at home, when they are feeling a little stiff or a niggle comes on, they can start the process of healthy movement with the knowledge they get from these workshops. Whether it is simple movements like pelvic clocks on a chi ball, roll downs on the wall, lateral stabilisation work on the Oov or rolling on a release peanut, they have the exercises to help relieve any pain they may be experiencing.
At NRP we use small props and apparatus ‘til the cows come home’. The beauty of these pieces of equipment is that they can assist a client if they are struggling to understand the concept of an exercise or we are seeing imbalances in the body that are resulting in a recruitment or overcompensation of a certain movement pattern or muscle group. Clients often fall in love with the small props as they can notice how beneficial they can be through their bodies.
A popular prop is the Oov, a 3D piece of equipment designed by Daniel Vladeta which is designed to move the body in the three planes of movement. It replicates the natural curvatures of the spine, creates equilibrium throughout the body and provides a safe environment to explore new patterns of movement. If you haven’t tried the Oov before I encourage you to do so, this can work for all bodies as there are multiple Oov sizes. Most contraindications are suitable on the Oov. It can increase stability and mobility, be an invitation to new motor control patterns, challenge proprioception and promote dissociation of the limbs. I could go on and on; we are obsessed with the Oov and our clients are too.
When you first get on the Oov you most likely feel a bit wobbly and a bit disconnected with the piece of equipment. The Oov is designed to mould to your spine and encourages your spine to mould to it - it doesn’t take long for your body to become one with the Oov. There are a few simple ways to assess movement patterns, by lifting a leg to the table top or an arm to the ceiling. An amazing thing I remember Daniel Vladeta stating, which has stuck with me all this time is that the Oov almost comes up with the cues for you, the body is having a conversation with the Oov as soon as you are on it and will tell the body how to react to keep you on in it. Nine times out of 10 every client that walks into our studio has been on an Oov.
We believe so much in the Oov and the bliss it can give the body and we wanted to give our clients inspiration and almost a bit of an obsession with the Oov too. Hence our Move with Oov workshop was born and I dedicated the two hours to incrementally walking them through the exercises we give them regularly in their studio, semi-private. This allowed them to have a better understanding of how they felt on the Oov while doing a certain exercise but also understand what they are trying to achieve out of their body.
We set the room up for our 17 clients who had signed up for the workshop and started by doing some basic anatomy of the spine and how different curvatures of the spine can be utilised by the Oov. This was a great way for clients to completely understand some of the anatomical terms or biomechanical functions we may use in a brief cue in our semi-private sessions and a few ‘ahhhaaa’ moments were had. The clients are all familiar with lying on the Oov so we started a basic class on the Oov with the exercises that they would use for homework. The clients all got Move with the Oov handouts I created with each exercise broken down including the number of repetitions and set count. We incorporated simple exercises that were not compromising or dangerous to do at home without an instructor next to them. Some of the exercises that were included were Arm Arcs on the Oov with hand weights, Side lying series on the Oov with BodyMov Band, Book opening, standing balance work and lots more!
The two hours of Move with the Oov allowed us to spend time on creating a relationship with each exercise, and filling mental notes into what felt difficult, or easy, or to acknowledge if there was a prominent imbalance in one aspect of movement or side of the body. This is what the Oov shows up so greatly compared to other pieces of equipment in our studio due to its three-dimensional nature. The Oov can make a client really consciously aware of imbalances of overactive sides of the body, it can highlight mobility issues in the shoulder girdle, identify if a client can force close the sacrum correctly and so much more. The workshop gave the clients time to grasp the Anterior and Posterior Oblique slings which the Oov is really great at highlighting, getting them to deeply tune into their bodies unlike they had before.
Spending a lot of time working with the Oov in personal practice, listening and learning from Daniel Vladeta in various formats and also researching the slings and understanding them on a deeper level to educate for Polestar Pilates, I was able to strip it back and present it to clients in a way that a non-anatomical brain could understand.
At NPR we pride ourselves on teaching our clients not only Pilates but how their bodies respond and how they can better their functional movement and better their everyday life. Our clients enjoy learning about the anatomy of their bodies and finding those little weaknesses or challenges that their body may present. I believe each workshop that we have offered is benefiting them in how they care for themselves and it almost becomes therapeutic to have such in-touch and internal conversations with your own body. We may see a theme from time to time in our studio which may be an inspiration for our next workshop. Recently we have had a lot of clients chat to us about how their menstrual cycle affects how they move and their energy when they may be in a certain phase of their cycle and attending their Pilates sessions. This then led us to offering a workshop called Cycle Aligned Pilates which deconstructed each phase of the menstrual cycle and how different forms of movement can assist in the way you feel during that time. By appealing to common questions or ailments in the studio it can be a great base to start creating your own workshops in your studios.
So what are the secrets to having a successful workshop?
Leave plenty of time to advertise your workshop. Time is of the essence and when you give enough notice, you give clients time to shift schedules and prioritise their time to join a workshop.
Creating diversity within your workshop series, and appealing to all types of clients is important to keep inclusivity across the studio community.
Make it affordable, if you are asking your clients to give up their Friday afternoon, you want to make the workshop accessible. Make it a spicy jam-packed two hours ready to blow your clients' mind and give them bang for their buck.
Be sure to be passionate in what you are speaking about and the rest will follow.
Maddi Garlick is the Studio Manager at Northern Rivers Pilates in Lismore and an Assistant Educator for Polestar Pilates.
NRP will be holding a mini-conference called Power in Motion designed for Pilates professionals 21-22 October 2023. Contact them for more information.
Photography: @seasewell