It’s the beginning of a new year and with that comes new students! I love new students!! I really enjoying sharing Pilates for the first time with all of you and seeing your response. I can honestly say, I have never had anyone just not like it, and most have fallen in love with Pilates. That feels good and makes my work so satisfying.
With new students, I try to remember what it was like for me trying Pilates for the first time. I also think about experiences I have had with new instructors and taking other classes. All of this has molded me and influenced how I teach YOU!
When you are new to Pilates at 12South Pilates – here is what you can expect:
- Everyone signs a waiver and we’ll chat about your body. Have you had any surgeries, injuries, aches, weakness, illness or body discrepancies? I sometimes feel people are eager to say they are ‘normal’. The more you can share with me, however, the better we can tailor your workout to your needs. No one is perfectly symmetrical in build or strength. Don’t be ashamed or embarrassed to say: my left hip is always tighter; or I hurt my shoulder 5 years ago and still feel weak there; or I had a baby 7 years ago and my abs didn’t bounce back. Let’s talk about it! This is an non-judging place.
- If you have never tried Pilates before or even if you have somewhere else – we’ll go over the principles and my vocabulary. It can seem like a lot! I don’t expect you to remember everything immediately. I will be reminding you throughout the class. Ask questions if you have them. Probe a bit if you aren’t sure.
- Sometimes the resistance will feel light. If you are used to lifting weights you may be thinking, “I can do more than this!” Just trust and go with it. That lighter weight is letting you work deeper into your core and body. We may be uncovering smaller muscles needed to stabilize. You may be surprised the next day by places that are awakened!
- Form is important. You’ll hear me talk a lot about proper form. I’ll also explain why that form matters – to keep your spine safe for example. BUT as a beginner, we’ll focus on what’s critical to keep you safe and may worry less about the smaller details such as pointed toes. Never fear – over time as you learn the basics we’ll work on those elements too! My goal is for you to get a sense of what you should be doing, stay safe, feel good about how you did, and not to be berated about every single movement.
- There may be some things in class that are difficult or that you haven’t fully mastered. Pilates is a practice – you should continue to improve and progress. At the same time, my goal is never to make you feel that you ‘can’t’ do it or aren’t good enough. We all have our strengths and weaknesses. I’m happy to tell you about what I struggle with, too.
- We’ll be using a Pilates breath. It can be intimidating to some at first. We’ve spent most of our lives trying to be quiet and not disturb others. Now you are being told to breath out loud?? I promise your workout and results will be so much more if you trust and use the Pilates breath.
- Everything we do is working the core in some way! Some times it is very obvious and others it’s less so. If you can only remember and focus on 2 things let it be: How is my core engaged and Am I using my breath. The rest we can work on over time.
I truly hope you will enjoy and gain as much from Pilates as I have.
At the end of the class, my goal is for you to feel energized, hopeful, excited and encouraged.
12South Pilates & Personal Training 