Dealing with that Earthquake moment teaching Pilates

What do you do as a Pilates teacher when the unexpected happens? That plan you had for your Pilates client suddenly is not working at that moment? How do you shift the Pilates session to deal with the unexpected? How do you shift your thinking quickly as a Pilates teacher?

Teaching Pilates is detective work. Trying to figure out what is happening with this Pilates body in front of you. Every time your Pilates client walks in you are focused on seeing how they are moving, how they are figuring things out, and what choices their body is making in the workout.

When you have been teaching your Pilates clients for a long time you may realize what they tend to do each session, issues that they may have that are constantly needing attention and work so, you have an idea in your mind each time they come into the studio.

We all know that saying “The best-laid plans…” and teaching Pilates a lot of the time those plans get tossed aside. You walk into the studio confident you know exactly what the client will do, feel like and what you want them to do that day.

Then it happens. It is like an earthquake moment in the Pilates session. Everything is going as planned, the ground is stable and the client is going as you had thought with normal patterns that you have been addressing with them over time. Then with no warning. The unexpected. The ground just shook for you as a teacher in the Pilates studio.

You are not sure what you just saw, where did that come from? This changes everything and suddenly the plan you had in your mind is over, and done and it is time to figure out how to get back to some stable ground.

How? What is your first move as a teacher?

The most important one and what I say to all my students as they are learning to teach is DON”T PANIC! Keep your cool and realize the client is unaware of this earthquake and they just are doing their thing.

Take a moment and as long as the client isn’t hurting themselves watch, take some mental notes and try to think what is the most important thing to get a handle on for their movement at this moment.

Here are a few things to remember in these moments teaching:

1. Don’t judge or try to “fix” but, watch and listen to that body and what it is saying.

2. What is the most important focus that needs to happen right now? is it stability? mobility?

3. We don’t know what is going on so, keep it simple with cues and what you expect from this body in this moment.

4. Keep them moving and flowing, see if things connect better or improve.

5. Ask the client in that moment “what feels different for you today in your Pilates?” See what they notice you may be surprised by their answer and it may guide you down the path that is needed.

Every session with our clients is different and that means that sometimes when we are teaching that ground will shift, shake or come out from under us on any given day with any client. Keeping the client safe and from pain is really the ultimate goal during these times and then just going with the flow and guiding them along this shaking ground to get back to where that body needs to be for them.

Over the years I have learned to truly love those sessions where the unexpected happens for many reasons. It makes it interesting and keeps you thinking deeper and on your toes! I learn so much each time and it always opens up my teaching mind to a new way of thinking and cueing that has carried into my skills over the years.

It can be scary, especially as a newer teacher but, knowing that you and the client will learn together in this moment is a gift and nothing to fear. No one will get hurt. You got this and even if the answer isn’t found as to the cause of this “earthquake” moment (and usually it won’t be found in this session) know that you can take this knowledge and put it in your files in your head and explore it more as time goes on with this client and others that follow.