Tips for New Pilates Teachers
So you’ve qualified as a Pilates teacher and are about to embark on your career - firstly, congratulations and welcome! It’s the best job in the world!
However, you may be feeling some things: a bit of overwhelm, a bit of imposter syndrome or maybe you’re just unsure where to start… again, welcome! We’ve all been there so I thought I’d give my top tips for when you’re first starting out:
1. Take as many opportunities as you can to teach! When you first start, it can be so nerve-wracking to get up in front of a room of people, even though you’ve passed your exams, it is still a daunting prospect to have all eyes on you. The hard truth is that the only way to get over those nerves and for it to become less scary is by doing it.
When an opportunity comes up, take it! Even when the little voice in your head is telling you to stay small and trying to keep you ‘safe’, it’s your job to beat that tiny voice away and tell yourself that you know enough and you can do this! Each class you teach is one more under your belt and one more chance to learn something and build your confidence.
2. Following on from point one, be prepared to travel to new places if opportunities come up. When I first started teaching, I was here, there and everywhere: travelling all over London. You never know who you might meet or what other opportunities will come from something. It also gives you a wide range of experience and you’ll start to realise what kind of classes you like to teach: group, corporate, 1:1s and what kind of clients you enjoy teaching. This might help you specialise in something in the future.
3. Reach out to your contacts and teach friends, family, colleagues or whoever you can to build confidence and get their honest feedback. It can be harder to teach people you know so this will make teaching strangers easier!
4. Keep up your own practice, go to lots of classes and experience other teacher's styles. This will help you hone your own teaching style and find your voice. If there is a particular teacher you love, ask them where they trained/what other training they've done or how they class plan.
5. Try out new things in class, be experimental and don't worry if things don't always 'land', not everyone is going to like your class and that's ok. The right people will find you :)
6. Try not to worry if people look like they're hating you/hating it during the class, often people look quite stern when they're exercising or concentrating - it's not you! The ones who look the most cross during class usually come up to you at the end with a big smile and tell you how much they loved it!
7. Progress isn't linear, when you've been teaching for a while and have started to feel more confident, one class not going so well can feel like a big set back but it's part of the learning process. Keep going, you will always be the one who knows the most in the room so trust your qualifications and all the time and effort you've put into being a teacher.
8. Try not to take people not returning to class or any negative feedback too personally, as I said in point five, you won’t be everyone’s cup of tea and that’s fine. Keep doing your thing and you’ll start to build a community that feels authentic to you.
Finally, believe in yourself and remember to have fun with it: teaching Pilates, connecting with people and helping them move their bodies and feel good in their minds is such a privilege and really is one of the best jobs in the world :)
