Be (the Right Kind of) Flexible

“The rigid and stiff will be broken.  The soft and yielding will overcome.”

-Lao Tzu

You go through 500 hours of teacher training.  You know the exercises back and forth.  You’ve studied videos of every exercise, can rattle off the principles of Pilates with your eyes closed, and for some reason you know that Joseph Pilates’ wife was named Clara.  You know the names and functions of at least 50 muscles, and what “Neutral Spine” means.  You have a class plan and great cues to execute that plan.  You have a perfectly curated playlist and teaching wardrobe and look sharp, fit, and professional.  You walk into the studio where you have spent many hours as a student, now as an instructor.  You are ready.  Then, just before your first class, your debut, your grand coming out party, just as you are about to launch into your perfect, scripted, painstakingly researched plan, you find out there are 2 students taking their first class ever, one of which is over 70 years old and has a knee replacement and the other is 5 months pregnant (and they’re on opposite sides of the room), and there’s a traffic jam and several people will be 5 minutes late.  And the bluetooth speaker isn’t working.  And just as you start to speak someone’s phone goes off.

As Morpheus said to Neo in The Matrix, “Welcome to the real world.”

The above scenario actually happened to me (thankfully not on my very first day teaching).  Though it’s rare for so many things go haywire, it’s just as rare for things to unfold perfectly.  Teaching a group class is like steering a cruise ship:  It doesn’t turn on a dime, and sometimes the seas are rough.  Also, you board a new ship with every new class. Some are filled with experienced, aware students while others are filled with beginners with little to no mind-body connection.  Usually it’s a mix of both.  It can feel like teaching a room with a kindergartner, a graduate student, and a lot of levels in between all at once.  However, the most challenging classes can be the most rewarding.  These are the classes that truly test your ability to communicate and your emotional intelligence, not just your knowledge.  The key to not only surviving but thriving in these challenges is a concept that I call Principled Flexibility.

In the real world, one size rarely fits all.

Principled Flexibility means teaching with deep intention and structure while leaving room to meet the students in front of you where they are. Rather than measuring success by external factors you can't control (i.e. whether the class ran perfectly to plan), measure it by what you can control: your preparation and how you navigated the challenges that arose.  Forcing everyone to adhere to a rigid plan is like forcing a ship through rough waters.  Even if you get your students through the class it will be unpleasant and they won’t retain the deeper benefits of the method (and they might not come back to your class!).

In general, the larger the class, the more flexible you must be.  Plan modifications and progressions into your class flow to accommodate a range of abilities.  Over time, these will become second nature and you’ll be more able to pivot in real time.  This flexible mindset allows you to share your expertise with a wide range of bodies and personalities.

With so many different types of students (and instructors), how do you keep moving at a pace that builds a strong mind/body connection? Find out in my next blog, Put your Mind in the Straps.