How to Stay Safe in Your Pilates Class

Safety is essential to a strong, effective Pilates practice for students, teachers, and studio owners alike. In this episode, Brooke Bowersock, Balanced Body Principal Educator and Founder of ALIGN Pilates Studios, talks about how to create safer, more supportive Pilates class experiences.

Brooke shares practical Pilates safety tips for both students and instructors, including what to look for in instructor credentials, why correct form and thoughtful corrections matter, and how to approach equipment safety with greater awareness. She also discusses the importance of offering modifications, creating systems that support safety at scale, and building an environment where students feel emotionally safe, empowered, and able to advocate for themselves.

This episode is powered by Balanced Body®.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:10

Hello and welcome to Pilates Perspectives. I'm Joy, and today we have Brooke Bowersock who will be talking with us about how we can stay safe in our Pilates classes. But first, let's check in. We're going to talk a little bit about safety. And we often think about safety in a physical sense if a place poses a threat or risk to our bodies in space. And while physical safety is undoubtedly important, it's not the only type of safety. From emotional to financial, there are many ways we can feel protected or vulnerable. Today we will focus on two elements of safety: the physical and the emotional. So let's go back to breathing. And why breathing? Because breathing really does help center us. And if we are talking about safety, it is the perfect place to start. So take a big inhale and slowly exhale as if you were blowing out a straw. And now you're gonna continue to breathe, and I'm just gonna make some offerings here. Think of a time when you felt physically safe. Maybe it was a hug, or when you were out with a friend, right? What were you doing? Where were you? And how is the environment around you set up? Now bring yourself to the present moment and compare that memory to where you are now. Maybe you're at work, right? Or you're in your car. But how does this space feel to you compared to that place where you felt that warm embrace? Is there anything that you can introduce into the space you're currently in to make you feel more physically connected? Now let's take one more big cleansing inhale and that slow controlled exhale. Okay, now let's transition to emotional safety. When was the last time you felt you were able to express your feelings without maybe like harm or judgment or feeling someone giving you a little side eye? Was it by yourself? Was it with others? How did you express your feelings? Maybe you spoke them, or maybe you wrote them down, or maybe you used movements to express how you felt. But how did that expression of your feelings, like how did you carry that forward? Take another moment and compare that to now. How often in your day-to-day experiences do you feel emotionally safe, or where and in what circumstances might you feel a little bit vulnerable? Take another moment and compare that to now. And ask yourself, how often in your day-to-day do you feel emotionally safe, or where you may feel a little vulnerable? You know, those places where you're driving to them and you're like, oh, I really don't want to go to and fill it in, right? I do think emotional safety is often under discussed. And it might be hard to find places that promote it, but when you do find places that promote it, you know it, you feel it, you experience it. And so those other spaces where maybe it's not there, how can we maybe pause, go a little deeper, and influence the environment in the direction of safety? Okay. So today we have Brooke Bowersock, founder of Align Pilates Studio, prominent balanced body educator, and partner in Steed Pilates repair and maintenance. With a passion for the method and empowering instructors, Brooke goes beyond a standard teacher training approach. She mentors the whole teacher. This combination of lived experience and empathy makes Brooke uniquely qualified to talk to us about promoting safety in and out of the Pilates Studio. You can find Brooke at Brooke Bowersock Pilates.com, alignpolates studios.com, or on social media with at alignpolates studio, at align Pilates Teacher Training, or at Brooke Bowersak Pilates, and I'm gonna spell that for you. It's Bowersock, B-O-W-E-R-S-O-C-K. All right, and with that, let's talk to Brooke. Hi, and welcome back to Pilates Perspectives. I'm here with Brooke Bowersock, who is a Pilates teacher, uh, an educator, full disclosure, educator for balanced body in Austin, Texas, and truly just a generally wonderful person. So I'm very happy to have this conversation. Welcome, Brooke.

unknown 5:31

Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 5:32

All right, so today are we're talking about how to stay safe in your Pilates class. The word safe is big and broad, um, and there's there's a lot of complexity there. So let's just start diving in. Um, so when you first fell in love with Pilates, it was in college. Is that my understanding? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 5:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 5:53

Uh, and how has your perspective changed over the years?

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Um, I think when I first fell in love with it, it was completely by accident. I didn't know it was a Pilates class.

SPEAKER_03 6:01

And if I had known I'm laughing because I feel like that's really the common theme back then, right? It was like, I don't know what this is, but it just feels great.

SPEAKER_01 6:09

Yeah, it felt great. And if they had said Pilates, I wouldn't have known what that was, anyways, at the time. Right. Um, so it was a matte class, and I absolutely like two weeks into it, stopped having shooting pain that was going down my left leg that I thought was normal. Um, I thought everybody had that pain. And uh general population. I thought it was normal. Um, and so I told the instructor and she said, that's not normal. It's called sciatica, and you know, congratulations. And so I was not good at it at all. And I think, but I but that change had happened. And so that sparked my like, there's something to this, there's something interesting about this movement. Um, and so I was just very curious at the time. And I was curious about why I couldn't do things, even as simple as like moving my ribs to breathe. My ribs had been like really open, and the thought of moving them had never occurred to me. So I just became very curious about why I couldn't do things, why this was feeling so good to me. And it really sparked my interest to make changes in my life all around.

SPEAKER_03 7:16

When did you make the leap into knowing this is what you wanted to do?

SPEAKER_01 7:21

Um, I actually I was I was doing this class in college. I was going to school to be a second grade teacher. And I um didn't think it was what I wanted to do, but I wanted to keep doing it, that I knew. And at the time, there weren't classes like there are now. It was privates. I was working full-time during the day to pay for my school full-time at night. And so going to a private was not gonna happen. And so I really started this whole journey just because I wanted to do it myself. And it was a way to do it myself. And it took me about a year to figure out that I could actually maybe do this. I was so nervous for about a year because I couldn't do it. I was in a very different place. So, my perspective, how going back to the question of how it's changed, you know, what's interesting is I've stayed just curious about how the work feels in my body. And it's been 26, 27, 28 years. Wow. And so it's changed a the work has stayed the same, but the way my body responds to it or what it needs day to day, especially throughout that vast time range, has really changed. And you've kept your curiosity this whole time. The whole time.

SPEAKER_03 8:31

Okay, so I want to just back up. So you said you were studying to be a second grade teacher.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

I was, yes.

SPEAKER_03 8:36

Okay, so a second grade teacher to not just a Pilates instructor, but a teacher of teachers and a studio owner. Um, how how has that education, or do you see any overlap from that education to where you are today and how you teach instructors and clients?

SPEAKER_01 8:52

You know, I reference it almost every module that I was going to school to be a second grade teacher, but I actually never finished school. So I was taking that class. I was living in Southern California, and then I moved back to Texas with my uh at the time boyfriend, now my ex-husband and business partner.

SPEAKER_03 9:11

Southern California? See something else I didn't know about.

SPEAKER_01 9:13

Yeah, I was living in North County, San Diego. And so I moved back to Texas with my now ex-husband, and uh I needed to wait a year to become a resident again in Texas. And in that time, I was teaching at a studio because I had gotten certified and it was like uh I started teaching at a studio there, a Ron Fletcher certifying studio, actually. Fantastic. It was. Yeah. Um, and at a YMCA there also. Uh and then I got pregnant with my first daughter. And so best accident ever. Um, but definitely was not. So if she listens, she's gonna be like, yeah. That's who I just called me. Uh, but so I took a I took a turn and decided, like, okay, I'll wait on school and I'll come back to it later. So I never actually became the second grade teacher, but I had been, I was almost done. I had like a year left. And so I think there are definitely subconsciously, maybe some of that that seeped into how I teach the teachers. It's definitely from a student perspective and very student focused on what they need. And I'm always trying to improve. So I think probably there's something in there.

SPEAKER_03 10:21

Yeah, well, well, when you said that, for me who who knows you, I mean, I see educational theory in the way you approach just about everything you do.

SPEAKER_04 10:31

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 10:32

Um, so it it it it didn't surprise me that that back you have that background. Um and also in in looking at certainly I this is I don't want to make the leap into safety in elementary school, but safety is very much a foundation of uh both emotional and physical safety inside of a space. It's very much a part of a foundation of early training and how we take care of ourselves, how we talk to people, how we um how we are inside of our studio spaces. Have you ever been to either a fitness class or Pilates class where you have felt unsafe?

SPEAKER_01 11:11

Uh I have, yes. And you know, I think it started uh back in I would go back to visit, I still do Southern California every summer. And I don't know how long it's been. It's probably been 15 years. And I went to my first Legree style studio, actually. And I remember being in that room with a lot of these reformers that I had never seen before, that I now know are mega formers. Uh-huh. Um, and thinking, holy moly, I have been teaching for a long time. I'm pretty physically like capable. I don't have any injuries right now, and I know my good form, and I'm about to die. Uh and I would look at the other people, and it would be so hard not to go over and want to adjust their form. I've actually been to a class with my daughter, the one I was just talking about. And we went to a class that had, I don't know, that maybe there were 12 reformers, and this has probably been six or seven years. We were jumping and we were doing side jumping, and she was in front of me, and her hips were all over the place. And I kept thinking, like, oh, I want to go over and adjust her and help her get in the right spot. Right, right. And the instructor never did. I think we've all been in those situations, and she just thought, okay, I'm in the right spot. And we left that class and she started crying.

unknown 12:26

Oh.

SPEAKER_01 12:26

And she said, I actually, every class I ever go to, I always feel like I get hurt. And she was like, I don't want to do Pilates anymore. I think I need privates if I'm going to do anything. And it was so sad.

SPEAKER_03 12:37

Yeah, so so I mean, there's so much to unpack there, right? So there are there are uh many Legris classes that are safe. There are many Pilates classes that offer very good instruction. But there are also um, you know, as we as we all grow and become more prominent in the fitness world, um what recommendations do you make to new instructors on on how to be safe in the environment?

SPEAKER_01 13:12

So for me, I feel like, especially being an educator, I just taught six modules this past month. Um, I'm with these students a lot during the week also. They work at my teacher training studios. So we audit them and we guide them. And I feel like, and I say this a lot, any good, thorough teacher training program is going to have safety built in. It was built into every single exercise that I learned.

SPEAKER_05 13:37

Right.

SPEAKER_01 13:37

And I have had two people fall in my entire 26 years of teaching, and they weren't serious falls.

SPEAKER_03 13:44

Well, but let's I mean, it's it's really that's this is a this this is really interesting right now and a very timely topic. Um again, safety, primary baseline safety uh on the equipment. And you said, you know, any good program will have it built in, but then that means you need to engage in a program, whether it's a fitness training, whether it's a Pilates training, whether it's a Legree training. Um what recommendation would you make to people who are who are saying, you know, I I I love what this thing did for me and I want to start teaching it just like it was for you. Like what's the recommendation and how do you keep safety as part of that?

SPEAKER_01 14:26

So I do a webinar every week, sometimes every other week, depending on my month. And I talk to people about wanting they think that Pilates certification or teaching might be their next journey. And this is something that we talk about. And it is something that I tell them, you know, get curious about the program that you're looking at. Make sure that it is, you know, a legitimate, legitimate program that incorporates safety into everything that they do. Um, and I go into it more, you know, I tell them red flags to look for at studios, even, you know, as a client, just a normal client, not somebody looking to get certified, do some research. Look on the website to see if it doesn't say where the instructor is certified from, that's a big red flag. We spend a lot of money on our certification and a lot of time on our certification. It's like the first sentence of every bio.

SPEAKER_03 15:16

And that's that's uh, I think there's a a bigger question that you're saying is how do how does the larger, the larger fitness industry um, and we'll call it under that umbrella, we'll even call out yoga and Pilates and all the various forms that are coming off of that. Yeah. How do we inform the consumer on what to look for?

SPEAKER_01 15:38

And that's what I say. Look at the look at the website. Yeah. Usually it's going to say very proudly, our instructors are certified through blah, blah, blah. And if it's a mix, which my studios have been, they're not so much anymore because I've been doing this for 10 years now. Right. But I've been a studio owner since 2004. So for a long time we were a hodgepodge of instructors, which I loved because then I felt like we could all one of us could meet the needs of every client. So, but we all said, I'm certified through as the first second sentence, maybe. Right. So look for that. If it doesn't say that, get curious, ask questions. That's stay curious about all things Pilates, I would say, especially who you're going to take classes from, what the studio feels like when you get there. Um, if if you feel like anything is unsafe when you're in there, stay curious. But first step is know, like get it, ask questions. Who's your team certified through? Are they certified?

SPEAKER_03 16:36

And I think we should encourage instructors to ask more questions of their clients.

SPEAKER_04 16:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:42

How did this feel? Did you feel like this met your needs? You know, um, that great advice, which then means the business owner, right, to build into their business plans. Yes. Uh now, as someone as a business owner and um who's ushered in a lot of growth these past couple of years, what recommendations would you give to business owners around finding the instructors and creating the safety protocols in their spaces?

SPEAKER_01 17:08

So at our like certified, I have three studios and actually one I just transferred ownership of, but it's still a line. It's a licensed align. So it's very, still very much involved with uh helping with hiring and all of that. Um, they won't even consider anyone who's not certified. And that has always been comprehensively certified. Um, and it's shifted a little because right now in that studio we only have reformers because I moved them over to the teacher training studio.

SPEAKER_03 17:36

It's it's it's it's a different landscape now. Yeah, I think, I think you'd be remiss not to consider very well trained reformer teachers.

SPEAKER_01 17:44

Yeah, but most are I think all but one are comprehensively certified. Um, and so that's step one. And then as far as other steps that we take in our studios, and and it's built in. It's funny, it's like I just learned this along the pathway of getting certified and working in studios. I knew we had to have safety checklists.

SPEAKER_05 18:03

Right.

SPEAKER_01 18:04

And so at all these years, we have we have a daily task list where it doesn't just involve safety, but sometimes, you know, every day it has something where the front desk team is checking the bolts of the tower. Um, they're they're going and checking the reformers or they're cleaning the reformers, and it's very much spelled out how things go. And then once a month, I have Steed, my ex-husband, come in and check. I want to meet Steve. I haven't meet Steve. It's with the D, like a like a horse. Steed, like a horse, like the horse.

SPEAKER_03 18:33

Steve. Yeah. I would like to meet Steve.

SPEAKER_01 18:36

He's pretty great. He's pretty great. But so he comes in and he checks, and we have a whole system uh where he comes in and he checks all of the equipment. And over the years, I've had so many studio owners because I'm about collaboration, not being islands as studio owners. So they'll reach out to me and they're like, who does who does your repairs? Who does your maintenance? And I'm like, We do. We have a checklist. We do, you know, we do that. So that was uh kind of the the planted seed of starting this business with steed.

SPEAKER_03 19:05

You're totally making my brain lit up. I'm like, well, we have teacher trainings. Why don't we have business owner trainings? Well, hello. Hello. Uh and and steed. Everybody needs a steed. Okay. So um uh you're doing a lot of trainings, you see a lot of instructors. Uh, what would you say in terms of teaching the apparatus? Would you say any one apparatus is you need to add more safety protocols to than others?

SPEAKER_01 19:32

I honestly want to say no to that. I want to say that as long as the instructor knows setup and is checking the springs and is looking at the equipment and is positioning the student correctly, then each piece of equipment is gonna be safe. I told you I've had two people out of all these years fall.

SPEAKER_03 19:50

And then how do you feel about progressing clients to more advanced work and keeping them safe?

SPEAKER_01 19:56

I just taught Reformer 3 this past weekend. Uh, and that is something leading into this conversation with you that I thought a lot about. Uh-huh. It's something that as I was doing my normal teaching, teaching progressions, teaching how proper setup is, teaching proper spring, teaching them how to spot in these exercises. Um, that I thought a lot about this conversation leading into it. You have to do all of those things. You're you're checking to make sure that the spring is right. You're checking to make sure that their setup is correct.

SPEAKER_03 20:25

Right. The foot bar is checked.

SPEAKER_01 20:27

Yes. All the things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 20:29

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 20:29

Um, and then as they're moving, do they have the ability to do what you're asking them to do? Uh, and that's that's you know, quality instruction, right? How do you back away or move forward depending on what they ask is?

SPEAKER_01 20:43

And I have this, I teach them to watch for their like form falling apart, is what I call it. And I have a correction framework that I teach them that's based on here's what you do if you see this, here's how you and it really applies to every exercise. It doesn't matter which one it is, it's like this framework that they can follow. And if that doesn't work, this exercise is not for them, back it up. And then I teach them how to do that, and then I teach them how to do it in a group setting.

SPEAKER_03 21:11

So uh I'm gonna stop there because the teacher in me is very excited about that. I I think um uh, you know, there's there's the again the larger fitness landscape. Uh and if you're to look at what is the little special sauce that is Pilates, is what you just said, which is teaching the skills, teaching the physical skills to do more robust, complex work. Yeah, right. And then how do you know when those skills break down, how to back up, yeah, how to reinforce, yeah, how to move forward. Yeah, right. And in the process, there's a lot of uh physical learning that happens.

SPEAKER_04 21:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 21:52

And um uh I I think that's huge for safety too. Yeah, right. Yeah. As you're watching someone move, you Want to keep them safe, it's understanding what they are capable of and making the offering to get them somewhere successful, which then leads to also awareness, client awareness, which is another education piece that has to happen organically in a class environment. So with especially beginners, how can you communicate to them, say the difference between, oh, I'm a little uncomfortable doing this thing, or I have this sciatic pain that I just thought everybody had? Yes.

SPEAKER_01 22:34

Yes. Um, I am always watching the clients. I'm spending, if it's a class setting, I'm spending much more time near the new person, guiding them through, trying to read what I can tell from their body language. Um, I let them know that all of this might not click today and that that's okay, that the more that they that they kind of stick with it, the more it will start to click. Um, and I offer, you know, modifications and my team does too. And we check in with them. You sometimes you check in. Yeah. And I we check in before class. You know, how are you? If it's a client I know, then it's, you know, how's your shoulder? How's your daughter? Whatever. Right. If it's somebody I don't know, and my team all does this, you know, how are you? Have you done Pilates before? Do I do you have any injuries I need to know about? I think right there they start to feel because I've we've checked in with them, they feel seen, they feel a little more safe. They also we encourage them to tell us if anything doesn't feel right to ask questions after class. We're here to help.

SPEAKER_03 23:39

Do you instruct that like from the beginning, like, oh, hey, if anything doesn't feel right, you know, raise your hand or speak up, or you know, how do you encourage them to uh we do that?

SPEAKER_01 23:48

I do the check-ins individually and tell them that. So I don't like make that announcement at the beginning, but I do offer, and my team does this too, we offer spring changes that would be appropriate if you want to make it a little more manageable or maybe manageable spring changes. Right?

SPEAKER_03 24:04

Because nobody, if you say, hey, if you want to make this easier, no one's gonna be like, well, I'm the one who's gonna change the spring, but yeah, manageable.

SPEAKER_01 24:10

Manageable.

SPEAKER_03 24:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:11

And then I would say attainable. Attainable, yes. And then, you know, uh a little more challenging. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I want to say too, one thing that I really encourage in my classes is that we're, and I say it over and over, we're here to strengthen, not strain. And so I think they if they're listening, they start to hear that and they start to notice people in the class that you wouldn't think would be taking modifications.

SPEAKER_05 24:37

Right.

SPEAKER_01 24:38

If you just look at this person, right? Like she, like she might be like the super.

SPEAKER_03 24:43

I love that we're here to strengthen, not strain. Not strain. Uh, I think that's lovely messaging, right? So that's that's taking this idea of making modifications and changes, not to quote, cop out or cheat or do any of that, but actually to be effective and efficient, which is about building body awareness too.

SPEAKER_00 25:03

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 25:04

So uh how would you recommend, you know, if you're going to really include safety, it's not about the are you injured and what do you do, but it's also how are you aware of your own sensations in this and to make informed choices for yourself as a client.

SPEAKER_01 25:22

So I say things like there's power in the pause, and that means different things to me. There's a got that's got like three different meanings as a teacher, but I encourage first meaning, it's like take a moment. The next time you are blank, pause, say that to your clients. Let's take an ab curl, for example. The next time you're up in your ab curl, pause. Can you can you curl a little higher? That's like my little recording. Can you spill a little more soup into your belly button? Because that's my thing. And then I'm like, let's test that. And I'll do this every class. Take your hands behind your thighs, pull yourself up with your arms, lift your chest higher to your legs, spill a little more soup.

SPEAKER_05 25:59

Right, right.

SPEAKER_01 26:00

And I'm like, stay just like that and put your hands behind your head. And you see this moment where they become aware. Right. They're like, oh, whoa, that's a little different than I have felt it before. And I think if you can find it doesn't have to be that moment, but if you can find a moment where you make them pause and you make them go a little deeper into those really pre-Pilates exercises, then they're with you and they're probably booking class with you the next time that they come.

SPEAKER_03 26:26

Yeah. You and I talk about this an awful lot. If you actually can can go deeper into the that the pre-Pilates exercises, you can take people very far.

SPEAKER_04 26:35

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 26:36

And they could be very much more aware of themselves on the journey. Um, in terms of the equipment, you've you've used used a lot of equipment. Um, you've demoed equipment for us. What are things you you look at or you should you recommend people should be looking at, just strictly in terms of safety in the equipment?

SPEAKER_01 26:55

When you're teaching or just overall? Um, because that would say that that's a big conversation these days. Yes, I think. Um I think when you're teaching, you need to not just look at the body in front of you. And as a client, you also need to be looking at the equipment that you're on as well. So if one of the things I'm thinking of off the top of my head is, have you ever had it where a spring isn't hooked on all the way? It's like on the hook, but not on the hook.

SPEAKER_03 27:19

Yeah, it's uh it's it's yes, it's on the hook, but not oftentimes with the chairs, it's really something you need to be aware of.

SPEAKER_01 27:26

And I've seen it a few times on the reformer.

SPEAKER_03 27:28

Yeah, with the buttons or even in the hook itself.

SPEAKER_01 27:31

Yeah. Really, really. So I think if you these days you're in a class, let's take it from a client perspective, you're in a class with 10 reformers, maybe more. I'm hearing more out there. And so you are oftentimes responsible for changing your spring, and your instructor isn't right there over you, making sure they'll hopefully get to you in a moment. Hopefully they're walking around the room. Um, but if you notice that the spring is off, fix it, you know, get it down on the hook and just other things where you're watching the equipment just to make sure. And if something doesn't feel safe, saying it. Um, as the instructor, be walking around. Make sure that you're checking all the equipment as you're teaching.

SPEAKER_03 28:09

And the instructor language is really important, right? Make sure it is on, make sure your spring is on the hook. Yeah. Um if it's on the buttons, make sure it's it's on the narrow part of the buttons. Yeah. Um, that's uh, and again, having everybody's attention. How do you keep everyone's attention on that kind of stuff? You know, because those those moments of change are also the moments where they might, you know, you know, grab some water or be distracted, put their hair up, talk to somebody next to them.

SPEAKER_01 28:39

I feel like if you can grab their attention and get their awareness in the first, I've been saying six minutes of class with an example like that app girl thing.

SPEAKER_05 28:48

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 28:48

Then they're bought in and they're paying attention to most things that you're saying. Not every person in the room, but if you can somehow make them have that moment of body awareness in the first few minutes of class, yeah, they're with you.

SPEAKER_03 29:01

Yeah. That's great. Um, okay, so like what about the physical physical safety of a studio? In terms of organization of a studio, hazards that are around. Is there anything that you think of like when you're when you're opening or closing up, opening in the morning or closing up at night that you organize just for those reasons?

SPEAKER_01 29:24

I mean, we organize everything for ease uh and efficiency and teamwork, but also safety. Uh, I just opened Houston and I'm there, not I'm there sometimes three times a month, sometimes two times a month, but I'm not there during the week. And I teach teacher trainings, and on Saturdays I'll come in and like there will be students there and the springs are off the equipment. And I'm like, guys, this can't happen. Yeah. You know? So yes, definitely. We have we're making sure that we're setting up the equipment always in a way that it's clean and ready for the next day. Right. But also, if a client were to walk in with a front desk member and that front desk member is chatting with them and doing their little duties, then that person won't walk over to the equipment, get on it, and hurt themselves.

SPEAKER_03 30:09

What's like the number one thing you see is the most common mistake um either a new student or a new client makes?

SPEAKER_01 30:19

Um, I think maybe playing playing with spring and exercises on the equipment before they really know what they're supposed to be doing. I remember years ago I was teaching and uh classes were smaller, like five classes. Classes were smaller class. And that was a big class for me. You know, I never thought I'd get to five or six.

SPEAKER_03 30:39

Oh my god, in the beginning days, right? We were like, what? We're gonna teach many people of these things.

SPEAKER_01 30:44

Yeah. And so I was teaching, getting ready to teach one of those. A woman came in who had actually taken a module with me, uh, so had kind of moved from just client to like more of a learner, taking a deeper, and she went to go do long stretch basically on a yellow spring. Uh-huh. And I was like, okay, let me come, let me come help with this. So those sorts of things like playing on the equipment before you really understand that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:09

Um, I had a teacher who this was before men were really finding Pilates, and she she became a go-to person for some athletes, and they would come in and they would look at this woman, and she would be older, um, ex dancer, and they they would always say to her, Oh, I don't know, my coach is making me comma, I don't know. And she's like, Come on over here. She would do long stretch on the yellow spring, and they would start shaking. And then she'd say, Great, now, like you said, for six minutes, she caught their attention, and then she they were hers forever. Yes. Um, what about emotional safety in the space?

SPEAKER_01 31:46

I feel like we really work hard in my studios to welcome everybody, and we get that feedback a lot that we're a studio that does that. It always shocks me when I hear that other studios don't do that. I think, what a strange approach. Uh, I want everyone to feel welcome and I want everyone to feel seen and comfortable. And I think that that first step of introducing yourself and connecting with them is huge and letting them know. I also say not just we're here to strengthen, um, not strain. I say we're intelligent exercisers. And I'll say, like, what feels good today may feel different than what felt good on Tuesday, and listen to your body today. And I just drop those in. And so I'm hoping to make everyone feel emotionally safe, right? Physically safe, uh, both in within our class.

SPEAKER_03 32:38

I mean, so you model that for certainly students, you model that for your uh instructors in your space. Um, it's interesting as I listen to you speak. It's like, how can we model um good conversation that encourages safety, right? Yes. You know, how do we train that muscle? Because it's a muscle.

SPEAKER_01 33:01

Well, and it's something I talk about in my modules. Yeah. You know, I do go into here's how you're going to have people stay with you for 20 years. Right. You know, here's how you develop community, here's how you make people feel safe.

SPEAKER_03 33:14

So say those three things again because they're really important. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 33:17

I hope I can remember that. Here's how here's how you develop community, here's how you make people feel safe. And I've forgotten the first one.

SPEAKER_03 33:25

But but no, but that was really, I mean, it's it's it's it's bringing you we build body self-awareness, but it's also bringing the whole person into the conversation. So while we're saying make someone feel safe, it's also just really good business. You want someone to stay with you for 20 years.

SPEAKER_04 33:45

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03 33:46

Um, they you know, you want they they want to be seen and respected for you know uh who they are when they walk into the space, right? Yes. Um so it's a it's a it's an art form that goes just beyond cueing and exercise. Yeah, absolutely. Um, so in what ways can Pilates be emotionally vulnerable or make someone emotionally vulnerable?

SPEAKER_01 34:09

Um, I think walking into anything new is always emotionally vulnerable.

SPEAKER_03 34:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 34:14

Learning something new, yeah. It's always so humbling, I feel like.

SPEAKER_03 34:19

Learning something new on a piece of equipment that if you I mean I would assume by the time they walk in, they have a sense for what it is. Back back in the day, they didn't, right?

SPEAKER_04 34:28

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 34:29

Um, but uh yeah, learning something new. But what do you think about I I mean the the ways in which we teach Pilates that could make it difficult for people to feel comfortable in the space.

SPEAKER_01 34:45

Um I feel it's so hard for me to answer that because I feel like we work so hard at the studio to try to to mitigate that by making people feel welcome.

SPEAKER_04 34:54

Uh-huh.

SPEAKER_01 34:55

But I think that oftentimes, perhaps that's not the case. I do think I'll take it to our studio. I think it can be intimidating to walk in number one, you're trying something new. If you walk in and everyone knows each other and they're all talking and you're the outsider, and then you're not addressed and kind of brought into that, right? I think would make it feel even more emotionally vulnerable. Um, do I belong to exclusive in a way?

SPEAKER_03 35:21

Yeah. Do I belong? Do I belong in this space? Right. That is so much a part of it, right? Do I belong in this space? Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 35:27

And that's why I really encourage instructors to spend a little more time while teaching, being closer to that person to offer modifications if needed, to offer ways to help them feel a little bit more emotionally safe.

SPEAKER_03 35:42

Right, right. Um, you know, I think in many ways you've already sort of alluded to this, but but let's use the word boundaries directly, which is which is if you're making them feel emotionally safe, how can you set them up so that um they can set boundaries for themselves and promote their own comfort and safety? You know, balancing sort of good discomfort of trying something new and taking the journey that you're offering, yeah. But also, you know, putting up the hand when maybe it's just not right for them.

SPEAKER_01 36:14

Right. And I try that in the beginning when I'm like, okay, have you done Pilates? Do you have any injuries? All of that. I take them to the equipment and we show them the equipment because everybody's footbar is different, you know, you know, every and we have different springs. So showing them that so that they can feel free to make changes there if they need to or ask for help if they need to. And then also telling them, feel free to modify. I'm gonna give options to modify to make things a little more manageable. Feel free to do that. Feel free to rest, feel free to do, you know, whatever you need to. Um, take a take a minute and then you know, come back in, just letting them feel comfortable to make those choices for themselves, right? I think is uh giving them permission.

SPEAKER_03 36:52

Giving them permission. Yeah, giving them permission for their own experience. Yeah. Um I think that's so fabulous. And I think it's one of the things that is again a differentiator.

SPEAKER_01 37:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:04

Um, do you think that was always a thing in Pilates? That we did that or that you give people permission?

SPEAKER_00 37:11

Oh no. I will say all the time, like I had to do it this way. There was no other way. This was it. Figure it out.

SPEAKER_03 37:20

I love, I love where I love where this is, where this is now and where this is going. Yeah. And the conversations we've had both during COVID and after COVID when people came out realizing that there's something about um A, I want to be well and have really embraced fitness largely, and um sort of the creativity that they can find in a Pilates studio. Which then brings me to the next question because there's natural evolution.

SPEAKER_00 37:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 37:49

Um like which I think as a studio owner and as a as a teacher of teachers, I think it adds an additional layer of responsibility in how we support up-and-coming instructors.

SPEAKER_04 38:03

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:04

So how do you balance just basic maintenance, basic safety with playfulness, with creativity, with freedom in the movement?

SPEAKER_01 38:13

For me, if you can find your why in a movement, once you have a foundation, right? So I'll say all the time like you have to know the box before you can go out of the side of the box, number one. Like have a good, solid foundation in Pilates.

SPEAKER_03 38:27

We were just talking music. I always think you need to know your scales before you start improvising. Yeah. Yes.

SPEAKER_01 38:32

So I encourage that. And then the next thing is like, do you have a why behind what you're doing? Have you also, as the instructor, gotten on the equipment to figure out what it feels like? Do you know that the springs are right? Do you know that you have them in the right position? And if you can do all of that and you have a solid why, and I also would love to have some sort of like tie back to the original work somewhere in that, uh, then I'm all for it. I mean, I think I've been teaching for 26 years. If I taught the same thing every time, sometimes years, years, seven hours in a row, back to back to back, up until about two years ago.

SPEAKER_00 39:05

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:06

I understand. So that would be very, and for every client, that's not the right, that's not always the right thing.

SPEAKER_00 39:11

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:12

So if you know your why and if you've felt it, you know that the springs are right. You know that the position.

SPEAKER_03 39:18

So you know your why. You also have, even if you're an instructor, sort of a felt experience of what you're asking your client to perform or do. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 39:27

Yeah, those are base baseline for me. And then, okay, I'm open. I'm curious. Always. Right. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:37

So when you see something new, yeah, my mind does the same thing. I'm always like, okay, just tell me why. Right. And let's make sure the the base foundation is there.

SPEAKER_04 39:46

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 39:46

Great advice. Great advice. Um, okay, so you have seen phenomenal growth post-COVID. Um, both as a studio owner, um, uh owner of multiple studios, yeah, and in terms of your teacher training program. Uh how are you able to promote growth in a way that's sustainable to you?

SPEAKER_00 40:09

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 40:10

And um allows you really to scale both the business and the safety sort of that you you have imbued in the business.

SPEAKER_01 40:21

I mean, we have systems. There's no way that we could enforce this without systems. So even if you're a one studio owner and you know it's it's small, you need to have systems set up in place so that you know you're keeping everyone safe. Um, and then beyond that, too, so that your time isn't spent running around like a chicken with your head cut off, have systems. But you need we've had these task lists, you know, forever. The front desk opens up an Excel spreadsheet that she had that they have open and they're going down the Monday checklist and it's gonna have safety stuff on it.

unknown 40:52

Right.

SPEAKER_01 40:52

We know that we have to have our monthly check, and for years that was me doing it most of the time. And then now I have Steve doing it. So I think if you have these systems in place, then hopefully those carry over. You keep improving them. But safety's built into that, no question.

SPEAKER_03 41:09

Um, as you look at growth and scaling, uh, what scares you?

SPEAKER_01 41:16

Um, I'm in an interesting place. I just transitioned ownership of one studio. I am really dialing in Houston officially opened January 4th to the public. Right. So getting that up and going in a market that doesn't know me, which is the first time I've ever done that. Usually I'm in Austin and I've been there since 2004 with my first studio.

SPEAKER_03 41:35

Right. And Austin, yeah. Austin's a community based on the yeah. It is a community base. Yeah. So it's interesting.

SPEAKER_01 41:41

Uh teacher training's doing great there. I also am working on another licensed align in a suburb outside of it. And I'm, if I'm honest, which I always am, I'm questioning like, what am I doing? What's my why? Am I still in touch with that? What's my why? I have to do that all the time. Like, and and my why goes back to, and I think I've told you this before, you know, Pilates has changed my life. I had no idea that I was gonna fall into this. I cannot imagine my life had I not made this choice. And there's not a day that goes by that I don't multiple times a day. I go, Whoa, how did this happen?

SPEAKER_05 42:14

Right.

SPEAKER_01 42:14

And I tell my students in my modules, going back to like being very student focused, that teacher and me, maybe. Um, I go back to like if you're wondering if you're making the right decision, you are. Like, this is one of the best jobs. We get to help people feel better. But that's a big responsibility.

SPEAKER_03 42:31

It's a big responsibility. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 42:33

So circling back, scaling and growing, and what scares me. I think it's exciting to have the opportunity to to help people learn to teach, to help people find studios that are safe for them. But it's a big responsibility. And sometimes that feels sometimes, sometimes it can feel a little scary. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 42:55

Um it's interesting. Something you just said just triggered a thought. Many of us would never have said that this would have been the trajectory of our lives and what we would have been involved in. And I think now many come to us saying, This is what I want to do.

SPEAKER_01 43:16

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 43:17

It's uh two interesting and different origin stories um and possibly different mindsets. Uh how would what about your discovery and your curiosity that that led you to make this choice? Would you like to share with someone who's brand new who says, you know what, I just want to teach this Pilates stuff.

SPEAKER_01 43:43

Do it. I think do your research and start when you're ready. But I think the biggest regret that you might have is waiting, like waiting. Just start. Just do it. It really is, it is wonderful. I tell my students oftentimes that if it's not, if they find themselves in an environment that That's not wonderful that they should look around because if you have a thorough certification, then you're going to be sought after because you will keep people safe. You will hopefully be able to build that community. Um, and you will hopefully be able to help people feel better in their life.

SPEAKER_03 44:15

Yeah, those were your three, those are your three pillars.

SPEAKER_01 44:17

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_03 44:18

That's great. Um so, Brooke, how does advocating for the safety of yourself and others in Pilates connect to how like we show up in other parts of our lives?

SPEAKER_01 44:28

Yeah. I think it shows up in in every aspect of our in my life. Um, in in things like I mean, I I don't know why this just came to me, but like the food that I eat, the food that I give my my kids, you know, even just going that basic. And it's funny because when I first started Pilates, that was one of the first things that changed for me is I started to become aware of what else I was doing day to day that was probably harming my body. And food was one of the first things. So I guess that's why it came to me.

SPEAKER_05 45:03

Right.

SPEAKER_01 45:04

Um, but even just down to that, where do I live? What kind of water I drink, what what what food I feed my family, what is what it what does feel safe in conversations and friendships and relationships, you know, I think it trickles into everything, but without that awareness that maybe I would have never gained had I not started Pilates, I don't know, I'm sure I would have over the years, but it became you were go you were you were starting to be a second grade teacher.

SPEAKER_02 45:30

Yeah. True.

SPEAKER_01 45:31

But I just I remember thinking that that awareness was sometimes a blessing and a curse. I don't know if you had this, but like you start to become aware of every little tiny thing. Yeah. And when I was 22, it was like, whoa, there's a lot wrong with me.

SPEAKER_03 45:45

Yes, that's interesting.

SPEAKER_01 45:47

You know, and it was like hyper aware of everything.

SPEAKER_03 45:50

You're you're hyper aware. It's like when you first learn to drive and you see everything, like, ah, there's a tree, a dog, a person, right? Um, and then after a while you start to like see it in context, right? Which I think you were alluding to with your, you know, your years of experience. Um, okay, we're gonna do a little rapid fire.

SPEAKER_01 46:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 46:10

Okay, what is your definition of Pilates?

SPEAKER_01 46:12

Um Well, I've already told you, Pilates has changed my life, so it's kind of is my life a little bit. It is your life.

SPEAKER_05 46:18

I know you, yes.

SPEAKER_01 46:20

Um, but what it is to me, it's a form of exercise created by Joseph Pilates that when done consistently will help you feel better in every area of your life.

SPEAKER_03 46:31

You know what's interesting is I do this quite a bit on what is Pilates, and and um, and I love that that you reference it's a form of exercise uh based on Joseph Pilates because uh that isn't always the first thing people say. Okay, very often it's a felt experience. It's a you know, it's or it's an emotion. Um so so great. That's really nice to to sort of hear that pulled together. What's your favorite piece of Pilates equipment? It could be big or small.

SPEAKER_01 47:03

Okay. Uh it's funny. It all these years, I would say chair. I would say if you, if I had a piece of equipment in my house, it would be a chair.

SPEAKER_03 47:11

Um I've had which was the intention.

SPEAKER_01 47:14

Yeah. Yes, exactly. Um, I have had reformers and I'll go do like short spine. Yeah. And then I'm like, oh, I've got laundry to do, or I've got whatever. But with a chair, I feel like I can get a total body workout in 45 minutes that's killer. That being said, I'm not really in that killer place anymore. Like I don't need that killer workout. So I it's kind of like maybe my mat.

SPEAKER_03 47:37

Oh, yeah. Going back to Matt. That's fantastic. Um, but I I I hear you, I hear you on the chair because the chair is is is uh an easy place, like you said, to do a lot of standing work and to do things that are a little bit unconventional. Whenever I would teach the chair course, inevitably I would be like, oh, I forgot about this exercise. I love this exercise, right? You forget how much is there.

SPEAKER_04 48:02

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 48:02

Uh, what is one misunderstanding about either Pilates uh that or your profession that you wish more people understood?

SPEAKER_01 48:11

I'm gonna go with Pilates, if that's okay. That harder is better.

SPEAKER_03 48:16

Yeah, talk about that.

SPEAKER_01 48:18

Uh well, I mean, I almost want to say bigger is better, also like kind of the in the same family. I see a lot of people coming in that are strong, really strong.

SPEAKER_02 48:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 48:27

And they want this like hard, really feeling this workout or this exercise. And so they'll make these moves big. And uh it goes back to that moment of like, can we pause the next time you're here and make them do smaller but mighty movements and hopefully have them feel that like harder, bigger isn't better. I thought of one more thing. I know I'm interrupting the rapid fire, but another thing that I will say all the time, and it came to me, you know, you'll have people that look like they're not in the right spot and they're kind of frustrated in your in your classes, or maybe you're a client and you're like, I just don't feel like I'm in the right spot.

SPEAKER_05 49:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 49:07

And so I will say, if you don't feel like you're in the right spot, you're probably not. And then I'll jokingly say, and that goes for life also. Yeah. And then if I get a laugh or two, I'm like, okay, good, we're good.

SPEAKER_03 49:19

Well, but that's good because you're constantly reminding them that, like, you know, if this doesn't either feel right or you don't, you're not, you know, you're not like literally in the right spot. Yeah. You know, let's let's you know, there's there's always a way to improve, you know. That's great. Um, okay, for yourself. Yes. I how many kids do you have, Brooke? I have three kids. Yeah. And your youngest is how old? Five. Okay. And you run how many businesses? Three.

SPEAKER_04 49:47

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 49:48

And businesses inside of those businesses. Yeah. So uh is there anything that you religiously do for yourself, or I should say consistently do for yourself, that complements your Pilates practice?

SPEAKER_01 50:00

Um, I it really complements, I think, my life. I think it helps me get through life. I try every day, and I learned this from a dear friend who's a healer of some sorts. Uh, she said a long time ago, she said, You need to protect your energy. And I didn't actually know I was gonna go there with this. This is just coming to me now. Before I would walk into the studio way back when she's like, You need to protect your energy. You need to put some sort of like grounding light around you. And I don't do that every day, right? But I did for a while. So, how do you do that? Uh I mean, you don't have to give us the um, you know, you close your eyes and you picture whatever, whatever she would say, like a golden, sometimes a pink kind of light, and it just surrounds your whole body and envision it surrounding your whole body so that that way when I went into the studio at the time, you know, I'm teaching seven-hour days. It's a lot of people's energy that's coming my way, and it was protecting my energy. Uh, now my form of doing that, and I'm trying to teach Elliot, my five-year-old right now, is we put our feet on the ground, and it's like first thing in the morning, just put your feet on the ground and just close your eyes, and just for me, it's recognizing all that we have. You know, just being so grateful for where we are and who like our the life that we get to have. And then I have one more. Sorry. No, just all along the same lines. I have these angel cards, and you do too. I love my angel card.

SPEAKER_03 51:21

Do you know that's uh we we're in construction and my office is all packed up and I went into a panic, which is of course counterintuitive what we're talking about. Angel cards, because I didn't have my angel cards. I was like, I needed that affirmation again. So you're 18.

SPEAKER_01 51:38

I can't remember where we were, which conference, but you had us pull an angel card. And I was like, I have these exactly. Yeah, I do three a day. I've done them. I have a 22-year-old and a 19-year-old and the five-year-old. And when the girls were little, we started doing them. And then now I do them with Elliot. And my 22-year-old asked for some for Christmas a couple of years ago. I love it. Yes.

SPEAKER_03 51:57

For those who don't know, angel cards, they're just affirmation cards, right? And you you blindly pick, and it might say awakening, or it might say, you know, enlightenment, or what you know, um passion, whatever it is. And then, and yeah, it's they've been really actually very grounding. They kind of get you to stop and make a thought in a different direction. Um sort of like grounding your energy, I I I know we're in rapid fire. I'm gonna back out for a second, but I think I think that's just so empowering and impactful for anyone who does client work, number one, but also for clients and very relevant to this conversation around safety.

SPEAKER_01 52:41

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 52:42

Because if you do, if you are aware of your energy in a space, and if you are aware of how you show up in a space, how we show up sets the tone, right? Our intention and our attitude um and uh uh will be mirrored back. Totally. Um and so if our energy is all over the place, yeah, right. And that's one of one of the hallmarks of teaching, but it's such an unsaid part of it.

SPEAKER_01 53:11

Yeah. You know, and it's so important because I know I can think of, you know, I can think of classes that I've gone to where that wasn't the energy from the instructor, and it does, it does trickle into the how the whole experience feels. So I think that the more as from a teacher, the more calm we can be, the the more safe they're gonna feel.

SPEAKER_03 53:31

Right. That's fantastic. All right. Um, are you a reader and do your time?

SPEAKER_01 53:35

Um I am podcast listener, podcast listener, audiobook listener.

SPEAKER_03 53:40

What would you recommend?

SPEAKER_01 53:41

Um, well, I listen to this podcast.

SPEAKER_03 53:44

Fantastic. Thank you very much.

SPEAKER_01 53:45

Yes, I drive a lot to Houston and back, so podcasts are kind of my jam in audiobooks. I really I'm a Brene Brown lover. So she had a strong ground one not that long ago with strong ground, which uh is is a lot about what we're talking about here today.

SPEAKER_03 54:01

Yes. Which it I loved the beginning of her book was all about her training, her physical training, mirroring what she is offering in terms of not only business training but emotional training.

SPEAKER_01 54:14

Yeah, it really uh to me goes so hand in hand with what we do.

SPEAKER_03 54:18

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:18

Yeah. All right. So podcast, Brene Brown. Uh-huh. Brene Brown, yours. Um, you know what I love? The it's NPR, um, how I built this. Oh, I love that. Oh my gosh. I don't know if they're doing it anymore, but I would just devour those because there's a business side of me too that loves that.

SPEAKER_03 54:35

Yeah, I have to think that they should actually have a conversation with Ken.

SPEAKER_01 54:38

Oh, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 54:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 54:39

You should make that happen.

SPEAKER_03 54:42

Well, now that you've brought it back to my attention, that yes. Um, okay, so and then um, you know, uh before we end, let our listeners know not only where they can find you, but a little bit more about your business endeavors and where you're where you're headed.

SPEAKER_01 54:59

Well, I'm in Austin, Texas, and now Houston. And I have Align Piloty Studios. And two of them, I've mentioned this, are teacher training studios, I think. And so we really walk the journey with people that have decided that they want to make this their career, their dreams come true. Uh so you can find me at Align Plotties Studios or, you know, at Instagram-wise, uh, and at align Plottties Teacher Training, I think. And then if you want to learn more about equipment maintenance, I've got uh my ex-husband and I have Steed Pilates Equipment Maintenance and Repairs to help other studio owners figure out that safety framework for them to do.

SPEAKER_03 55:37

That's fantastic. You mentioned you have a webinar that you offer on. I do. What uh just just generally what I do love about your webinar is that you're very agnostic and you're very, you're just really open to helping instructors or aspiring instructors make the best decisions for themselves. If someone wanted to watch your webinar or participate, what would they need to do?

SPEAKER_01 56:01

Just go to the Align Pilates Teacher Training Instagram and then click the link in our bio. And I think it says download freed guide. So start there, download the free guide on like, is this something that you're interested in? Right. Once you do that, you can sign up for the free webinar and I'll I'll help you figure out if this is your next step and tell you just most importantly, I don't want you wasting your time and your money. So, how can you find a certification that's gonna help you fulfill your dreams?

SPEAKER_03 56:28

Do you find that being really upfront with people and setting out the path gets better results overall?

SPEAKER_01 56:35

You know, I I honestly am not looking at like how many people watch the replay and how many people signed up. So I don't know, but I know that's been my approach to life is just I'm not here to convince you that I'm the person for you. I'm here to just tell you the things that you should be looking for. And if it feels right for you, I would love to have you and I would love to help you. Um, but if not, I want you to just go with what feels right. Just don't hold to you. Be a resource. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Fantastic. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 57:03

Um, all right, Brooke, I I can't thank you enough for joining us. Um if you need to, if you're interested or you want to find more on Brooke, um, check out at Align. Uh Align Pilates Studios. Align Pilates Studios. Thank you so much, Brooke.

SPEAKER_00 57:20

Thank you. Such a pleasure.