Autumn is upon us, although it might be hard to tell with 90 degree weather in Los Angeles. Still the hours of daylight are on a downward slope and colder weather looms in the future. The two combined, plus the madness of holiday schedules, result in dips in energy and motivation--impacting both you and your clients. In order to keep you as a teacher and as a devotee to Pilates fresh and dynamic through the winter months I have put together a few suggestions...

Staying Motivated

By now clients' schedules have settled down from the turbulent August vacations and Back-to-School September periods and your schedule has had a comforting even rhythm for a little while now. But sometimes lasting through two more clients after already teaching three seems daunting, as much as you love your last client of the day! Before you grab a coffee (although that does sound good right about now!) try a set of Hundreds or Footwork on the Reformer in your five minutes between clients. If a little stronger pick-me-up is need reach for a jasmine green tea. It will still give a little burst of energy but with powerful antioxidants to boost. Of course, clients will experience lulls too and they will look to you for inspiration. To keep them Pilates-passionate assess their progress since first coming to you along with their original goals for starting Pilates, then pair this with the next 5 or so exercises you foresee adding to their routine in the near future and volia, you have a training routine for the winter! Consider what supplementary equipment you can incorporate into their workout to help them along. For example, I had a client who dreamed of doing Reverse Pull-Ups on the Cadillac, so as we neared that level I shared with her my belief that she would soon be doing those Pull-Ups. Each exercise I knew helped strengthen the important muscle groups for Pull-Ups I would say "and this strengthens (fill in the blank) which will help you do the Reverse Pull-Ups." The goal-centered sessions revived her long time practice and made each session rewarding. When she did do the Reverse Pull-Ups she let out a scream of joy.

Keeping Focus

Alright so Halloween has passed but that means Thanksgiving is around the corner and what will you cook? Hmm. And then you have to start shopping for holiday gifts, and there is a friend's kid's school play you must attend, plus laundry, bills, the market, and so on! This time of year can feel stressful and pull you in countless directions. Perhaps even creeping into your thoughts while teaching. To revamp your teaching style and keep you present in the moment, try recording one of your teaching sessions. When you play it back, listen for the cues you might say too often. Then try to find a new way of expressing that cue: brainstorm with fellow teachers, pay attention in your self-workouts to how your muscles feel or to how you think of activating them and find new words to say that to your clients. And it is no surprise that clients walk into their session distracted too. Your new cueing may help them forget their outside life for those 55 minutes. If that doesn't work, I always love asking them to pick one of the 6 principals of Pilates and to focus on that element through that session and I gently remind them from time to time to return to that principal in their minds.

Achieving Goals

Constantly achieving and then resetting your goals is a great way to "stay motivated" and "keep focused!" To ensure that you continue to progress in your own practice of Pilates find one exercise that is still a challenge--your nemesis! Just as you do with clients, design sessions for yourself that will build you up to mastering said exercise. In addition, find a non-Pilates exercise or exercises that will help too. Reverse Mountain Climb on the Wunda Chair? Do Pike Pull-Ups with a Swiss Ball 3 sets of 5 repetitions a few times a week and include hiking up and down hills during your cardio workouts. Keeping a journal of what exercises you did as well as how you felt physically and emotional before, during and after will also assist you in achieving this goal. Of course, goal-setting is a great tool to keep clients engaged in their strength, flexibility, and/or weight loss progress, but sometimes they derail the work you do together in the rest of their week. Use technology! Suggest your client keep an exercise and/or nutrition diary online. Shape.com and MyFitnessPal.com make it simple to log in and calculate it all...and even better? There are apps for it! 

So bring it on winter! We are ready to weather it! Please log into our forum and share your tips and stories on how these suggestions "workout" for you!