Pilates

written November 6th, 2009 · 0 comments

Last Friday I was practicing my Pilates like a good and diligent teacher preparing for my first (German) Pilates class and my neck started giving me such pain! I guess my body just wasn’t warm enough or something or I was pushing myself to hard the week before. I have been trying to play catch up physically after 2 weeks on vacation in the US and 1 week of being sick. It’s tough! But anyhow, I am better now, and I am ready for my class tomorrow.

I have prepared a few changes to the class. I think the students are a lot fitter than I originally thought. So I’ve got to keep them interested! Teaching is so much fun! When I first stepped into the class last Tuesday I thought, oh man, this is going to be a long hour. But you get into it and it goes by so fast! I made a mixed CD for my class and I think I will feel more and more confident. Tomorrow I just need to get the heating right in the studio and I think I have it down pat!

One of the things I think I should really try and do is to make sure that the class knows they can ask me any questions afterward. When I first started taking Yoga I bombarded my teacher everyday after class with questions about the positions and what I am doing right/wrong. I get the feeling that people are mostly shy or are just not so curious, I don’t know. But I want to encourage them to get involved. It only improves your work.

I want to start tutoring some of my friends individually to work on my teaching skills and to be aware of what beginners are facing when they start Pilates. And then I think I will definitely be looking for a place to teach in English somewhere. Right now I am teaching 4 times a week, but it is temporary. When my teacher comes back, she gets all of her classes back, although there has been talk of me getting one of her classes if her schedule is too full. I think it is great to do it in both languages too. I don’t know what I was so afraid of with the whole German thing…it is no big deal to teach the class in German. But, as my boss once told me, we have different ways of speaking depending on the language we speak. It sounds odd, but so true. I think when I speak English I am more natural, relaxed and funny, but when I speak German I am a bit more serious because I am concentrating on the language.

Posted in Life in Berlin, Pilates

Teaching Pilates…

written September 23rd, 2009 · 0 comments

I was at my yoga studio today and they asked me to fill in for my teacher on Sunday for 2 Pilates classes! Since I have only had a week to practice the series in German, they want me to do it in English, which is a huge relief! I will learn to teach it in German, I won’t cop out, I just need more time to internalize it! But it was funny because my teacher who was training me today said she likes the class better in English, it sounds more natural for her. Interesting! We’ll see how it goes on Sunday and if the public agrees. Hopefully my boyfriend doesn’t mind practicing with me this weekend…

Posted in Life in Berlin, Pilates

Pilates

written September 17th, 2009 · 0 comments

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I have begun to train as a substitution Pilates teacher. My teacher is going to do an Ashtanga Yoga training in Thailand for 5 weeks and I will be teaching for her in her absence. This means I’ve got to learn the series down pat and really get my body to memorize it. And then I’ve got to practice doing and speaking, all in German! This is actually not so bad really. I have been taking this class for a while now and I have grown used to how my teacher explains each movement to the class and which tips she gives. Next week I will try already to give the class to my teacher and a friend to see how it feels. My friend is a beginner Pilates student, so this will be interesting! I can really get some good feedback from her about how I am explaining the movements. So I’ve got to practice from now until then…a lot! Besides today, cause I am doing yoga, I’ll practice the series every day.

I always kind of knew this was part of my destiny. My roomate for the first 2 years of RISD was a former rhythmic gymnast and we used to do ballet and Pilates together. She went on to get herself certified and now teaches on her own. Now it’s my turn! Even though I do want to get certified soon, I think I may do it when I move to London next year (if I do, for my masters degree), because then I’ll be trained in English. Even though Joseph Pilates was German, my teacher tells me London will probably have better and more renown studios. So I guess it’s saving time!

Ahhhh…Pilates in German…

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Posted in Life in Berlin, Pilates