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We are at a turning point in our industry. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is advancing at lightning speed, transforming how people work, communicate—and even exercise.
According to PwC, AI could add $15.7 trillion to the global economy by 2030, making it one of the most disruptive forces of our time. That means opportunity, but also risk.
For us as Pilates teachers, the big question is simple:
How do we stay relevant and valuable in a world where AI can replicate classes, voices, and even faces?
Classes and sessions will always matter. But in the years ahead, the most powerful service you can offer is events—immersive, transformational experiences.
Events can take many forms:
No matter the format, the purpose is the same: to give people something they cannot get from a screen.
An event isn’t just a Pilates class in a nice location. Done well, it becomes a journey of change—a space where people feel alive again, connected, and transformed.
AI isn’t just making life faster. It’s also quietly reshaping how people relate to themselves and others.
In short, people are spending more time in their heads—and less in their bodies and spirits.
But Pilates has never been just about the mind. It is a trinity of body, mind, and spirit.
If AI pushes people further into efficiency and disconnection, their body and spirit risk being left behind. That’s where you come in. Your role is to bring people back into experiences that are raw, real, and deeply human.
AI is already capable of generating customized Pilates workouts in seconds. Avatars that look, sound, and move like us are being built right now.
For people seeking the cheapest, quickest option—that may be enough.
But AI cannot replicate:
This is what makes your work irreplaceable. This is why events matter.
Joseph Pilates once said: “Civilization is the greatest enemy of mankind.” If he were here today, he might say the same about an AI-driven world.
But the strongest aren’t those who resist change. The strongest are those who adapt.
Pilates professionals must now innovate—not just by adding new exercises, but by creating new experiences. Moments where people reconnect with their body, spirit, and one another.
Rise to that challenge, and you won’t just survive—you’ll thrive.
At its heart, Pilates has always been about happiness:
Events magnify that joy. They take people out of their routines and give them memories they carry for life.
This is where you step beyond being a “teacher of classes” and become a leader of transformation.
This month inside our Inner Circle, we’ve been exploring exactly this: how to adapt in an AI-driven world, design transformational events, and position yourself as the teacher people seek for soul-filled experiences.
If you’re already part of the Inner Circle, you know this is where Pilates teachers come together to deepen their technical mastery, pursue their personal growth, and build the kind of business that truly sustains them.
And if you’re not yet a member, this is the moment to explore what the Inner Circle can bring to your teaching and your future.
👉 Learn more about the IVA Pilates Inner Circle.
Pilates isn’t just about looking fit. It’s about becoming the architect of your own happiness—and guiding others to do the same.
There’s a moment that every teacher faces at some point in their practice.
A client walks in with a diagnosis. A limitation. A story of pain, recovery, or fear. Maybe they’ve had surgery. Maybe they’re dealing with arthritis, a herniated disc, or the slow changes of aging. Maybe they don’t say much at all — they just move like someone who no longer trusts their body.
And in that moment, we often shrink our scope.
We tread lightly. We worry. We simplify and soften the session — sometimes so much that we forget the bigger truth:
This body still wants to move.
This body still holds possibility.
This body still deserves to be fully seen.
The RESTORE approach starts right here — not with a protocol, but with a shift in how we see limitation. It’s not the opposite of strength or function. It’s an invitation. A doorway. A place where something new can begin.
And it’s this reframe — simple but radical — that can completely change the way we teach.
So much of what we’re taught as teachers focuses on fixing what’s “wrong.” But what if we taught from the other side of the lens? What if we saw pain, injury, or healing not as the center of the story, but as context — important, yes, but not the whole?
This isn’t about ignoring red flags. Being trauma- and rehab-informed is essential.
But healing doesn’t only happen through precision.
It happens through presence. Through energy. Through what we choose to focus on.
In the RESTORE framework, we start by looking at what’s available — not just physically, but energetically and emotionally. We build the session around what the body can do. We shift from “working around the issue” to “working with what’s alive.”
Focus on what’s missing, and the body contracts.
Focus on what’s possible, and the body opens.
One of the most powerful insights from RESTORE is this:
Courage is the first tipping point.
Before strength, before range, before stability — there is courage.
It takes courage to try again.
To move when it once hurt.
To breathe fully when your ribs are used to bracing.
To trust a body that has let you down — or been through something hard.
And it takes courage to teach from that place too.
To stop hiding behind technique and speak to what your client is feeling, not just what they’re doing. To recognize fear, not as a weakness, but as part of the healing landscape.
The body holds that emotional charge. And movement — when offered with care and presence — can release it.
You can teach a “safe” session using all the right modifications — and still leave a client feeling flat.
Or you can create a restorative experience that shifts something deeper by integrating emotion, energy, and spirit — not in a mystical way, but through breath, intention, and touch.
In RESTORE, we work with:
This is where the session becomes more than a sequence.
It becomes a restoration of agency — of dignity, of confidence, of life-force.
One of the biggest mistakes teachers make when working with post-rehab or senior clients is isolating the “problem” and forgetting the rest of the system.
If someone can’t flex their spine, we avoid it — understandably. But too often, we also unconsciously start minimizing everything else.
“If flexion is contraindicated, you leave it out. But everything else — the arms, the breath, the sides, the rotation — that’s what you work with. You give the body a full experience.”
This is what we mean by Full Body Commitment.
It’s not about doing every exercise.
It’s about honoring the intelligence of the body as a whole — even when part of it is healing.
And physiologically, this matters. Because movement doesn’t just live in the joints. It lives in the nervous system. In proprioception. In the energy field that gets activated when we expand — not collapse — the session.
We’re not just guiding spines and shoulders.
We’re guiding humans. With layered histories, complex stories, and a deep need to feel safe and empowered.
And healing doesn’t happen through mechanics alone.
It happens when we teach the person, not the protocol.
It happens when we help them experience the body as theirs again.
This month, our sessions inside the Innovative Virtual Academy (IVA) Inner Circle are dedicated to this very topic:
Teaching Pilates when the body needs to heal.
We’re exploring:
And we’re doing it the way we always do inside IVA' Pilates — with depth, care, embodiment, and community.
This is not surface-level teaching.
It’s a return to the roots of what this work can be: restorative, intelligent, deeply human.
If any of this speaks to you…
If something in your gut says there’s more here — more to learn, more to offer…
If you know you’re here to teach in a way that heals, not just instructs —
We’d love to invite you into the conversation and the online learning experiences we’re having this month inside the IVA Pilates Inner Circle.
This month, we’re exploring how to teach when the body is in need of restoration — how to hold space, guide movement with care, and support healing with integrity and skill.
It’s not a course. It’s not a masterclass.
It’s a space to grow. Together.
With others who care as deeply as you do.
If that feels right for where you are… Click here to explore this month’s focus and join the conversation.
Limitation is not the end of the road.
It’s not something to work around or apologize for.
It’s an entry point into deeper listening.
A reminder that movement can mean more.
That healing isn’t just about what gets restored physically — but about what gets remembered, reclaimed, re-energized.
And if that’s the kind of teaching you want to do — you don’t have to wait until you’re “ready.”
You just have to begin.
With breath.
With care.
With a new way of seeing.
We’ll be right here to walk with you.
Click here to learn more or join this month’s focus. We’d love to welcome you in.
I came into the Pilates world as a deeply obedient student.
I was dedicated. Diligent. Faithful to the form.
I studied with reverence—treating every word my mentors spoke as sacred truth. I followed the lineages, the line-ups, the line-by-line execution of the work.
I believed that mastery meant obedience. That discipline was the doorway to wisdom.
And then—came contradiction.
Different teachers. Different trainings. Different “correct” forms. Different sacred laws.
At first, it confused me.
Then, it cracked something open.
I realized:
There isn’t just one right way.
There are many.
There are many bodies. Many needs. Many stories.
And maybe the most important story—the one Joseph and Clara held in their hearts when they developed this method—was a simple one:
“Everyone should be doing these exercises… because they would be happier. And the world would be a happier place.”
—Joseph Pilates
How did a method that was born to uplift the human spirit become so serious?
So stiff?
So perfectionist?
How did Contrology—once about freedom through movement—turn into controlling every outcome, every breath, every limb… until the joy slowly drained from the work?
Yes—Pilates is genius.
Yes—Pilates is intelligent.
Yes—Pilates is precise.
But Pilates is also human.
And humans—we’re wired for joy.
We learn better when we laugh.
We breathe better when we relax.
We move better when we feel safe.
And fun? Fun creates that safety.
You don’t have to take my word for it—let’s talk nervous system for a moment.
When we laugh, smile, or feel playful and at ease:
So ironically, all the pressure to “get it right”—the over-correcting, over-cueing, and tension we sometimes bring to our teaching—might be working against the conditions that actually allow transformation to happen.
Twenty years of teaching before I gave myself permission to loosen up.
To bring my full humanity into the room.
To teach not just with structure, but with soul.
And no, that doesn’t mean diluting the work or abandoning standards.
It means meeting people—my clients and myself—where they really are.
It means letting my joy in.
I started bringing humor into the studio.
Not as a gimmick or distraction, but as medicine—a way to help people feel safe, grounded, and seen.
Because joy isn’t something we add on top of good teaching.
It is good teaching.
When we bring that presence, that lightness, into our work—something beautiful happens.
When joy is in the room, something shifts.
We become more intuitive.
We stop trying to “perform” and start co-creating with our clients.
We move from being the expert to being a curious, present partner.
That’s when we start reading the room better—the breath patterns, the tension, the emotional states our clients don’t always say out loud.
And when the body feels safe, it opens.
And when it opens, the work works.
When was the last time you laughed in a session?
When was the last time you had fun teaching the method?
When was the last time your client left not just aligned—but smiling from the inside out?
If you already bring joy into your work—keep going.
You are restoring something ancient, necessary, and real.
If not… maybe it’s time.
To let a little more light in.
To loosen the grip.
To invite in not just discipline—but delight.
A little less rigidity.
A little more humanity.
A little more you.
Because as Guru Singh says:
“When we let go of needing to be right, we find our rhythm. And in that rhythm, we find our joy.”
Let’s remember what this method was meant to do.
Let’s reclaim fun—not as a distraction from the work, but as a powerful part of it.
Let’s return to the original intent of Pilates:
A better, brighter world—one joyful body at a time.
The Pilates world is different. It’s rooted in care, in service, in soul.
We don’t just teach exercises—we help people reconnect with themselves. We guide, we witness, we hold space. Most of us came into this work because we wanted to uplift others, to support healing through movement, to be a quiet but helpful presence in someone else’s life.
We are a good industry.
And yet—too often, the good ones don’t thrive. Not because we’re not skilled or passionate, but because we’ve been taught to follow carefully, obediently—and hope that being “good” will be enough.
How do we stay true to our values and still build something bold and fulfilling? How do we lead with kindness and grace, but still grow in a world that often rewards volume over depth?
That was the question I brought into a recent seminar—a conversation between a marketing expert and a yoga master, who spoke about business in the most soulful way I’ve ever heard.
And what they said hit me hard:
Just because you follow someone else’s steps doesn’t mean you’ll arrive at their destination.
At first glance, copying what worked for someone else seems like the safest path. Use their pricing, mimic their cues, post like they do. And when that doesn’t work, we assume we did it wrong—when in truth, we simply aren't them.
We often look to mentors or programs thinking they’ll give us a fast track to success. But mentorship isn’t about skipping the journey. It’s about making the journey your own.
A true mentor doesn’t hand you a map. They help you build your compass.
All the tools and techniques in the world won’t bring your work to life unless they’re integrated with your voice, your intuition, your lived experience, and your genius.
For years, I tried to model exactly what my teachers showed me. I taught with discipline, followed the rules, and ticked all the boxes. And to be fair—I built a solid career.
But it wasn’t until I stopped mimicking and started integrating that everything changed. When I allowed myself to step fully into my own way of teaching—when I dared to infuse myself into my work—that’s when it truly came alive.
And it wasn’t just my own growth that changed. That’s when I started helping others do the same: to find their voice, their own rhythm, their truth.
Yes, it’s a scary step. Letting go of the "right" way can feel like walking into the unknown. But it’s also the most liberating, creative, and powerful thing you can do. And you don’t have to do it alone.
This is what I hope for our generation of teachers:
That we stop being replicas.
That we stop thinking confidence will come from collecting more certifications.
That we stop waiting for permission to teach in a way that feels true to us.
We have the freedom right now to create a new kind of leadership in Pilates—one where we’re not boxed in by rigid systems or expectations. One where we’re free in our teaching, our bodies, our creativity, and our business.
This isn’t just about refining your technique. It’s about reclaiming your voice. Building something that feels alive, aligned, and meaningful.
I’m not here to lead from above. I’m walking this path too. Choosing presence over perfection. Choosing integration over imitation. Choosing to create something that feels like home.
Don’t wait until you feel “ready.”
Don’t make yourself smaller to fit someone else’s idea of success.
And please—don’t let your unique brilliance get buried in the name of being “correct.”
You’ve followed long enough. Now it’s time to lead. With soul. With strength. With sovereignty.
Let your Pilates speak from your truth. Let it reflect you.
Because the future of this method?
It doesn’t belong to the loudest. It belongs to the most real.
And we need you to be exactly that.
If this message resonates with you—if you’ve been feeling the pull to grow, to teach more authentically, and to build something that truly reflects who you are—know that you don’t have to figure it all out alone. Inside the IVA Pilates Inner Circle, we’re spending this summer reconnecting with our voice, our vision, and our purpose. It’s not a program—it’s a community. A space where Pilates teachers come together to grow in skill, confidence, and soul. If you’ve been curious about joining, we’re opening the doors for a special Summer Camp trial—a free way to explore what’s possible when you’re supported, seen, and surrounded by others walking a similar path.
👉 Join the Summer Camp Trial Here
We’d love to have you with us.
There are moments in life that don’t come from strategy. They don’t arrive with spreadsheets or plans. They come from something deeper.
A whisper in your gut.
A vibration in your chest.
A knowing in your bones.
Maybe you’ve felt it too.
When I created what became the Innovative Virtual Academy, it wasn’t because the world needed another training platform. It wasn’t to stand out, scale, or “disrupt.”
It was a call I couldn’t ignore—and maybe, it’s one you’ve heard in your own way.
Because our industry is full of brilliance—and also full of burnout. Because too many teachers feel isolated. Because too much comparison has replaced real connection.
Have you noticed it, too?
Lineages divided.
Voices silenced.
Presence replaced with performance.
That’s why I didn’t build another system. I created IVA as a space to remember why we started—and to return to what’s real. A space where our differences aren’t threats—they’re gifts. Where we don’t compete—we co-create. Where each of us brings something essential to the table.
Yes, IVA stands for the Innovative Virtual Academy.
But really, it’s about this:
Can we return to the soul of our work? Together?
Joseph Pilates didn’t just give us exercises. He offered a worldview. He taught that movement heals. That a connected body creates a connected life. That stillness has power. That alignment—physical and personal—creates change.
And yet, we forget.
Caught in the scroll.
Chasing metrics.
Craving visibility.
We start performing Pilates instead of embodying it. And in that forgetting, I heard a clear message: Why not bring all remarkable and soulful teachers back together. Unite the lineages. Create something that gives, not takes.
IVA isn’t a program with shiny funnels or scripted outcomes. It’s a place for teachers to gather, grow, and be guided from within. We host conversations—not just trainings. We share tools—not just tips. We create space—for you to be seen, to share, and to lead with heart.
And yes—there’s curriculum.
There’s guidance.
There’s depth.
But none of it matters unless you feel called to teach from a deeper place.
I believe the way we run our business is a form of teaching. Not by selling harder—but by serving deeper. Because real success isn’t about algorithms.
It’s about alignment. About purpose. About meaning. And the teachers who thrive now? They’re not just skilled.
They’re soul-led. They’re clear. They care. They are themselves and authentic with heart.
IVA is for those teachers.
Maybe it’s for you.
We’re in a time of noise, speed, and fragmentation. And the answer isn’t louder messaging. It’s quieter truth. Pilates teachers have an essential role—not just in bodies, but in lives. We help people breathe again. Stand again. Trust again.
But we can’t offer that if we’re disconnected from ourselves.
So this is your invitation—
Not to perfect yourself.
But to root deeper.
To teach from soul.
To lead with care.
You don’t need to be further ahead. You don’t need to know how. You just need to feel it: That whisper in your gut that says, there’s something more. That your work isn’t about clients. It’s about contribution. That your practice isn’t about hustle. It’s about homecoming.
If that’s where you are—
You’ll find space here.
Visit ivapilates.com and our Inner Circle that is waiting for you with open doors.
Learn. Connect. Be seen. Lead forward.
Let’s rise.
With care.
With clarity.
With each other.
With heart,
Iva
Most people think their body is just a container—a vessel to sculpt, stretch, or fix.
But the body is not a container.
It’s a sponge.
And it’s a messenger.
It absorbs what we don’t say.
And it speaks what we don’t know how to name.
This understanding has shaped my life, my healing, and my work in ways I never imagined.
Have you ever wondered why pain shows up in your body even when nothing physical happened?
Why you wake up with tight shoulders, a locked jaw, an aching gut—even though your last workout was days ago?
These are not random occurrences.
In somatic therapy and trauma-informed movement education, it’s now widely accepted that:
"Unexpressed emotion becomes stored tension."
That means:
What the mind forgets or suppresses, the body archives.
Last year during a seminar at the Tony Robbins Research Institute, I was introduced to the powerful work of Michelle Blechner, a leading expert in family constellations.
Her message was simple but earth-shattering:
You are not just living your life. You are also living the unresolved stories of those who came before you.
This is what psychologist Anne Ancelin Schützenberger called “invisible loyalties”—the unconscious agreements we make with our family system to carry pain, repeat patterns, or maintain silence out of love or devotion.
Michelle and other constellations experts, like Alejandro Jodorowsky, teach that:
In fact, Jodorowsky writes:
“The disease is not the problem. It is the body asking us to face the unresolved secret.”
In my Pilates studio, I’ve seen this countless times.
A woman with chronic back pain who never knew her father left before she was born.
A man who can’t breathe deeply, whose grandfather died by suffocation in war.
A teenager with an unexplained hip injury—born exactly 50 years after her great-grandmother was assaulted.
These are not coincidences.
These are patterns.
And yet, in many fitness and rehab settings, we’re taught:
“You’re not a therapist.”
“Don’t get involved in people’s stories.”
“Just fix the body.”
But the truth is—there is no ‘just the body.’
The fascia holds memory.
The breath carries emotion.
The spine tells stories.
Every time someone walks into my studio, I know I’m not just teaching movement.
I’m holding a moment with another human being whose story is present—even if it hasn’t been told.
Modern research in epigenetics confirms what ancient traditions have always known:
Trauma can be inherited.
Studies show that:
This isn’t just about genetics. It’s about epigenetic expression—how the environment, emotion, and stress of our ancestors shape which genes get turned “on” or “off” in our bodies.
So when we experience:
It might not be about what’s happening now.
It might be about what happened then.
I’ve lived this firsthand.
For nearly 30 years, I had no conscious memory of a traumatic event from my childhood. I lived in numbness, in overachievement, in silence. I thought that was strength. I thought that was how I survived.
It wasn’t until the birth of my daughter that the memories came flooding back.
And with it, the realization that:
I was not only holding my secret—I was holding a pattern that existed on both my mother’s and father’s side.
Through years of inner work, and through family constellation experiences that cracked me open, I realized:
That is what healing is.
It’s not forgetting the past.
It’s refusing to reenact it.
Here’s how you can begin to connect the dots between what your body feels and what your soul may be holding:
Instead of dismissing recurring pain, ask:
“When did this start? What else was happening at that time?”
Look for patterns:
Before movement, take 2 minutes to breathe and ask:
“What is my body trying to say today?”
Let that guide your practice.
This is not talk therapy—it’s experiential. And it’s one of the most profound ways to unearth inherited patterns you didn’t know you were carrying.
What we hide, we hold.
What we speak, we can begin to release.
If you feel stuck in your healing, overwhelmed in your body, or lost in emotions that don’t make sense…
Know this:
You may be the one chosen to end the cycle.
To say: it stops with me.
To breathe new space into your family system.
To free the next generation—not just through what you teach, but through who you choose to become.
The body is not broken.
It’s just full of messages no one has ever translated.
Start listening.
You might be surprised what it’s been trying to tell you all along.
We’ve never known so much about the human body. About what keeps us healthy, mobile, strong, and well.
We’ve mapped the nervous system. Tracked the impact of movement on mental health. Discovered how breath regulates emotion, how fascia communicates, how the core is so much more than a muscle group.
And yet—so many of us don’t do what we know.
We teach the breath, but forget to pause and feel it. We cue the core, but rush through our own sessions. We know movement is medicine—but we’re too busy, too tired, too pulled in a thousand directions to take our own.
Even as Pilates teachers, it’s easy to get caught in that disconnect.
We want results—fast. So do our clients.
“Can we make it more intense?” “How many sessions until I see a difference?”
We live in a world that promises big change with minimal effort. Biohacks, tech hacks, 10-minute abs, three-step systems.
But Joseph Pilates didn’t believe in shortcuts.
He believed in the power of practice. In showing up every day. In testing, failing, iterating, adjusting. He believed that a healthy, vibrant body was the result of consistent effort—earned, not outsourced.
That’s what built his confidence. His unshakeable belief in the method wasn’t marketing—it was personal. It was proven. On his body. In his students. Over time.
And I think there’s something powerful there we need to remember.
Joseph Pilates wasn’t just a visionary. He was a living lab.
Born in Germany in 1883, Joe was a sickly child. Asthma, rickets, rheumatic fever. He was teased for his frailty—but he became obsessed with building his strength.
He studied anatomy, gymnastics, martial arts, boxing, yoga, skiing, diving—you name it. He watched animals move. He observed breath patterns. He experimented on his own body.
During WWI, interned in a camp in England, he developed the first versions of his equipment—transforming hospital beds into training machines. He worked with injured soldiers, adapting movement to meet them where they were.
That’s something I keep coming back to: he adapted to reality, but never gave up on the vision of what was possible.
In the 1920s, he moved to New York and opened a studio with his partner Clara. Dancers, athletes, everyday people came through their doors. And Joe kept refining, evolving, responding to what he saw.
He wasn’t following a set of rules. He was creating something based on lived experience.
He embodied the work.
That’s the question I’ve been sitting with lately.
We honor the method. We study it, train in it, teach it. But do we live it?
Do we take care of our own breath, our own spine, our own nervous system?
Do we create time to feel what we ask our clients to feel? Or are we too busy demonstrating, correcting, performing, pushing?
There’s no shame in falling out of practice. Life is full. But we can’t forget that the brilliance of Pilates isn’t just in how well we cue it—it’s in how deeply we live it.
Joe wasn’t dogmatic. He wasn’t afraid to evolve.
He didn’t rely on other people’s approval or social media likes. He trusted what he felt. He tested ideas in real bodies. He adjusted when something didn’t work.
He believed movement could change lives—because it changed his.
So let’s be more like Joe:
So this is my gentle invitation: return to your own practice.
It doesn’t need to be fancy. It doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be yours.
Set aside the time. Notice what’s changed in your body. Pay attention to what it’s asking for. Reconnect with your breath. Move through the discomfort. Stay curious.
Because the most powerful teaching comes not from knowledge—but from knowing through experience.
That’s how Joe taught.
That’s how he built something that outlived him.
And that’s how we, as Pilates teachers, stay not just skilled—but alive, connected, and real.
So this is my gentle invitation: return to your own practice.
It doesn’t need to be fancy. It doesn’t need to be perfect. It just needs to be yours.
Set aside the time. Notice what’s changed in your body. Pay attention to what it’s asking for. Reconnect with your breath. Move through the discomfort. Stay curious.
Because the most powerful teaching comes not from knowledge—but from knowing through experience.
That’s how Joe taught.
That’s how he built something that outlived him.
And that’s how we, as Pilates teachers, stay not just skilled—but alive, connected, and real.
I’m not writing this from a place of perfection—I’ve been there too.
Not long ago, I found myself doing exactly what I teach others not to do: pouring all my energy into work, teaching, creating, delivering… but leaving no time for my own body. I wasn’t practicing. I wasn’t listening to myself. I was out of alignment with the very values I hold dear.
Something had to shift.
So I made the choice to recommit. I returned to my own workouts—not as a performance, but as a way to reconnect with myself. And now, I’m opening that space to others, too.
Every two weeks, I lead free live masterclasses on Zoom—a place to move together, breathe together, and stay accountable to the practice we all believe in.
No pressure. No perfection. Just presence. And a shared commitment to doing the work, not just knowing about it.
If you’d like to join me, I’d love to have you there.
👉 Leave your name and email here to receive a personal invitation.
Let’s not just talk about embodiment—let’s live it, together.
With heart,
Iva Mazzoleni
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Mother’s Day brings a certain kind of beauty online—
Photos of special moments, heartfelt words, stories of love and devotion.
It’s touching to witness - motherhood deserves every bit of that recognition.
But sitting with my daughters—and with my own mother—I found myself thinking about everything that doesn’t make it into a social media feed.
All the things we don’t talk about.
All the things we don’t know how to name.
And the invisible thread that connects motherhood to something far greater—something many of us live without ever realizing.
Motherhood isn’t just a role. It’s an energy.
It’s the invisible presence that says:
“You are safe here.”
“You can fall apart here.”
“You are still loved, even when you mess up.”
It’s not limited to biological mothers.
I’ve felt it from women who held space for me in my darkest hours.
From mentors, friends, sisters—who saw a version of me I hadn’t yet grown into.
They mothered me with faith. With presence. With love.
And yet—my truth? Becoming a mother didn’t come naturally to me.
I didn’t grow up dreaming of babies.
I didn’t trust I’d be enough.
It took falling in love with a stable, grounded man—my husband—to even consider becoming a mother.
And even then, I wrestled with fear, doubt, and a voice inside that whispered, “Are you really capable of this?”
But once my daughters arrived, they taught me.
They showed me how to soften. How to care. How to stretch far beyond what I thought I could hold.
And years later, it was one of them—my daughter—who would return that love in a way I never expected.
When I created IVA Pilates, it was one of the boldest, most devoted decisions of my life.
I walked straight into unknown territory.
I didn’t know what I was doing. I just knew I wanted to serve. I wanted to give back to the industry that had shaped me for two decades.
But no one prepared me for how much it would take.
The hours. The pressure. The emotional labor.
I gave all of myself to the vision. I was going hard, pushing forward, trying to make it work—pouring out energy with no pause, no breath.
And I almost gave up.
I truly did.
There was a moment where I felt depleted. Like I’d lost the soul of it.
Not because I didn’t believe in the mission—but because I had forgotten how to hold it with love.
And in that moment…
It was my daughter who stood beside me.
She reminded me who I was. She reminded me why I started.
She saw the mother energy in me even when I couldn’t.
She became my greatest cheerleader—not just as my daughter, but as a young woman who believed in the IVA vision with her whole heart.
Her belief became my anchor.
She trusted my devotion to creating a better future for Pilates teachers—and because of her, I didn’t quit.
She held space for me… the way I had once held space for her.
That’s what mother energy looks like.
It’s not always about age, gender, or roles.
It’s about faith, when someone forgets their own strength.
And it lives in all of us.
You birth ideas.
You raise clients.
You grow a vision from scratch.
You love something before the world sees its worth.
And you’ve likely never been told how hard it would be.
So let’s stop pretending it’s all flow and fulfillment.
Let’s talk about the tiredness. The doubt. The invisible labor of running a studio, a method, a brand, a dream.
Let’s name it.
Because only when we name it, can we nurture it.
It’s not just a strategy or a set of numbers. It’s a living extension of your devotion.
And like any living thing, it will mirror your energy back to you.
When I was cold, mechanical, and in hustle mode—IVA became a task.
When I slowed down, reconnected, loved it again—she came back to life.
We mother our work the way we were mothered. Or the way we wish we were mothered.
So here’s my gentle invitation:
Let it be imperfect.
Let it be resilient.
Let it be real.
If any part of this spoke to you—don’t let it stay as a fleeting thought.
Revisit your work this week, and mother it differently.
Ask deeper questions.
Let your rhythm guide you—not just your task list.
Give it the care it needs to grow—not just to keep up.
This work you’re doing—it’s not just business.
It’s something alive. And it responds to how you hold it.
You don’t have to be perfect.
You don’t have to have it all figured out.
But you do get to choose how you show up for it.
Just begin there.
With love,
Iva
Ask any Pilates teacher what they focus on when a client becomes pregnant, and the first answer is usually: modifications.
And yes—those matter. We need to know which movements to adjust, what’s safe in each trimester, and how to keep clients physically supported as their bodies change.
But after years of working with pregnant women—and mentoring teachers—I’ve realized something: focusing only on exercise adaptations misses the bigger picture.
Pregnancy is one of the most transformative journeys a person can experience. It’s physical, yes—but also emotional, psychological, and deeply personal. When we hold space for that whole experience, everything about our teaching changes.
For me, the foundation of excellent pregnancy Pilates comes down to three pillars. And when you integrate all three, you don’t just keep clients “safe”—you empower them to feel strong, supported, and connected at every stage.
It’s tempting to think of prenatal Pilates as “gentler Pilates.” But here’s the thing: our goal isn’t just to avoid harm—it’s to support a body that’s working overtime in every way.
During pregnancy, the body is constantly adapting. Posture shifts, ligaments soften, blood volume increases, and the core faces a completely new challenge. A one-dimensional focus—like just working the pelvic floor or only doing stretching—won’t meet those needs.
To really support your client, your sessions need to balance:
Mobility – keeping joints supple, easing discomfort in the back, hips, and chest, and preparing the body for the demands of labor.
Strength – especially in the glutes, back, and deep core, to support the pelvis and spine and reduce injury risk.
Cardiovascular health – to help manage energy levels, improve circulation, and maintain stamina as pregnancy progresses.
Why cardio? Pregnancy increases heart rate and blood volume significantly. Light to moderate cardio-based movement (yes, even within Pilates!) supports endurance and overall well-being.
Something to try now:
As you plan your next prenatal session, do a quick check:
Am I offering a balance of breathwork, strength, and mobility? Am I watching not just for “correct form,” but how she feels as she moves?
When you address the whole system, your client feels supported in every way that matters.
We all know how important cueing is in Pilates. But in pregnancy, cueing becomes something deeper. It’s not just about anatomy—it’s about connection.
A pregnant woman’s body is in constant communication—with herself, her baby, and her surroundings. She’s more attuned, more sensitive, and often more vulnerable. That means the words we choose, the tone we use, and the energy we bring into the room matter just as much as the movements we teach.
Think of it this way:
You’re not just guiding a body through exercises.
You’re guiding a whole person—and a new life growing with her.
The usual cues we might use—“engage your abs,” “pull your belly in”—can feel harsh or even disconnecting in this context. What she needs is language that supports, nurtures, and honors her experience.
For example: instead of saying, “Activate your core,”
try: “Let’s invite a feeling of lift from deep inside—as if your baby is being gently supported from below, cradled as you move.”
Or instead of, “Brace your belly,”
try: “Allow your belly to stay soft as you breathe in. On the exhale, feel a subtle rising—a sense of tone, not tension.”
These words do more than cue movement—they build trust, calm the nervous system, and remind her of her deep inner strength.
And it’s not just what you say—it’s how you say it. A calm tone. A grounded presence. The ability to meet her where she is, whether that’s strong and energized or tired and uncertain.
This kind of cueing might feel simple, but it has a profound impact. It helps her feel seen, supported, and connected—not just to her body, but to her experience of pregnancy itself.
In my experience, mastering this kind of language is one of the most transformative skills a teacher can develop. It’s not just technique—it’s care, and it changes everything.
Here’s the piece that gets overlooked most often—and, in my experience, the one that makes the biggest difference.
Pregnancy is a time of incredible change. Alongside the physical shifts, your client is navigating emotional highs and lows, identity changes, and often deep vulnerability. Even confident, experienced movers can feel shaken by how different their bodies feel.
This is where your presence as a teacher becomes just as important as your technical skill.
What your client needs isn’t just great cueing. She needs a space that feels safe, supportive, and free from judgment or pressure. She needs to know it’s okay to have good days and harder ones—that Pilates is a place where she can connect to her body in whatever state it’s in.
A practice to build in:
Start each session with an open-ended check-in:
“How are you feeling today—physically and emotionally?”
Really listen to the answer. Be ready to adapt your plan if needed. Sometimes the best session is one that simply holds space for breath, gentle movement, and presence.
In the course, we go deeper into the psychology of working with pregnant clients: how to build trust, navigate sensitive topics, and foster true mind-body integration during this transformational time.
If you’ve ever felt unsure—whether it’s about what to say, how to cue, or how to create the safest and most empowering experience for your pregnant clients—you’re not alone. This is deep, layered work. And when we bring presence, sensitivity, and real understanding to it, the impact is powerful.
When you build your teaching on these three pillars—safe, intelligent movement; language that resonates; and whole-person emotional support—you offer more than just a workout. You offer a space for strength, trust, and transformation.
At IVA' Pilates, we’re preparing something special: a focused session designed to give you real skills and confidence in working with pregnant clients. Together, we’ll cover:
If you want to be part of this, we’d love to have you on the waitlist.
With heart,
Iva 💛
Ask a group of Pilates teachers what the "core" is, and you’ll likely get a range of answers: the abs, the powerhouse, the deep stabilizers, the center. None of them are wrong. But none of them are quite complete, either.
After over two decades of teaching—and being a student with some of the most brilliant minds in the Pilates world—I’ve come to understand the core not as a set of muscles, but as a system. A living, breathing, adaptable system that reflects everything from how we breathe to how we feel, how we move to how we relate to gravity. And once you begin to teach with that understanding, everything changes.
Like most teachers, I started with a structural approach. I memorized anatomy charts, practiced cueing the transverse abdominis, and focused on alignment. That knowledge is essential—it gave me the map. But in real sessions, something was missing. My clients didn’t always respond to my "perfect" cues. Their bodies didn’t behave like the textbooks said they would. And frankly, neither did mine.
What I started to notice—first as a whisper, then as a truth I couldn’t ignore—was that the core wasn’t just something to engage. It was something to listen to.
The core, as I teach it now, is a dynamic relationship. It’s the interplay between your breath, spine, pelvis, fascia, and mental focus. It’s the part of you that holds you together and also allows you to expand. It regulates pressure, energy, and even emotion. It responds to your nervous system, not just your muscles.
One of the biggest shifts in how I teach came from understanding the role of breath. Not just as a cue for rhythm, but as a fundamental part of core activation and release. The diaphragm doesn’t work in isolation—it’s deeply linked with the pelvic floor, the transversus, and the spine. Breath is the bridge between tension and ease, strength and softness. When students hold their breath, they hold their core hostage. When they learn to breathe with awareness, everything changes.
If you only teach the core as a muscle group, you might get strength—but you miss out on power. You miss connection, resilience, fluidity.
I like to say: you don’t do core work. You drop into your core. You sense it. You work with it. That’s what changes how someone moves.
Over the years, I’ve taught hundreds of teachers who felt stuck. They knew how to cue the core. They could demo the moves. But something was off.
Often, they were trying to get students to "activate" something without truly understanding what they were asking for. Because when you cue from the outside—instead of sensing from the inside—you risk becoming robotic. And your students feel that. The magic of Pilates is not in reciting the perfect script. It’s in guiding someone back into their body.
When you understand the core as a system, you start to observe differently. You watch the breath. The way the ribs move. How someone meets the floor. You ask different questions. You give space. You invite discovery, not just correction.
And this isn’t just for advanced students. Beginners benefit even more when you teach this way. You’re not overwhelming them with information—they’re learning through sensation and experience.
Here’s the thing: working this way doesn’t just feel better. It works better.
Teaching the core as a system improves:
It also helps you, the teacher, stay inspired. Because you’re not repeating the same formula over and over. You’re engaged, curious, alive in your teaching.
You don’t need to overhaul everything. Here are a few ways to begin shifting toward a system-based approach:
These small shifts can completely change the way you teach—and the way your students feel in their bodies.
In our sessions inside the IVA Pilates Inner Circle, we explore this in depth. We layer learning from foundational work to more complex explorations. We look at how breath and fascia interact. We study how intent and awareness shape movement. We bring in not just anatomy, but experience.
We explore concepts like:
And we do it together, with teachers who are ready to go deeper—not just into the body, but into the art of teaching itself.
If you’re a Pilates teacher who’s been feeling that there’s more to core work than what you were taught in your first training—trust that feeling. There is.
You don’t need more complicated choreography. You need better questions, deeper listening, and a willingness to go beyond structure into system.
That’s where the transformation happens. That’s where teaching moves beyond routine—beyond repeating what you know—and becomes a space of ongoing discovery.
A way to stay engaged, curious, and alive in your work.
If the idea of teaching the core as a responsive, intelligent system speaks to you—there’s more to discover. From immersive sessions to a vibrant community of like-minded teachers, the IVA Pilates Method offers a path to keep evolving your practice.
Send us a message at hello@ivapilates.com to learn more about the Core Immersion replay or how the IVA' Inner Circle could support your growth.
We’d love to connect and tell you more.
Do you ever wonder why some clients stick around for years, while others drift away after a few sessions?
It’s easy to think it comes down to how well we cue, how fast we get the results, or how many certifications we’ve collected. But what if the real answer is something deeper—something that isn’t found in any manual or training module?
This was the heart of our recent Inner Circle mastermind session, Bridge the Gap, where we explored a part of our teaching that often goes unspoken: how to connect not just with the client’s body, but with the person.
Because let’s be honest—we’re not just working with bodies. We’re working with people. And people are complicated. Beautiful, but complicated.
That’s where the concept of the 6 Human Needs comes in. When I discovered this framework (based on Tony Robbins' model) years ago, it completely changed how I saw my clients—and myself.
So today, I want to share some of what we explored together in that session. Not as a checklist. Not as a theory. But as a door to go deeper in your work.
We all share six core needs that drive everything we do:
Every single client who walks into your studio is trying to meet one—or several—of these needs. And so are you.
The magic happens when you begin to see it. Not judge. Not fix. Just notice. And respond with presence.
Let me share a few little stories—composites of real moments over the years—that might help you recognize these needs in action:
Certainty – Lisa comes every Tuesday at 10:00 sharp. She always wants to know what we’ll do in class before we begin. If I change the order of exercises, she looks uneasy. Lisa isn’t boring or rigid. She’s seeking certainty. Her life outside is unpredictable—an aging parent, an unstable job. In the studio, she wants to feel grounded. My consistency is her anchor.
Variety – Then there’s Marco. He shows up smiling but gets restless fast. If we repeat the same sequence twice in a row, he checks out. When I mix in something unexpected—a new prop, a creative visual cue—he lights up. Variety feeds his energy. He’s not flaky. He just thrives on stimulation.
Significance – Claire once told me, "I feel like this is the only place where someone actually sees me." She shows up early, loves praise, and often volunteers stories about her life. She’s not seeking attention—she’s seeking significance. When I remember something she shared last week, or acknowledge her progress, she softens. She feels valued.
Love & Connection – Tom barely speaks during class, but he always lingers after, asking how I’m doing or offering to help put equipment away. He's not just being polite. He’s looking for connection. It’s not about the exercise—it’s about being part of something.
Growth – Meet Alina. She wants to understand why every movement matters. She journals after class. She’s always asking questions. For her, Pilates is a journey of self-mastery. Progress isn’t just physical—it’s growth. If I can guide her through small evolutions, she’s deeply fulfilled.
Contribution – And then there's Jill, who always checks in on other clients. She brings snacks for the group, volunteers to demo. She lights up when she can help. Contribution fuels her spirit. Giving makes her feel alive.
When you start to see clients through this lens, things shift. Resistance becomes information. Flaky behavior becomes a clue. Loyalty starts to make more sense.
Most teacher trainings focus on alignment, anatomy, and control. And yes, those things matter. We should be good at our craft. We should know how to support a spine, guide a breath, and adapt a movement.
But that’s not the whole story.
Imagine this: A client comes in late, flustered, making excuses. You could get annoyed. Or... you could see a human being whose need for certainty is out of balance. Maybe her life feels chaotic. Your class might be the one place she can breathe.
Or another client resists feedback. Every time you correct something, they tense up. It’s not that they don’t want to improve—it’s that their need for significance might be unmet. Being told what to do might feel like being made small.
See how it shifts?
This isn’t about playing therapist. It’s about being human.
During the mastermind, we also turned the lens inward. Because guess what? These needs live in you, too.
There’s no right or wrong here. But knowing your own patterns helps you show up with more awareness—and less reactivity.
It also helps you recognize when your needs are clashing with your client’s. (Yep, it happens. All the time.)
This is the part I wish more teachers talked about.
We spend so much time trying to stand out by perfecting our technique or adding more to our toolbox. But your clients aren’t looking for the best Pilates technician.
They’re looking for someone who gets them. Someone who sees beyond the body. Someone who can hold space for who they are and who they’re becoming.
That’s what makes you irreplaceable.
Not fancy flows. Not peak poses. But presence.
If this speaks to you, here are a few ways to start applying it in your teaching:
Pilates can sometimes feel like a solo journey. Especially if you’re freelancing or running your own space. But I promise—you’re not the only one thinking about this.
Inside our Inner Circle, these are the conversations we live for. We go deep. We get personal. We explore the messy, beautiful parts of what it means to teach people, not just bodies.
So if any part of this stirred something in you, stay with it. Explore it. Talk about it.
If you're a teacher who knows that a fulfilling and successful practice takes more than good technique—if you're looking for more in your work, in your life, and in your impact—maybe the Inner Circle is the place for you.
And if you want to dive deeper into this topic and actually learn how to apply the 6 Human Needs framework in your sessions, you can get one-time access to the full 4-hour Inner Circle mastermind replay.
We don’t offer replays often—but this one is different.
You’ll walk away with real tools, real examples, and a new level of insight into why your clients show up the way they do—and how you can meet them where they are, without losing yourself in the process.
Because the more you connect with the human needs—your own and your clients’—the more powerful your teaching becomes.
Not just in the way it looks. But in the way it feels.
And in the end, that’s what people remember.
With love,
Iva
When I started teaching Pilates, I followed the “rules.” Beginner. Intermediate. Advanced.
It gave me structure and a clear progression path for my clients—or so I thought. But over time, I noticed something was off. I was starting to teach “levels,” not people. I was teaching what I had planned, rather than what the person in front of me actually needed.
And my clients could feel it.
Some stopped showing up. Others seemed disconnected or frustrated. I knew in my gut something had to change. So I began listening more closely—to how they moved, how they felt, and what their bodies were asking for that day.
What I found changed everything.
Real people don’t live in categories. They show up tired, stressed, motivated, hopeful… sometimes all in the same week. And they need more than a pre-written program—they need support that responds to where they are now.
That’s when the Three-Bucket Method was born. Not based on levels. But based on real, in-the-moment needs.
Some days, a client walks into the studio with energy to spare, ready to be challenged.
Other days, they seem weighed down—by fatigue, stress, or tension in their body that wasn’t there last week.
And then there are the days in between, where they move well but something still feels off—a lack of control, a disconnect in their posture, or a sense that they’re pushing through movement rather than really partnering with their body.
As teachers, we see this shift all the time.
Some clients need to slow down, others need structure, and some are ready to push their limits.
But the truth is, most people need a mix at any given time—not a one-size-fits-all routine.
That’s where the Three Buckets approach comes in.
It offers a simple, adaptable way to structure movement—not by level or ability, but by what the body actually needs.
The Life Care, Life Balance, and Life Performance Buckets work together like a well-balanced training portfolio. The goal isn’t to place someone into just one, but to find the right balance between them to get the best results for your client from his practice with you.
You will transform from a pilates teacher into a problem solving strategist for your clients having a formula that always adjusts to what your clients body need!
A client recovering from injury might spend 70% of their effort on Life Care, 25% on Life Balance, and 5% on Performance—keeping movement restorative while gradually rebuilding alignment and strength. Another, already strong and fit client that is only struggling with alignment issues, might benefit from a near-even split between Care and Balance of no more than 40-50%, with a higher focus on Performance of 50-60% to maintain their body’s resilience and capacity.
No two clients will have the same ratios, and those needs will shift over time. The role of the teacher isn’t just to lead exercises—it’s to observe, listen, and adjust the mix accordingly.
This is the foundation—the work that keeps movement safe, fluid, and sustainable.
Some clients spend more time here due to injury or chronic pain, but even the strongest bodies need care. Stress, poor sleep, or long hours spent at a desk can leave the body tight and uncooperative, and when that happens, movement must slow down to allow recovery.
Life Care work is small, gentle, slow and deliberate. It focuses on letting go of tension rather than adding more, on mobility rather than strength, on ease rather than effort. When this bucket is full, clients move freely, without pain or restriction—an essential foundation that supports everything else.
This is where movement becomes more structured and intentional.
While Life Care focuses on releasing tension, Balance is about organizing the body, improving posture, and moving efficiently with our inner forces (our intention and emotions for exemple) and outer force (like gravity and leverage for exemple). They learn to partner and work with these forces instead of fighting against them.
Many clients spend the bulk of their time in this bucket, learning how to distribute weight, how to stabilize before moving, and how to engage muscles in a way that feels both effortless and strong. It’s not about pushing harder—it’s about moving smarter.
Balance work helps clients fine-tune how they interact with gravity, creating a body that is both strong and adaptable.
When this bucket is full, clients feel more connected, stable, and in control of their movements, no longer compensating or relying on force to get through an exercise.
This is where movement becomes dynamic, powerful, and challenging. The work in this bucket builds strength, endurance, and resilience, allowing clients to test their limits and see what they’re capable of.
But here’s the key: Performance isn’t just about training hard. It only works when the other two buckets are full supporting your capabilities of going beyond your comfort zones. A client with tight hips from sitting all day might struggle with strength exercises—not because they’re weak, but because their movement is restricted. Another, with poor postural awareness, might add force to an exercise without truly controlling it, leading to strain instead of strength.
Performance training is where clients gain confidence in their abilities and develop the mental, emotional, energetic and physical resilience to take on new challenges.
When taught at the right time and in the right proportion, Performance training is where clients move beyond "functional" into thriving becoming the best version of themselves!
Every client needs a mix of these three elements. The challenge is knowing how to adjust the ratio in a way that keeps them progressing without pushing too far or holding them back.
This starts with observation. How are they moving today? What does their posture tell you? Do they seem mentally drained or ready for a challenge? Sometimes, clients think they need intensity when what they really need is balance. Others may hesitate when they’re actually ready to push a little further.
Asking the right questions helps fine-tune the mix. How did they feel after their last session? Where do they notice tension or fatigue? By listening, adjusting, and staying adaptable, you create a practice that supports them, rather than just leading them through exercises. Make sure you ask your clients how they feel and what they think their body might need when coming to class.
When we shift our approach from "What should I teach today?" to "What does this client need today?", we move from pre-structured rigid programming that is based on sequences and order of movements to responsive, intuitive teaching.
The Life Care, Life Balance, and Life Performance Buckets offer a simple yet powerful way to guide movement, ensuring clients get exactly what they need—not just in a single session, but over time.
But this isn’t just about your clients—it’s about you as a teacher, too. The way you move, recover, and challenge yourself directly impacts how you show up in your teaching. If you’re curious about how this concept applies to your own body, start by taking a short quiz designed to help you identify which buckets need more attention in your own movement practice.
Because just like our clients, we all need the right balance of restoration, alignment, and strength to keep evolving.
Want to explore it for yourself? Take the quiz here.
Every day, we interact with invisible forces that shape how we move—some acting upon us from the outside, others stirring us from within. Yet, most Pilates teachers and clients are completely unaware of these hidden influences and the immense power they hold over our movement patterns.
One of the greatest external forces governing our bodies is gravity. We all know it exists, but do we truly understand how it feels in our bodies?
How it moves us, supports us, and even enhances our ability to move with ease and efficiency?
For many, gravity is seen as something to resist—something to pull up against, stabilize against, and counteract. But what if that perspective is limiting us rather than empowering us?
At the recent Pilates Congress 2025, movement educator Wendy LeBlanc-Arbuckle posed a profound question:
What if gravity wasn’t your opponent, but your greatest teacher?
Instead of fighting against gravity, Wendy invites us to partner with it—to let it guide, support, and even refine the way we move. This simple shift can unlock more natural, fluid, and sustainable movement patterns—transforming not just our personal practice but also the way we teach.
Are you ready to rethink your relationship with gravity? Let’s explore how embracing this invisible force can elevate our movement, our teaching, and our understanding of the body.
One of the biggest misconceptions in Pilates (and fitness in general) is the idea that more stability equals better movement. We’re constantly cueing clients to “engage the core,” “pull up,” or “brace,” often without considering whether that tension is actually helping them move better.
The result? Over-stabilization.
When we grip too hard—whether in the core, the shoulders, or the pelvis—we block natural movement rather than support it.
Instead of creating freedom and efficiency, we create rigidity, tension, and even compensation patterns that lead to pain.
Wendy’s approach invites us to reframe stability as something dynamic, not static. Instead of “holding” ourselves in place, we learn to balance with gravity, rather than against it.
Most Pilates teachers have been conditioned to see core engagement as a pulling-in action—as if we must tighten everything just to stand, sit, or move correctly. But true core support isn’t about gripping; it’s about coordination and adaptability.
Think about it:
When we shift from core control to core coordination, movement becomes lighter, freer, and more sustainable. Instead of teaching clients to fight gravity, we help them find support within it—and that changes everything.
Another key concept in Wendy’s teaching is the role of the fascial system in supporting movement.
Fascia is not just a passive structure—it’s an active, intelligent network that responds to how we move. Rather than isolating muscles, we can tap into the fascial system to distribute effort more efficiently.
This perspective shifts the way we cue movement. Instead of asking clients to “activate” specific muscles, we can guide them to sense how their entire body is engaged in the movement. This whole-body awareness allows for a more fluid, integrated way of moving that feels both strong and effortless.
The spine is often treated as a rigid column—something to hold tall and straight. But Wendy’s workshop emphasized a different approach: the spine as a breathing, living structure that responds dynamically to movement.
Instead of forcing a "neutral" spine, she encourages exploration:
This doesn’t mean losing support—it means finding intelligent stability through adaptability, not rigidity.
Ready to bring this perspective shift into your Pilates practice? Here are three simple ways to partner with gravity in your movement and teaching:
Wendy LeBlanc-Arbuckle’s ability to challenge conventional thinking while honoring the intelligence of the body is truly inspiring. She doesn’t just teach movement—she invites us into a deeper conversation with our own bodies. Her approach is not about fixing, correcting, or controlling—it’s about discovering, feeling, and allowing.
Those who have had the privilege of learning from her know that her teaching is about more than just exercises. It’s about reconnecting with movement in a way that is both deeply intuitive and profoundly liberating. She offers an approach that is both grounded in science and rich with wisdom from years of working with the human body.
By shifting the way we think about gravity, stability, and movement, we unlock a more sustainable, adaptable, and easeful way to move and teach.
Instead of teaching our clients to fight gravity, we can help them find effortless support within it. And that changes not just how they move in class, but how they move in life.
If this approach intrigues you, dive deeper. The Partner with Gravity workshop replay is available for a limited time—a rare opportunity to learn directly from Wendy LeBlanc-Arbuckle and revolutionize the way you approach Pilates.
Want to experience this shift for yourself? Get access to the full workshop replay today.
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What if adding weight wasn’t about making exercises harder—but about making movement feel better?
In Pilates, we’re often taught to think of weight as resistance—somethingto push against, something that makes movement more challenging. But what if weight, when used differently, could do the exact opposite? What if it could help release unnecessary tension, improve proprioception, and allow the body to move with greater ease?
At the Pilates Congress 2025, Wendy LeBlanc-Arbuckle shared apowerful perspective shift on this very topic. Through her experience working with movers of all backgrounds, she introduced the idea that weight is not just for strength—it can also be a tool for relaxation and nervous system regulation.
One story, in particular, captured this idea beautifully.
During the workshop, Wendy shared a case study from her own practice—one that challenged traditional notions of strength, tension, and control.
A client, a former Navy SEAL, came to her after major heart surgery. He was incredibly strong, highly disciplined, and conditioned for endurance. His workouts had always been intense. His muscles, however, were so tight and over-recruited that even simple movements felt restricted.
To help him, Wendy placed a 10-pound sandbag on his shoulders. No change. 20 pounds? Still no shift.
Then she added 30 pounds, distributing the weight across his shoulders. Suddenly—his entire body let go. His shoulders dropped, his breath deepened, and, for the first time, he relaxed.
This moment was profound. Here was a man who had been trained to withstand extreme physical conditions, yet it took an unexpected approach—applying weight—to signal safety to his nervous system. Instead of fighting against resistance, his body responded to support. The added weight acted as an anchor, giving permission to release rather than brace.
Most people assume that adding weight makes movement harder. But in reality, the nervous system doesn’t always interpret weight as a challenge—sometimes, it reads it as stability.
This is especially true for clients who struggle with unnecessary bracing. Think of someone who constantly grips their shoulders, locks their knees, or tightens their jaw. Their body holds onto tension as a safety mechanism—a way of staying "ready" for movement.
By introducing weight strategically, we can:
- Improve proprioception – The body receives clearer signals about where it is in space, allowing for more natural movement.
- Release unnecessary tension – When weight is used correctly, it provides feedback that encourages relaxation instead of contraction.
- Enhance spinal organization – Weighted feedback helps align the body in a way that feels supported rather than forced.
Think of it this way: Have you ever felt how a weighted blanket can help you sleep better? It’s not because you’re “working harder” under the weight—it’s because your nervous system feels safe enough to let go.
For Pilates teachers, this offers an exciting opportunity to reframe how we use props and external load in sessions. Instead of always using weights to build strength, we can explore them as tools for deepening body awareness and relaxation.
Here are a few ideas:
- Weighted Sandbags on the Shoulders – Have clients experience how weight helps their shoulders naturally drop rather than forcing them down.
- Holding Small Weights in the Hands During Standing Work – Encourages grounding and connection to the floor.
- Weighted Blankets or Vests in Supine Exercises – Helps clients feel more supported, reducing gripping in the lower back and chest.
- Partner Work with Light Pressure on the Body – Instead of verbally cueing a client to relax, a gentle weighted touch can speak directly to the nervous system.
It’s not about making movements harder. It’s about helping the body find a new sense of ease, control, and flow.
Wendy’s insights at the Pilates Congress 2025 were a true gift, expanding how we see movement, support, and release. Her ability to challenge conventional thinking while honoring the intelligence of the body helps us grow—not just as teachers, but as lifelong learners. These shifts in perspective make us more resourceful, adaptable, and better equipped to serve our clients in a way that supports both strength and ease.
For those of us who were there, the experience was transformative. But the good news? You don’t have to miss out.
If you’re curious to explore these ideas further, the entire Pilates Congress 2025 is now available as an on-demand class. You can explore these teachings, try them in your own practice, and integrate these fresh perspectives into your teaching.
If you’ve ever wondered how to help your clients move with less strain and more freedom, this is your chance to discover how the smallest shifts can create the biggest breakthroughs.
Click here to get access to the Pilates Congress on-demand here!
For over 20 years, I’ve opened my studio doors to people stepping into Pilates for the very first time. Each trial session is unique, a moment of possibility not just for the client, but also for me. These aren’t just workouts—they’re opportunities to connect, to inspire, and to show someone how Pilates can transform their body and their life.
Along the way, I’ve learned a lot about what makes these sessions meaningful. Not just for growing my studio but for creating experiences that leave people feeling seen, cared for, and excited about what’s next.
This isn’t a one-size-fits-all formula. It’s about creating heartfelt, intentional moments that matter. Let me share what’s worked for me, and perhaps it will spark ideas for you too.
When I first started teaching, I approached every trial session differently. I’d improvise, trying to gauge what each client needed in the moment. But over time, I realized this wasn’t sustainable. While spontaneity has its place, consistency is what helps clients feel secure and cared for.
Having a system doesn’t mean you lose your creativity—it means you create space for it. With a clear framework in place, you can focus on what truly matters: connecting with the person in front of you and tailoring the session to their unique needs.
I’ve always believed that trial sessions are about building relationships, not making a sale. That’s why they’re free at my studio. For me, it’s about giving someone the chance to feel what Pilates can offer—a test drive of sorts, where there’s no pressure, only possibility.
When someone walks in for their first session, it’s an invitation to discover something transformative. It’s my job to guide them, to help them feel at ease, and to show them that this is a space where they can thrive.
The connection starts long before they step into the studio. When someone calls to book their trial session, I make sure they hear the excitement in my voice. I explain what to expect and let them know how much I’m looking forward to meeting them. In case they have left a massage, I make sure they are being called back the exact same day (no exception to this commitment).
A day before their appointment, I send a kind video reminder via text message, so they are receiving a visual (video) confirmation of their appointment. It’s a small gesture, yet it creates massive rapport and it says: “We’re ready for you. You matter to us.”
When a new client walks through the door, I want them to feel like they’re stepping into a place where they belong. It’s easy to get caught up in the busyness of running a studio, but I’ve learned to pause, await and greet them with a smile, and show them that their presence matters.
The first 10 seconds can set the tone for the entire session. A warm, intentional welcome makes all the difference.
Before we get to movement, I sit down with every new client for a conversation. I ask about their story, their challenges, their expectations and how they want to feel when they leave.
One question I always ask is: “How would you like to feel after this class or what would make today a win for you?”
It’s simple but powerful. It shifts the focus to what they need most and helps me create an experience that feels personal and impactful.
During the session, I aim to give them a taste of what Pilates can do for them. I choose 2-3 pieces of equipment, add some matwork, and focus on what they’ve told me they need—whether it’s strength, posture, or relaxation.
I always end with standing work, encouraging them to embody their best posture. Before they leave, I tell them: “Even if you never come back, you’ve learned something today that you can take with you.”
It’s not just about showing them what Pilates can do; it’s about leaving them with something meaningful, something they’ll remember.
The follow-up is where relationships are built. Within 24 hours, I reach out to ask how they’re feeling and if they have any questions. This isn’t just about securing a second session—it’s about showing them that their well-being matters to me.
If they’re ready to continue, I introduce our Discovery Pack: three private sessions and one group class, offered at a discounted rate. It’s a way to help them dive deeper into Pilates without feeling overwhelmed or having to commit to a long-term solution.
One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned is this: every client comes to Pilates with a deeper need. Please remember that clients don’t come to you to learn Pilates, they come to solve a problem believing that Pilates could be the solution! The hidden need they might be after is certainty, variety, significance, connection, growth, or contribution.
When you take the time to understand what drives them, you can create a session that resonates on a deeper level.
- For certainty: Create a safe, predictable space.
- For variety: Introduce new equipment or exercises.
- For significance: Acknowledge their efforts and progress.
By meeting these needs, you’re not just teaching Pilates—you’re creating a meaningful connection.
If I’ve learned anything over the years, it’s this: people don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care.
Yes, technique matters. But what truly makes a difference is how you make people feel. When you teach from the heart—when you’re present, authentic, and caring—you create an experience that goes far beyond movement.
A trial session is so much more than an introduction to Pilates. It’s a chance to connect, inspire, and show someone what’s possible.
No matter the approach you choose to follow, having a clear system in place is crucial to ensure the quality and consistency of your work. A reliable system gives you the framework to meet your clients’ needs—whether they’re seeking strength, relief from pain, or a deeper sense of connection.
Once you’ve found a method that works for you, refine it, document it, and use it with intention. When you show up consistently and with care, your system becomes the foundation for building trust, creating impact, and transforming lives.
Every time someone walks into your studio, remember: this is your moment to make a difference. Show them they matter, teach with heart, and create an experience that resonates far beyond the session itself.
With all my heart,
Iva
