I have a coaching session once a month. In that hour I have the time to think about what I’m doing, where I’m going and to reflect on what I have achieved
Recently I was asked to think back to my first experiences of teaching.
What was it that made me want to teach? What did I enjoy most about teaching?
I thought back to one of my very first mat classes, taught in a large, draughty sports hall attached to a local school.
My group of 12 attendees and I barely filled half of the space and I had to use all my vocal skills to project my voice into the vast echoing chamber.
I remembered that first lesson over running because I just had SO much to tell these people about how fabulous Pilates was and what a visionary Joseph Pilates had been.
At the end of the lesson, every single person signed up to that block of classes, many are still my clients today.
As my coach asked me more questions about teaching that first class I felt like I was watching myself teach in an out of body experience. I knew that person still had so much to learn but the thing that struck me the most as I watched her, was her enthusiasm and passion to share, to give those 12 people everything she had at that moment in time.
So when asked what I would say to myself right there in that moment, what would it be? I replied:
“Keep sharing, that’s the point…”
Almost 20 years later and I no longer teach in that draughty sports hall. My Pilates work life and my home life have changed quite dramatically; a serious ski-ing accident and the birth of twins amongst other life changing events. Yet I feel more than ever it is time to share, to listen and to build community.
I recently co-hosted a weekend of Pilates Workshops that were aimed at bringing teachers together to develop their own practice, their own teaching and their businesses. This experience really cemented for me the positive impact we can have on each other when we come together with trust and without judgment to share our thoughts and goals.
So the next time someone asks me what I do, I think that will be my answer. “I share, that’s the point”
