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some questions i get asked by new clients in no particular order or importance…

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What should I wear?

Anything you would wear to yoga or the gym.  Keep in mind that you will lie on your back and sides with your knees apart and wear clothing that won’t make you feel embarrassed.  I’m pretty sure that I flashed my first teacher about an hour before I bought my first pair of pilates/yoga/dance pants!  So wear something comfortable and easy to move in that “sits on your bones” … the poofy bathing suit shorts make it hard for me to see what your pelvis is doing.

Try to avoid zippers and buttons and hard seams, they’re poky and will bug you and cut my machines.

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Can I do Pilates with an injury?  Post surgery?  Post pregnancy?

Yes, yes and yes.

While I wouldn’t recommend jumping into your local giant gym class or randomly buying a video and trying to do all the exercises I would certainly advocate finding a competent movement teacher who speaks from a clear knowledge base and admits what she doesn’t know.  I have seen people recover from surgery in less than half the time their surgeon expected simply because they prepared in advance and continued with training afterward.  [yes, i can provide references who will confirm this from their own experience as well as other movement teachers who work similarly and will tell you the same things.]

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What’s your cancellation policy?

Please cancel or reschedule 24 hours in advance to avoid being charged

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I tried Pilates, my neck/back hurt for weeks.

I tried Pilates, it injured me badly.

I tried Pilates and it didn’t make any sense…

I tried Pilates and…

your teacher sucked.

i’m sorry if that’s harsh but if you tell someone “my neck is bugging me” and they can’t or won’t modify the work until that is no longer true?  find some one new to pay for help.  i will happily give you a list of teachers i think are competent (including myself heh) and help you find somewhere near to your life to get useful help but if you’re saying the kinds of things I said above and you didn’t have a good experience I’d really like a chance to change your mind.

a good rule of thumb is if you ask why you’re doing something and they can’t explain to your satisfaction? don’t do it.

if it feels wrong?  stop.
if the teacher won’t listen? leave.

at the end of the day YOU are in charge of you and no one else.  never let anyone make you feel unsafe.

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Will Pilates make me lose weight?

No.  Sorry, but no.  Weight loss is 80% diet and 20% exercise… or, as I like to say “exercise is about fitness, eating habits are about fatness” so the only way for you to lose weight is for you to put down the fork.  Anytime you make more muscle mass you burn more calories to exist (muscle eats more calories than fat) but that isn’t enough to counteract what you put in your mouth.

If you need help try Weight Watchers, reading “mindless eating” and reading “the GI Diet” (i recommend only the original books and have read no followups.)
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Why don’t you have group classes?

The studio is tiny and it was very difficult to have decent attendance with a maximum of five people in the class.  After more than two years of running classes with an average attendance of 2 I was forced to cancel them.  If you and your friends want a group we will build you one!

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