Making an Impact: Teaching Pilates to kids is more than just exercises

“ Be the Change you want to see in the world”- Mahatma Gandhi.

For years I have heard Pilates teachers say that Pilates is for everyone. However, that doesn’t seem to always ring true as more often than not I see our tiniest “clientele” often overlooked.

I have asked myself why that is, and I find that in the past Pilates teachers who have worked with kids typically do one offs and pop us and then that's it. However, as a parent of small children I know that kids need and value consistency. It’s why when programming for children creating tangible resources or series is vital in having a long lasting impact in the community.

It's why I believe adding a life or educational lesson when teaching Pilates is essential. Just recently I was the guest speaker at a Summer Camp in Ashburn, Virginia and I came up with Pilates programming around bravery and courage. My goal was to help the girls feel empowered through showcasing different moments in history where female athletes had to stand up for themselves and go against the grain throughout history. I also included a reading from Misty Copeland's book, “ Firebird” , a book about a young dancer overcoming fear.

How does this tie into Pilates? Well Pilates helps with overcoming fear by reducing cortisol levels due to the control breath patterns and mindful movement. It also helps with good posture and studies suggest good posture leads to confidence and inevitably makes you less fearful.

Concepts like this can really be beneficial for children especially adolescents as they are going into hormonal changes physically and psychologically. This type of teaching and programming is exactly what’s needed in schools and it's way bigger than just teaching Pilates itself.

So if you ever get asked to teach Pilates for kids, remember it's bigger than the exercises ; it's you also teaching them how to be the change in the world you want to see.