Custom Pilates Sessions - What's the Secret Sauce?
When I think about custom building sessions for my students I think of the all important "Part C".
Part C is the part of the session after the Reformer and the Mat work have been completed and you have the remainder of the session to dig into your client's particular needs.
I read a very long time ago that one way intelligence is defined is by a person's ability to aggregate information. The Part C of every session is that precise moment. The moment where you aggregate everything you've seen from the beginning of the session and pool it with everything you already know about the client to fashion an ideal response to their body's particular needs.
As a young teacher I struggled with crafting that Part C, constantly questioning my choices. Was it the best one I could have come up with? Would it work? Was my assessment even correct? Although Pilates teachers aren't medical practitioners we must operate with the data in front of us and make reasoned, sound choices. Assessing clients doesn't have to be a mystery for a new teacher. Here are three of my go-to tips for putting together a plan for my Private clients as we move through the session in order to arrive at an appropriate and impactful Part C.
Look for repeating patterns
Ask the right questions
Test your theory
Let's take each one and dig in a bit.
First, repeating patterns are key to driving your exercise programming. Be very careful not to jump to conclusions. Movement is complicated. Simple errors, compensations, misalignments happen chronically in the course of a workout. It's the specific repetition of that pattern that you are trying to tease out. If you notice your client is offloading onto one foot more than the other in the Footwork, then make sure to look for that habit in Stomach Massage, Elephant, Running, and even Kneeling moves. Finding issues that repeat will inform your big picture program for your client.
Second, input from your client is key. I have a personal pet peeve with the question "how does that feel" as it is used in Pilates sessions because it opens the floodgates to excess information but a targeted rephrase of this question can be illustrative. Try asking "does that feel different on one side?" Or "where exactly is this hard?" By the time you are asking these questions, you are building the framework for your Pilates prescription so be very specific.
Finally, test your theory. Choose a few moves you think will address the issues and then forge ahead. Your success will be evident when your client is unduly challenged, or has significant relief - ideally both (although maybe not at the same time). If your Part C choices don't provide the challenge or relief you want for your student, go back to the drawing board. Perhaps there's a pattern you haven't observed yet, or a question you didn't ask during a certain move.
Over time you will find your own tools and process to arrive at your personal secret sauce.
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