Pilates and Yoga Instructors
Instruct Pilates and yoga classes to enhance physical fitness and wellbeing.
An evening class at the studio
You are a Pilates and yoga instructor at a small studio, leading mixed-ability classes and looking after each student's safety. It is 5:40pm. Class starts at six, the room is warming up and a full group of twelve is rolling out their mats. Three of them have told you something about their bodies already.
Choose what you would do. Then see what happens. There are often good reasons for each choice.
Could you give me a hands-on adjustment today? Last week I felt wobbly in the standing pose. But I'm not sure I want you to touch me. Is there another way to help?
Thank her for saying so, offer voice and demonstration, and only touch if she asks
Maya relaxes. She finds her balance with your cues and mentions at the end that she felt safe. Consent is a foundation of this work, not an extra.
Reassure her that hands-on adjustments are normal and just do a gentle one in class
Maya freezes at your touch and stops enjoying the class. She never says why. Anyone's body is theirs, and touch needs a clear yes, not an assumption.
Tell her you'll use your voice and demonstration instead, and check before every adjustment
Maya settles in and enjoys the class. You were respectful, though you may have limited what you could help her with. Asking before each adjustment keeps her options open.
I'm sorry, I'm twenty minutes late and the class has started. I've had a terrible day and I really need this. Is it all right if I join in now? I'll be quiet.
Tell him it's too late and he has to wait for the next class, because it's the rule
He goes home even more stressed. A rule about late arrivals has a reason, but in this case you could have offered a lighter option.
Welcome him with a short warm-up at the back, then let him join in gently
He quietly joins in, settles, and leaves feeling better than when he arrived. A kind welcome with a safe start is better than a locked door.
Let him in and carry on, since he is quiet and needs it
He jumps into a deep stretch without warming up, and strains his neck. Late joiners miss the preparation that keeps the body safe.
My lower back has been aching for weeks. Is it my muscles or my spine? You must see this all the time. Just tell me what it is and what to do so I can stop worrying.
Tell her you think it's probably muscle tension and recommend a stretch you've seen work
She tries the stretch and her pain gets worse. It was never your place to diagnose, and she lost a week she might have spent seeing someone who could help.
Say you can't diagnose pain, suggest she sees a doctor or physio, and offer to adjust class to be gentler
Fatima is a bit disappointed, but takes your advice and books an appointment. Your boundary was right, and a warmer reply would have been easier to hear.
Say honestly that it's beyond you, urge her to see a professional, and offer help in class
Fatima gets a diagnosis and a plan the next week. She returns to class with a note from her physio and you plan her sessions together.
How it went
The mats are rolled, the candles are out and the studio is quiet again. Teaching Pilates and yoga means being calm and clear, noticing small signs, and respecting people's boundaries. Could you stay patient with every kind of body and every kind of day?
This is a simplified, fictional situation to help you explore. It is not professional instruction or a test of your ability.
Case study: The student who would not stop pushing
A fictional case set in a small Pilates and yoga studio above a bakery in a fictional country town.
The situation
Ines taught an evening yoga class at Willow Studio. A regular, Craig, was a keen runner who treated every class as a competition. He pushed into every stretch as far as he could, and last week he'd winced and said it was nothing. This week he had arrived with a sore hip and told her he'd be fine to go the whole way. Several other students were watching, and Craig was well liked in the group.
What they did
Ines did not make a public fuss. She went to Craig before class and asked how his hip felt, and listened. She then offered him a set of gentler options for the first half and told him he could join the full class if it felt right. During the class she called the options out to everyone, as she always did. When Craig tried one of the deeper ones, she walked past and quietly reminded him to listen to the hip, not the clock.
How it turned out
Craig stayed within a comfortable range for the whole class and told Ines afterwards he'd felt calmer than he had in weeks. He saw a physio the following week and returned to running a month later. Other students began taking the gentler options without feeling they'd given up.
What would you do?
- Why did Ines speak to Craig privately before class?
- How can an instructor create a room where no one feels they are being compared?
- What might make it hard to hold back when everyone else is going deeper?