Life as a Pilates Instructor: Andrea Chesek of Proper Pilates in Peachtree City, GA

Here's another in a series of conversations I had with Pilates instructors and studio owners about life as a Pilates instructor.

These honest conversations are a way to gain insight into what life is like as a Pilates teacher. If you're considering becoming a Pilates teacher, these conversations don't hold back. They prepare you for what you have to know.

These are some of the highlights from our conversation:

• It's good to gather experience working for a studio before opening up your own. It makes you feel confident about your teaching before you take on that responsibility of your own business.
• Teaching private sessions has a different energy than teaching group classes. You might enjoy one more than the other. Private sessions offer a much deeper level of individualization and you get to know your students better.
• It's easier for students to cheat in a group class than a private session.
• For many Pilates teachers, being with people is their favorite part of this profession. Most of us are drawn to help people in need.
• Teaching Pilates takes 110% of your energy and your concentration. It can be very tiring.
• Creativity in teaching is a wonderful thing, but too much creativity can slow your student's progress.
• Why we can sometimes be too critical with our students. 

Watch or listen here:

To get in touch with Andrea, visit their studio website at https://www.properpilatesstudio.com/

Now I want to hear from you: What's your favorite and least favorite part of being a Pilates instructor? Tell me in the comments (below the transcript).

Listen to more "Life As A Pilates Instructor" conversations:

Linda Brown of Completely Fit 4 Life in Auburn, California 

Gail Giovanniello from Mind Your Body in New York City

Stephanie Glickman from Armature Pilates in Brunswick East, Australia

Here is the unedited transcription of our interview:

Mara Sievers 0:03
Hello everyone, this is Mara Sievers, creator of Pilates Encyclopedia and I'm here again with another conversation with a Pilates teacher and studio owner. And today I have here with me Andrea Contin Chesek of Proper Pilates studio in Peachtree City, Georgia. How are you?

Andrea
I'm good. Thank you for having me. I'm honored.

Mara Sievers
Oh, for sure. It's so lovely to connect, I have decided that 2021 is my word for this year is connection and collaboration.

Andrea
That's a good, that's a good one.

Mara Sievers
I think the world needs more of that. So we are just here to have an honest, open conversation about life as a Pilates instructor. I think it's going to be really helpful for people who are considering a teacher training program, or maybe people who are already teachers, or who have just started teaching, to just get a little bit of an insight of what it's like to you know, along the ways that they can maybe help might help them make decisions for themselves. in their career. And your studio, you just have become a partner studio for Pilates, the Pilates Encyclopedia Teacher Training Program. It's a hybrid program so people can study online and then practice at your studio. So that's really exciting. Um, why don't you just start by introducing yourself a little bit. How long have you been teaching? What are you offering at your studio and you niches anything we need to know.

Andrea 1:36
I got certified in 2006. I started my training at the beginning of that year. And by 2007, I finished my training I taught at you know, I was in Atlanta, Georgia at that time at a very nice studio for several years. I stayed there for about four or five years. And then we moved to Peachtree City. I became a mom to two beautiful girls for a while. So I did kind of have a hiatus there for a few years. And one day, I wanted to open my own personal studio just to continue the passion that I had for the work. So in 2006 of October, I started building my studio. And in January of 2017, I had opened the doors. So I've been in business for about five years, this will be my fifth year.

Mara Sievers 2:27
Nice. Nice. You said 2016 was 16. Probably right?

Andrea 2:33
Well, I got certified in 2006. And then I opened I started opening the studio or building it in 2016.

Mara Sievers 2:39
Right and Right, right, yes. Got it. So 10 years of sort of teaching experience before you pull the trigger and open your own space. Yes, yeah, it's it's nice to have that. I can imagine that. Like, it's nice to have that experience. Before you do that a lot of some people might jump into opening their own studio fairly quickly. So it's kind of nice to have, have some experience under your belt and feel confident about your teaching before you take on that responsibility. Right?

Andrea
Yes, because running a studio is quite different. Yes, it's a whole other skill. So at least you don't have to worry about Am I good enough teacher when you start? Am I good enough? business owner? Right?

Mara Sievers
That's great. Um, do you offer private sessions or classes or both?

Andrea 3:31
I offer both. At this time, it's a little limited on the group classes just because of the pandemic of course, and, but I do like to concentrate mostly on private sessions, because I, I believe that everybody is different. So they kind of each person individually has to have a different kind of, you have to address each person differently. And so group classes kind of lead into this kind of mass of exercises. So people don't benefit as much with it. But they can, you know, I understand that it can get costly. So something is better than nothing. So I definitely like the private sessions. And I've always enjoyed just having that time on a one on one as well. It has a different energy. And you get to learn more about people versus in group setting. But yes, we offer both, for sure. Yeah.

Mara Sievers 4:21
I once described the difference between group classes and private sessions, as in a group class, you're going to get better at what you're already good at. And in private sessions, you're going to get better at what you're not good at. Right? Right. Because you can really dig deep and make those fundamental changes. And in a group class you just Yes, you strengthen and you condition but you often don't get to make those radical changes.

Andrea 4:52
Yeah, it's a little like what I call it's easier to cheat in a group class than it is in a private session. So because it's hard to kind of you know, zone in on each individual in a group setting, but an individual setting, you can really hone in and say, you know, fix that. And so they get they do get stronger. I've noticed on a fun, like a real deep level on an individual session. Yeah. Awesome. Great.

Mara Sievers 5:14
So what's your favorite aspect of being a Pilates teacher?

Andrea 5:18
People. I love people, you know, I consider myself an empath. And I've just always been drawn to help people in need. I just, I just, it's like, I love puzzles. And so when a body comes in, it's almost like trying to solve a Sudoku go kind of problem. So you're just kind of trying to figure out, you know, how you can approach it. And because every exercise is not really for every single body, you have to figure out a method to try to figure out how to kind of attack what that specific individual may need in order to, you know, have better alignment overall. Right? Yeah,

Mara Sievers 5:55
perfect. Nice. So what's your least favorite aspect of being a Pilates instructor?

Andrea 6:02
I would have to say, the amount of energy that it takes from you, because you do have to give like 110% to each person that comes in. As they come in that, you know, they're paying for service. And one of the biggest complaints that I hear from people is Pilates is too expensive. And that's frustrating for me, because you're not just getting exercises, you're trying to help people, um, emotionally, spiritually, and physically, you know, you give them 100%. And you're, it's, I always like to say, you know, Pilates is kind of like going to the chiropractor, getting a massage and going to therapy and getting a workout all at once. So if you actually put all those, you know, the amount that it would cost you to go to all those things individually, in a Pilates session, you're actually getting a great deal, quite honestly. So the energy that it requires to really put forth, it's not just about voicing commands, it's about really figuring out what's going on helping them kind of process the information and cueing because Pilates in and of itself has like a very interesting language, it's like learning a different language. So you have to figure out how they're going to be able to successfully kind of execute what you're asking them to do, and that every individually every not every client is going to be able to understand the same cueing. So you have to kind of try to get past that barrier. So it can get very taxing, especially when you're running a studio and you have the bulk of the clients because you're running the business, and then you've got to go to to your clients, and it's back to back to back, right. So you never really get that opportunity to breathe. So it can get very exhausting. And you know, by the end of the day, you're ready not to talk to anyone. So I just find that that's probably my least favorite aspect, you know, because it can be exhausting. And I think that sometimes people have this impression that oh, I can teach Pilates, you know, I can just kind of sit there and just voice commands. And you know, I'll make an X amount of money. But it's more than that. Because people come in hoping, you know, they're entrusting you with their body. They're interesting that you understand what you're doing. And you can't just regurgitate everything that you've learned, maybe in a training, you want to really be able to apply that to each person specifically. And that takes mental acuity observation while the clients going through the exercises, and just more importantly, that the client is safe. And that's one of my biggest, biggest, biggest thing is safety, safety around the equipment safety and the movement, can they do that movement? Are they ready for that movement? You know, it's always best to try to hold back everything that you've learned and just stick to the basics until you feel really, really confident that that that client can actually do something more intermediate or more advanced, as you know, they classified so because a lot of times, you know, running a studio, I've seen teachers really just kind of they get bored, the teacher gets bored, because when you're going from one client to the next, you know, a lot of times you might find yourself like going through the same session because you're trying to get them to understand the foundation of Pilates and what happens a lot of times is that I see other instructors get really too creative. And because the they themselves are bored with teaching that over and over again. But the reality is, is that you have to try to stay focused on what is it that you're trying to accomplish? What is it that you're trying to teach these clients so that they stay safe throughout the session?

Mara Sievers 9:43
I love that. I mean, you brought up so many good points. I don't even know where to start but I just had a question from a new teacher regarding what you just said is like she's she she just used a phrase that her students might get bored and that's exactly what we as a teacher might get bored, because we might work, you know, like six hours a day, on the on a similar issue or like who doesn't need hip extension who doesn't need thoracic extension? Right? Who doesn't need abdominal strength? So, so you end up working on the same issues with everybody. So you might get bored as a teacher, but the client for the client, they only see you once a week or something like that, right? So for them, it's they're not getting bored as easily. So yeah, too much creativity, too much variety is often not helpful, either, because people can't remember it and can't have don't have enough repetition to actually put it into practice and into their bodies.

Andrea 10:38
Right? Because I mean, you have to remember the perspective that because you're doing it all day long for you, it's really easy to be like, Oh, you know, let's say for example, you know, do shoulder brace, but I can't tell you, I've seen people for years, and then I'll be like, okay, we're going to shoulder original, like, which ones that? I started laughing because I'm like, you know, to me, it's it's comical, because I obviously know what it is. And I've taught it to them a million times. But, you know, clients don't remember, you know, they have their own life and their own world. And so they're not going to remember, I could probably teach the same exact session two weeks in a row, and they're gonna think that it was the best sessions ever,

Mara Sievers 11:15
and totally different.

Andrea 11:17
Yeah, totally different. I mean, I hear all the time, you're like, Oh, my gosh, you're always so great, you know, you're so different, you're always doing something different. In the back of my mind, I was like, it's pretty much. So it's kind of, I just, I enjoyed those. So you have to remember that. And it also, you know, what's really important about that, is that it also makes it less taxing on you, right? So you don't have to think so outside the box, you know, I mean, keep it simple for yourself, because you're going to be doing it over and over again. And if you do it over and over again, even yourself, you become a better instructor. Because when you're teaching those exercises, you're like, Oh, I didn't notice that. Oh, well, that's interesting. Oh, well, I didn't see it that way, you know, you, you start to make those connections, especially when you know, many different bodies doing the same thing.

Mara Sievers 12:02
I love that you say that. I hadn't thought about it from that direction. But you're so right that the more often you teach the same exercise, if you're willing to look for different cues, or, or different ways to say something, or if you're really, really watching your students bodies, not just glancing over them, but you're really looking for what what is it different, because you need some time, right, you need to process and I remember when I first started and probably everybody's like that, you look at a person's body doing the exercise and you realize something's off something's not the way it should be. But I can't put my finger on it. I don't know what it is. And that takes experience and you know, learning so the more often you teach the same exercises, the more different bodies you watch doing that. And then you can learn to discern what is it that's different. And yeah, just get a deeper knowledge of the exercise.

Andrea 12:59
It is, I mean, even after, you know, so many years of teaching, there's lightbulb moments every day over the simplest exercise and you're like, Oh, you know, the

Mara Sievers 13:13
when you start going so far out of the box, or being too creative, you don't get those opportunities to be able to kind of see those connections between all the exercises and in the overall work in it in and of itself, if that makes sense. Totally, there's another metaphor that I'd like to that I like using or that came up for me what having that experience is so when you live in a big city and you take the subway, you sort of you know you're underground you don't see anything and then you poke up somewhere and then you explore this little area there right and then you go back underground go somewhere else in the city poke up and then explore this little and then over years, you start to make the connections Oh, from here that you know if I walk down this street that takes me to that right? So suddenly it fills in the gaps fill in and Pilates I find it's exactly the same way you teach. And you teach just lift and all of a sudden years down the road you realize oh that's how everything is connected and right really enriching for the teacher is it really is nice. The energy that you brought up I can absolutely absolutely relate to that too. I think a lot of new teachers are really surprised at how much energy teaching takes and it's not the teaching like it's not the we're not exercising right. But the the mental and the and I also love that you bring up the emotional energy is huge because you're you're you're trying to feel not just the the movement that you're that your students feeling. But like you said the emotions because often with with movement, people are scared if they're in pain, they're scared to do something. movement. So you sense that and your wisdom in this feeling so you can guide them through it right and put them at ease and make sure they're safe and all those things that you brought up. So, yes, that's, that's a lot of energy output. I totally agree.

Andrea 15:14
And yeah, and those clients also, you know, they have lives outside of that, that door, you know, when they come in, you don't know if they just broke up with their boyfriend, if they just got, you know, yelled at, by their mom. So they could be in a very kind of low vibrational kind of sense of self. And the last thing, you know, they want to hear is, you know, they want to come in and feel better, I mean, that's the whole purpose, they want to feel better, they want to be uplifted in the sense of like, just you got to move that energy within them, because energy can become stagnant within the body. I mean, it does get, I truly believe myself that it does get stuck in the body, and it kind of manifests itself in physical kind of ailments or whatnot. So really, it's just to try to move that out. And it's important to try to how to release it make them feel better, so that they feel better when they do walk out the door. And that's, that is an energy exchange. So you have to be able to try to find very deep reserves within yourself to be able to try to give that to them, because it can be very, very exhausting. Yeah,

Mara Sievers 16:18
yeah. Or just plan on not teaching too many hours, right?

Andrea 16:21
Especially when you first start teaching it. I mean, I made that mistake. But you know, I mean, I've learned that I have also very deep reserves.

Mara Sievers 16:29
Yes. And, you know, everything gets easier with practice, you know, but I remember one of my teachers at my studio asked me, she taught like, one one or two hours back to back, you know, two hours back to back and she said, how do you do this for six hours?

Andrea 16:47
makes me laugh, because if I have to leave my studio, you know, because I'm like, Okay, I'm going to a workshop, you know, and I give my teachers kind of clients of mine to take care of them. You know, I have heard that from them. They're like, how do you do this? And I'm like, you get used to it, you know, it's, it's it ironically, you know, when you have those kind of clients, it's very similar to becoming from a beginning Pilates student to an advanced one, you have to kind of ease your way through it. Because if you do have to build that kind of resilience in it, otherwise, you'll you'll in the short term, you'll hate yourself.

Mara Sievers 17:21
Energy Management, right? you what you need to manage your own energy. Yeah. Yeah, I love this. Awesome. Um, okay, so what if you were to hire a Pilates teacher right now? What are the most important skills and we can combine Pilates skills as well as soft skills or, you know, skills outside of the realm of the Pilates method? What would you be looking for,

Andrea 17:45
um, I would say they have to be hungry, you know, they have to be able to really want to do that they have to have a desire, you know, and a complete joy for wanting to teach and a passion for it. Otherwise, it's, like I said, it's a regurgitation of voice commands, I think people get very, when they come in, and you know, like, Oh, I want to be a Pilates teacher, you know, and, because it looks really cool from the outside at times, but it does take a lot of work. And you really have to love what you're doing. Because you can, like I said, because it takes so much energy, you can get very tired very quickly, and then it'll feel just like a burden. So if you don't have that desire to try to help people, you're never going to really find any kind of success, enjoy in doing it, because it is a teaching position. And you have to love to teach. If you don't like teaching people, it's, you know, it's not just, you know, oh, I'm just gonna go teach Pilates today, it's, you really got to enjoy doing what you you want to help people.

Mara Sievers 18:46
You mean, if the motivation for becoming a Pilates teacher is to work out? That might not be the best motivation,

Andrea 18:52
right, you know, or play with the equipment or be able to have access to it, you know, I mean, so it is, you know, you really got to have an authentic desire to help people. Only then can you help others in return and, and ultimately become a good teacher. Yeah,

Mara Sievers 19:08
I would totally agree with that. Yes. In terms of, so yeah, that's probably more like a, it's kind of a combination of party skills and apply the skills. Anything you want to add to that, or is that is that the main thing? Oh, yeah,

Andrea 19:22
you just have to be a people person, you really have to be able to know how to communicate, and really try to get your point across. I mean, like I mentioned before, you know, this is a new language for people coming into the door, especially people who have never tried Pilates before in really, you have to be able to have those communicative abilities to be able to translate to them what exactly it is that you're looking for. And more importantly, not to one of my biggest pet peeves, I think, I would say is always trying to point out to the client, what's wrong with them? Yeah, you know, he's like, Oh, well, your back is really tight. I mean, you can see Those things after you develop a relationship with the client, and they feel comfortable, you know, but when you have a client come in, you can't be like, Well, you know, this is wrong, and this is off, and then put pinpointing everything let's not squared and dented and this and that, you know, I mean, you have to ease them into it. I mean, we all have problems. So, you know, you don't want to nitpick on them and make them feel bad you got you have to be able to read people, you know, their, their facial expressions, and, you know, you have to be very observant to just be able to, you know, not overly step, kind of what your goal is, ultimately,

Mara Sievers 20:37
yeah, I hear you, I, it's, it's often I think, when, why that might happen is because it's basically the teachers talking out loud, like, often, we were just analyzing what we see. So we see, you know, a stiff spine, and we say, Oh, your back is really tight. And basically, we're just saying that for ourselves, because we're processing a movie, you know, but we have to realize that we're telling, we're sort of judging the person or they might feel judged, I should say, they might feel judged in that moment. So I might filter that and not say it. And that's the one thing the other thing is also some people have a tendency to queue negatively, just instead of, right, instead of say, so they would say, your hips are not level, instead of saying lift your left hip, and then they aren't level. Right. So negative negative cueing is is Yeah, is also not helpful. Because if you tell somebody your hips are not level, they still don't know what to do about it.

Andrea 21:32
So yeah, and you also, I think, as well have to understand boundaries, people's boundaries. Because you know, it, it also depends on how you approach them. Because you're, you're in their space, sometimes, you know, so you have to be able to know how to approach somebody correctly without them, you know, misinterpreting it, or, or finding it uncomfortable. Because again, a lot of times you find yourself kind of over the client. And so you don't want to be too overbearing, either. But you also want to find a way to ease your way in there so that they feel comfortable and find it as kind of an enjoyable thing. I mean, I always love to make sure that people are also having fun, like, you have to laugh at the end of the session, you have to laugh You kind of joke around you know, sometimes it's good to kind of crack a joke. Just to ease that in, you know, the more people are at ease them, the more willing their bodies are, you know, going to move freely. So, I comedy, and yes, it has always been one of my favorite things. And I think people you know, they want to you want to live you know, Pilates is a workout, but you want people to enjoy it too.

Mara Sievers 22:41
For sure. If you are if you have a sense of humor use it. Yes. Yes, please do. So sense of humor is really good. That's true. Awesome. I

Unknown Speaker 22:50
love it.

Mara Sievers 22:50
So one last last question. Really? What did you What do you wish you had known before you became applies teacher before you started this career? Um,

Andrea 23:05
I think it really just comes back to that, you know, what, what, what, why are you going to come in to be a Pilates teacher? Because I think I was under the impression, you know, that I was, you know, you know, when I saw the Pilates teachers, like, Oh, that's really cool, I could make money off of it, you know. And I think that because I haven't just been a teacher, because, you know, I was making a good amount of income, honestly, when I when I taught for somebody else. And that was, you know, over 10 years ago. And when you open a studio, you you know, expect and that's why it kind of brings back to that when you first become certified and you're like, well, I can do this and I can open my own studio. And it's not, you know, it takes a tremendous amount of work to open a studio there is so much overhead, so many expenses, you never really thought that you had to deal with you know, if you open a studio, you better love to teach Pilates. That's all I gotta say. You know, so really don't take for granted, you know, a studio that you might be working for, because you just don't understand what that studio owner is going through the expenses they have to go through, I fell into that trap as well. You know, I worked for another studio and I was like, Oh, I can make money doing this a lot of money a lot more than I'm making now. No, actually, I make less. So. It was that was very disheartening, but you know, because I love the work so much, you know, I that's a reward for me in and of itself. But I think that's one of the things that I wish I knew as a Pilates instructor because there are days that I was like, you know, and and I would rather work for someone else, or I would open a studio of other studio owners. So that we would all be on the same page, you know, because we all would understand how much work it takes. And it really is the amount of time that you'd have to dedicate to other people. Um, you know, it's not as simple as that. No, I, you know, it's, I mean, I'm not trying to look down and like, you know, working for Starbucks or something, I did work for Starbucks for a while, but you know, going to make a cup of coffee and making a certain amount of money. It's not the same employees, you you really, it's not comparable. Because it's just the amount of energy and work it does take. And I don't think that I was aware of how much energy work it took for each individual client.

Mara Sievers 25:27
I love, love, love that you bring up, that you are so honest, I appreciate that, thank you, of like saying, you know, now as a studio owner, you actually make less money than you made work for somebody else. And that's the, that's the information I think that new teachers need to have, because I think every new teacher, or not even so new, but, you know, you, right? You You waited 10 years, and still were of the opinion that, you know, you could make more money, if you did it on your own and is chosen through, it's just not true, unless maybe the big exception is maybe if you have a home studio, and if you have guys, if you have the room, do a home studio, it's the absolute best thing to do, you're actually going to keep some of the money that you're making, right? You have to pay rent, equipment, and staff maybe you know, on top of all of that, you're, it's really, really hard to keep some of the money that you're making. And, and if you're a teacher, and you know, just don't think that the studio owner is sitting on a lot of cash we're not,

Andrea 26:30
I wouldn't have to say that's one of the biggest challenges I had opening up a studio, you know, I started a training program. And I started with a good number of teachers. And one of the biggest roadblocks I kept running into was that they felt they weren't getting paid enough. Yeah. And I kept telling them, you know, I am paying you more than what I got paid when I first started teaching. So like I said, there, there's always this impression that because as the owner, you're making all this money, but really, I'm making enough money to keep the doors open. And I am providing a place for these teachers to teach so that they can make money. So really, the only, you know that really, ultimately, the teachers and the clients are the ones that are benefiting, I am just opening up space, a space for people to come in and be able to benefit from the work. So it was really frustrating for me to try to convey that. And in I in I did run into, you know, a few teachers who felt that they could do better on their own. And that was very disappointing on my end, because of the amount of investment I actually made into those instructors. And it was very, it was very disheartening, you know, and but you know, I understand that people want to, you know, expand their own wings and try on their own. And, you know, there's nothing you can do about that.

Mara Sievers 27:54
No, you can't. But the but I think like the more we're talking about this, and to be honest, every single studio owner that I've talked to, says the same thing. So the more of us are sharing that this is just the the experience. If somebody really if somebody has the strong desire to open their own space, to run a business, to manage staff, all of those things, if somebody has a strong desire to do it, please go out and do it. Right, we need people. But if the only reason that you're that you are opening your own studio is because you think you're going to make more money than just a one part that's not true. So if that's why I said in the beginning, like my my word for this year is collaboration and connect, because if what I love exactly what you said, like partnering up among sort of equals right, like sharing responsibility and like, I can't work, I can't teach 12 hours a day anyway, right? So one teacher can be there in the morning, another teacher can be there at night, you know, otherwise the studio is empty half the day anyway. So share resources share recites, because then you can again, then you can actually keep some of that money. Right. And that's what was frustrating because, because I you know, I opened it single handedly and I tried to training programs so that I could get instructors so that you know, ultimately we could all benefit, you know, um, you know, I would ask for certain hours of the days and it wasn't possible and then when the, you know, certain individuals did end up leaving, then suddenly they were available. So, you know, I'm like your only it's, you know, it's so much energy already in in so we could have worked better together. But, you know, like I said, you can't control people and you can't, you know, people will only learn through experience. So, no, I was gonna say that to the the other part about this as if you you know, if a teacher opens their own space, they will only find out after you know, a euro to that. It's true when we're

Andrea 30:05
putting them into this into this. You know, I did it to you know, I worked for a beautiful studio and I and I told myself, Oh, I could do this on my own, like, I could make more money I could, you know, and then like a year into it, I was like no one get.

Mara Sievers 30:24
And then and then comes burnout, right? Then it's like, All right, now wants to make more money. Yeah.

Andrea 30:30
And then you got to be careful, because, you know, as teachers, too, I think both other teachers and clients forget that were people to, you know, me, we have bad days, too. And so, a lot of times, I don't think Pilates teachers get credit for the fact that they, you know, they've had a terrible day, and they still have to come in and give 110% to you, you know, and so, a lot of times, you know, I think that sometimes we can be taken for granted as well. And we have to riegert, you know, we have to be able to deal with that, you know, internally because, you know, you can't start screaming for clients. So, you know, we deal with a lot, you know, I mean, we deal with, you know, and then clients, of course, they come in and they tell you, you know, everything that's going on with their day, and you know, that alone, you have to kind of be you were like sponges, you know, we're all sponges, so you have to kind of process all that, and try to be able to just kind of give them the best session that you know, you can, right?

Mara Sievers 31:31
Yes, agreed, agreed. Well, that was that was wonderful. I really appreciate your honesty or openness to some really, really smart things you said did you Is there anything you want to add that you want to let the world know,

Andrea 31:47
um, you know, as a teacher, one of the things that I one of the things that I've learned over many workshops is not every exercise is for everybody. And, more importantly, to just because you got certified doesn't mean your education is there. So you have to, it's just like any other, you know, profession that requires skills, you have to be able to invest more money, it's not just Oh, I got certified. And I'm just going to teach Yes, you can learn from people, but there's a lot of information out there that can help you grow faster. And it yes, it does take investment in you have to be able to find that, you know, if you have a true passion, you're going to keep looking, you're going to keep wanting to dig deeper, you want to understand, you know, all kinds of different qualities, you know, we've got contemporary classical, you know, I've had gone to workshops, where it's a hybrid between the both, and ultimately, we're all looking for the same thing. We just want to help people, we want to help people out of pain. We want to help people, you know, find alignment in their bodies and feel good about themselves, and to try to help people get through their daily life with a minimal amount of injury. And that's really ultimately what Pilates is you just have to be able to move through space, you know, as safely and efficiently as possible.

Mara Sievers 33:11
Yes, I love that. Yes, absolutely. Thank you so much. So if people are want to get in touch with you, how can they find you?

Andrea 33:23
Oh, we have a website, proper Pilates studio calm. There's a contact page that you can find us out. You can also write us at info inf o at proper Pilates studio.com. And we'll get right back to you.

Mara Sievers 33:38
Awesome, great. And if anybody's interested in the Pilates encyclopedia, Teacher Training Program, hybrid version, so you would learn from home study at home and then practice, potentially Andrea's studio, then check out Pilates enciclopedia.com Ford slash teacher dash training. Thank you so much. Thank you. It was an honor. Thank you so much. Have a wonderful rest of your day. You too. Bye. Bye. Thank you so much for watching. If you enjoyed this, please give it a thumbs up. Subscribe if you haven't already. And if you'd like to see more cool information, head over to Pilates encyclopedia calm. I'll see you next time.