Pilates & the Silver Lining in the Covid Crisis

Life is full of dualities, night and day, black and white, good and bad. It follows then, that amid the Covid-19 devastation of 2020 there are glimmers of hope, unexpected benefits and occasionally even major wins.  Had I looked into a  crystal ball in December 2019 at my life in December 2020 I would have never believed what I saw.  It's almost 9 months now since I started teaching Skype Pilates so I'm going to take a look at all the positives that have resulted from the negativity of the Covid crisis.  Back in March when my bricks & mortar studio was forced to close and we all went into lockdown, I offered Skype Pilates sessions and 3 clients signed up straight away.  From there,  more and more clients wanted to continue their Pilates training on Skype and suddenly I had a live online studio as well as JS Mind Body Pilates, my online Pilates Membership site.
Some clients participate in both these options, while some only do Skype and some only do my Membership site.  It really comes down to individual needs and how each client learns best and what goals they want to achieve.
While face to face studios sessions obviously provide enormous benefits and plans are underway for my studio re-opening during  2021, let's take a look at some of the unexpected benefits uncovered by Pilates online.

Private Sessions Replace Groups of 3
The majority of my clients attended 1 hour studio sessions in a group of three with each person following their own program, which equates to 20 mins of instruction per person.  Suddenly they found themselves with the luxury of a private session with my full attention for 30 mins, often a little longer. This has been an amazing opportunity to address issues that couldn't be discussed in a group, re-define and reset goals,  fine-tune technique and generally add more detail and depth to their Pilates practice.

Clients Began Achieving Goals they Never Thought Possible
It wasn't surprising then what happened next.  My aim is to incorporate as many different elements and challenges as possible into each session, depending on individual needs and people continually rose to each challenge.  It wasn't long before clients were far surpassing the previous level they had been working at in the studio. They were learning new exercises, feeling stronger and fitter than ever before and achieving every goal they set for themselves.  Some became pain-free,  some are focussing on the challenge of the traditional matwork, others prepared for and are now rehabilitating from surgery, while others are discovering new challenges on JS Mind  Body Pilates as they forge ahead at their own pace.  Another group have discovered the benefits of daily Pilates.  I set them homework at each Skype session to do on the Membership site between sessions and they are experiencing a new level of fitness they hadn't previously thought possible.

Skype Pilates Sessions Have a Low Cancellation Rate
There are some clients who have only missed 1 session since March and in general, the cancellation rate is so much lower than in the studio.  When clients are unwell and possibly contagious or have low energy levels, but would still like to do some gentle movement, it's actually possible now.  After all, it's so much easier to make it onto the mat in their living room than to battle through traffic to the studio which can be exhausting for them and they could potentially pass on their illness to others.  Childcare is also no longer an issue.  Many sessions have been held while children sleep or watch a movie in another room.  Being held up at work no longer means a missed session.  Clients who are running late have a greater chance of making it home in time for their session as opposed to having to return home, change their clothes and then drive to the studio.  More sessions attended means better results!

Skype Sessions Know No Geographical  Boundaries
One of the major wins during this time has been clients who have moved out of  Sydney being able to continue with their Pilates training with me.  Until Covid-19  struck this wasn't even a consideration, even though it was entirely possible, it just had never occurred to me to teach on Skype before.  One client who lives in England now is able to have sessions at her ideal time of 6.00 am in the morning which is 5.00 pm for me. This is a major win for both of us as I'm really not a morning person!  I've also been able to welcome new clients who live far away from my studio that I wouldn't have the opportunity to work with pre-Covid which is an added bonus.