Living Life, Loving Life
Elixr: What were you doing before / during the Elixr School of Pilates teacher training, e.g. working full time, Mum etc
Jordana: I had been doing weight training and GRC classes 4-5 days a week for about 4 years at my gym, including up to week 38 in my pregnancy. When I went to Pilates Teacher Training, I was a Mum of a then 4 year old, working full time in systems administration, data and analytics for an accreditation body.
Elixr: Why did you choose the Elixr School of Pilates?
Jordana: Elixr was the course recommended to me by the gym manager where I was taking GRC – all bar one of the Pilates instructors at the gym had been Elixr trained. Having had such a great experience in the reformer course I also went back and did the Pilates in Pregnancy course. Since my Pilates practice had been such an important part of my own pregnancy I wanted to know I was able to safely train pre and post-natal women in my classes.
Elixr: What did you enjoy about the training?
Jordana: The time spent really refining technique and going through the muscles involved in each movement was excellent. Having that deeper knowledge really helped enhance the concentration part of my practice and has transferred well into other aspects of my physical training as well. It was also great to meet all the other wonderful people taking my course and seeing and hearing about their different paths to Pilates.
Elixr: How has the teacher training changed you and changed your career?
Jordana: I really love teaching so much. For me, Pilates changed my life. The way I felt about exercise and moving my body – being able to share that experience with others really excites me. No matter how rough my week at the office has been, I always feel amped after class knowing that I just changed someone’s day. Having the deeper understanding of the Pilates principles and the repertoire has made huge impacts on my own practice, and teaching has also helped in my corporate job where I feel more comfortable to speak in front of large groups and articulate myself more clearly and concisely – a payoff I wasn’t expecting!
Elixr: Are you teaching now? If so where?
Jordana: Yes, I teach GRC at Embrace Pilates and Fitness in Belconnen, Canberra.
Elixr: What concerns or doubts did you have before the teacher training and how did they resolve/change once you started?
Jordana: Where I’d been taking GRC most of the clients were general population, no great sporting prowess and lots of retirees too – I had become accustomed to being one of the more skilled class participants, so it was a bit of a reality check to see some of the dancers with their stunning technique (and mobility) in the training and it did cause some moments of self-doubt for me. In the end though, it was all about attitude, and we all had the same love for Pilates and hunger to be there. Getting to meet some extraordinary, highly motivated women from a broad range of backgrounds that I might not normally get exposure to was also wonderful.
Elixr: People often worry that they are not ready or not fit/strong/healthy enough for the training. Did you have this concern and if so what would you say to those people who share this?
Jordana: I didn’t come from a long line of sporty and coordinated people so even though I’d often thought about doing the training I had always talked myself out of it. When the gym manager approached me and asked me if I’d ever considered becoming an instructor that was the push (and ego boost) I needed.
I have anxiety, so it was quite daunting and exhausting for me just thinking about working all week in Canberra, then flying to Sydney for the training every weekend, meeting new people and being in unfamiliar surroundings. I was also recovering from a rotator cuff tear when I did the training which meant my shoulder stability on one side was much weaker than it normally would have been, but I was determined to do it.
It was really challenging at times, but the group of people I met were wonderful, the instructors were friendly and supportive and after completing my training in June 2016, I was able to get my hours done and complete my exam in August and have been teaching for 2 years now.
The experience was life changing in the most wonderful ways, and in the longer term I’d like to transition into teaching more and working less in the corporate environment, which I plan to move toward when I finish my Certificate IV in Fitness later this year.
