How to Overcome Your First Pilates Class Fears

Attending your first Pilates class, joining a new group, or trying out a new form of exercise is a big step! Taking that first step into a new environment can be a nerve-racking experience for some. However, pre-class nervousness is more common than you may think – so you’re not alone!

If you’re considering attending Pilates with OsteoPilates Cornwall, here’s what you need to know along with a few useful tips to help you to calm those fears.

1.       Focus on yourself.

Think of what your aims are with attending Pilates, how your body feels as you move, what feels good/strong/challenging/needs improvement.

Pilates classes have a lot of instruction so it’s hard to think of much else whilst you’re exercising!

2.       Avoid comparing yourself to others in the class.

It’s quite human to compare ourselves to others when we are learning new skills and most people will have their own insecurities. However, every person has a different body with their own injuries, aims, experience and knowledge.

Heather has a body-positive approach to Pilates – every person and their body and their needs are different – modern approaches to Pilates are designed to suit every body shape, size and type. Make sure you wear whatever you are comfortable to move in without restriction such as shorts and a t-shirt.

3.       Starting Pilates may be totally new to you!

If that’s you – Remember: you are a beginner and learning a new skill can take time, and it can be a frustrating process to be a beginner as an adult!  

Heather takes the time to demonstrate exercises and uses verbal and tactical cues to assist clients in learning movements and about their anatomy. Variations may be offered including progressions to more challenging levels or to assist those with specific injuries.

Take your time – Pilates is not an intense cardiovascular form of exercise (when you first begin) – going slower or taking more regular breaks is a wise idea in the early days.

4.       Don’t be too hard on yourself.

The key to remember here is that practise makes progress (it never makes ‘perfect’) – we adapt our aims overtime as we improve our skills.

Remember that making mistakes or finding a particular part of class challenging makes way for us to make improvement.

We avoid using the phrase “I can’t do that” and adapt it to “I can’t do that yet” or “what could we do to start working towards that” or “what could we do that has the same effect but in a different way”.

5.       Breathe!

Heather talks about breathwork throughout the class and how we can use specific approaches to get the most out of the exercises and relaxation during our cool-down period. If you feel nervous before class, try slow, deep, abdominal breathing to help.

6.       Ask questions!

Heather loves hearing people speak up in class. Asking questions helps with the learning process and helps Heather to understand how you learn to be able to improve your experience. If you’re thinking of a question during class, I can guarantee someone else is probably thinking it too! However, if you do not feel confident enough to speak up in front of others, please make sure you speak directly to Heather.

Useful tips to help overcome pre-class fears:

• Reading confirmation emails before class – these emails contain the essential information you need for OsteoPilates Cornwall classes.

• Bring a friend – having someone there to help calm the nerves can be useful! It also gives us another motivation to attend!

• Arrive early – to make sure you can park and find the venue. If you arrive early, please wait outside of the studio and Heather will come to meet you when ready.

• Get in touch before attending class! I am happy to help answer any questions that you may not be able to find answers for on the website. Click on this link to use the contact page here: Contact Page

Hope to see you in the studio soon!