By Nicole Rogers

Joseph Pilates hoped to reach every possible age and demographic with his method. In this spirit, there has been an increase in Pilates outreach for children in recent years, but lately, we’ve noticed a number of Pilates studios designing Pilates classes for teens specifically.

We interviewed several Pilates for teens teachers to get their insight and advice into developing teen Pilates programs. Most cited personal experience as their reason for starting a teen class – a serious back injury as a young gymnast, a struggle with anorexia in high school, and from everyone, the simple understanding of how difficult the teen years can be in general. These experiences have led to classes that run the spectrum. The classes may or may not be strictly Pilates, but all are places for teens (often girls) to express themselves and explore movement in a safe environment.

Building Teen Esteem Through Pilates
At The Pilates Loft in Newnan, GA, owner Mary Ann Briggs runs her “Pilates For Teen Esteem” program. Pilates is only part of Briggs’ arsenal in her quest to provide “a class where [teen girls can] express themselves without being judged, move without being ridiculed and realize that being confident in one’s self is something that no one can take away from them.”

The 90-minute class runs for 8 weeks. “The first night we talk about Joseph Pilates and his philosophy on movement,” Briggs says. “We do 45 minutes to one hour of Pilates movement for the first 2 to 3 weeks. This gives the girls a chance to realize the connection between the body and the mind.” Briggs knows that this age group also needs to be entertained. To this end, they have had Zumba, jazz, yoga and salsa instructors teach the first 45 minutes of the class. “We always do at least 15 minutes of Pilates to reinforce the mind-body connection,” she said. “The key is to give the teens the opportunity to explore movement and to begin to feel comfortable in their bodies.”

Similarly, Stacy Simms, owner of Pendleton Pilates in Cincinnati, founded the True Body Project, a class for teens and women. While it always includes some movement, the focus is not necessarily Pilates, but rather Pilates as a tool to build confidence and self-esteem. (See mytruespace.org, and truebodyproject.org for more information on The True Body Project.) In addition, Kate Graham is starting a teen Pilates class at one of Pendleton Pilates’ locations this summer, which does focus on Pilates specifically.

Phoebe Higgins has taught Pilates to teen dancers at the School of American Ballet in New York for a decade. Her program is more traditional, and different than the others mentioned here because all of her students are pursuing a professional career in dance. They already have discipline and coordination, but Higgins finds that even with these teens, you have to make it more fun. She couldn’t use the traditional mat order because “it involves so much laying down that they were falling asleep or talking to their neighbor,“ she says. Though they may need to move around a little more than your average client, Higgins says the kids love Pilates. “They like to move, and because they have to think [to do Pilates], it makes it more interesting.”

Eme Cole of Chicago’s Pilates Plus Pilates studio and Jump Ahead Academy, a fitness center for children, also takes a more traditional approach, teaching her teens a true Pilates class. While she has all different kinds of teen Pilates students, both privately and in the teen mat class, she has noticed most of her students come referred by coaches in order to improve at their sport. To a smaller extent, she sees teens coming in for weight loss. Cole, a gymnast her whole life, sustained a back injury in college, and Pilates was the one thing that put her where she needed to be strength-wise afterward. She started her teen class partially because of her desire to work with young gymnasts. “Sometimes I wonder if I would have gotten hurt in the first place if I would have had the strength from Pilates. I’d love to help someone else avoid that,” she says.

Finding Teen Pilates Clients
Cole’s business partner at Jump Ahead Academy, Katy Sandberg White, DPT, offers physical therapy for children and adolescents, and many of Cole’s students have graduated to Pilates after finishing their PT. Cole says the teen classes aren’t huge now, but the cross-promotion from her two businesses and existing teen clients has helped word-of-mouth. “One figure skater starts doing well in competition, and the other parents start asking how she improved so much. The answer they get is Pilates. So then their child is coming in for Pilates too.”

Briggs found some of her teen base by sending a press release to her local paper. To her surprise they sent a reporter and photographer to the studio to interview her. The reporter happened to be an ex-UGA gymnast who owns a local gymnastics center. She told her teen gymnasts about the class, and the article ended up being the entire front page of the “Connections” section in the paper. Briggs also distributes flyers in places where teens hang out.

Meredith Sabella of Springboard Pilates in Portland, Maine, who also teaches a true Pilates mat class for teens, had some setbacks filling those classes due to the difficulty reaching teens in their environments. In order to advertise at a school, she learned that flyers must be approved by a principal or superintendent. And even once approved, flyers are often placed by a guidance counselor’s office rather than places kids actually hang out, like the lunchroom. Sabella reached out to schools in her area though, contacting coaches and athletic directors. Her perseverance got her the opportunity to teach an elective fitness class at one school. While the teen Pilates students at her studio are all girls, the high school class had boys as well. About the boys, Sabella says, “I think they actually may have been a little more self-conscious than the girls (because they acted like they were afraid to look silly). All in all, they had fun, but I think they would be more comfortable in a class of just boys. “

Higgins experience with young male dancers is clearly different than your average high school class. She says, “Boys are really a different energy, they are frenetic but focused, almost easier to teach. It seems like they aren’t listening but then they are doing exactly what you told them to do. It’s funny, even when they are sitting still it’s like they are moving.”

Challenges of Teaching Teen Pilates Classes
Certainly, teaching teens provides a host of new challenges to an instructor used to teaching adults, self-consciousness being chief among them in both sexes. Cole notes that while adults know Pilates is good for them and often have a driving goal of back pain or gaining muscle tone, a teenager’s parents may have pushed her to Pilates for weight loss or to give her an edge in a sport. She has enthusiastic teens, but for those who aren’t, it’s tough to help them understand why Pilates is important for them. Sabella has noticed that positively reinforcing accomplishments is even more important in teens than in adults. “When we get older, we get used to not being perfect, but when you’re teenaged, there’s still so much pressure,” says Sabella. “And most importantly, I want my students to leave feeling good about themselves and glad they came to class.”

Briggs has seen logistical challenges with this age group as well. “The biggest challenge has been competing with fall sports, marching band, cheerleading and other school activities. We find that the winter/spring session is the best. Being aware of the school holiday schedule is imperative. Try not to hold the class during winter and spring break as they will all be gone!” She has also noticed that there might be a group of shy or negative teens that may be more difficult to get through to. She encourages getting creative with projects that get them to open up. Discussion groups where the teens get to pick the topics anonymously have been a great success with the girls in her program.

Higgins says she dreaded teaching the teens at first, but now she really enjoys it and finds it much more rewarding than she ever expected. “Pilates really makes them feel better about themselves,” she says. “It does that for adults too, but I really notice the difference before the dancers did Pilates and after.” She has past students who contact her to let her know that they are still doing Pilates years later – even if they are no longer dancers. She wonders what the long-term effects will be on the population’s bodies and minds with more kids and teens doing Pilates.

So if you think you’re up to the challenge, working with teens may be one of the greatest ways to spread the work of Mr. Pilates.

Nicole Rogers is a Pilates instructor and writer. She lives in Brooklyn, New York.

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