Week 1

Briana and I got off to a rocky start this week. On Tuesday, she came for her first session. She was very happy to be here and I was excited to see her. First off, I wanted to get her starting weight and measurements. Briana weighed in at 227 pounds. Her waist measured 48.25 inches and her neck measured 20 inches. None of this worried me. In fact, her weight was a bit less than I anticipated.

My first challenge came when I realized that Briana does not have a good sense of spatial awareness. She had a difficult time getting on the scale, so I moved it close to the wall. With my help, she was able to step up on the scale then use the wall to help her feel secure. As a result, it was difficult to get a completely accurate weight, but after three times up and down on the scale, 227 seemed to be the number.

After weighing in, I took Briana downstairs to my Pilates and yoga studio. The stairway to my basement is steep, so we came upon our second challenge. Briana was nervous and a bit shaky. I was concerned about her losing her balance and falling down the stairs. I figured out that if I stood on the side opposite the rail, with my back to the wall, I could hold her right hand and she could use the rail with her left. I could also get support and leverage for her weight against the wall. Step by step, we made it downstairs: no slips, no injuries, success!

Prior to our first training session, I had only spent a little time with Briana. I knew that our sessions would be more trial and error to begin with as I got to know her and her capabilities better. I decided to start her with Pilates Cadillac work. By choosing this, she had stability from the mat beneath her and I could assess her capability with different forms of movement and equipment. This was a good choice. Once Briana got situated, I decided to start with an exercise called breathing using the roll back bar. In this exercise, you lie on your back and hold the bar with both both hands. On the inhale, you press the bar towards your legs, on the exhale, you bring the bar back to neutral. For Briana, I was watching for her ability to perform the general movement. Once I told her what to do, she pressed the bar and it barely went anywhere. I cheered her on and asked her to make it bigger. "I am. Leave me alone!". This was her first outburst of frustration. I quickly realized that too much correction at this point was frustrating for her, so I let her continue to perform the movement to the best of her ability while I observed.

Each exercise I introduced after breathing went pretty much the same. I told her what to do, she did it as best she could, and I tried not to over correct or interfere with her concentration. Feeling confident, I decided to put Briana on the reformer. Unlike the Cadillac, the reformer is not a stable surface. Since she had done so well getting on and off the Cadillac, I felt confident that she could handle it. So, here comes my third, and probably greatest challenge of the day. The reformer can be stabilized by adding springs to hold it in place. I engaged all of the springs to help Briana get on. It was difficult for her to maneuver her body onto the short carriage. She didn't like the way the shoulder blocks felt against her neck, and I had to help her place her feet on the foot bar. I could tell that she was unhappy and uncomfortable, but I encouraged her to try a few exercises and she agreed. I took off a few springs to lighten the tension and asked her try pushing the carriage out with her legs. She was successful! Again, her form was far from textbook, but my idea of textbook work had changed drastically within the last half hour. So I celebrated the success of the movement and gave her a high five. Briana was proud.

By the time our session ended, I was feeling slightly defeated. "What makes you think you're qualified to do this?" my mind kept asking me. "I don't know," was my only reply. As we went upstairs to wait for her mom, Briana seemed tired but okay overall. I realized that unlike me, she had already released those challenging moments. She seemed at peace. This gave me encouragement and reminded me not to be so critical or over analyze myself as her teacher.

I saw Briana twice more that week. By Friday, I felt more comfortable reading signs of frustration. I knew when to encourage her, when to be persistent, and when to step back and be quiet. She was focused, determined, and sometimes frustrated and angry. Isn't this true of anyone trying to lose weight and get in shape? So again, my mind asked "what makes you think you're qualified to do this?". This time I answered, " because I believe in her and I believe me and I believe in the possibility that we can do it."