Season 3, Episode 4: How do I make a class flow?

Tania Huddart: I think of flow as telling a movement story. And there's one story every body in your class already knows. Every one of us learned to move as a baby. On our backs first. Then we lifted our heads. Then we rolled. And slowly, one stage at a time, we stood up. Your class can tell that same story.

Host: Welcome to Build Confidence and Purpose with Pilates. I'm here with Tania Huddart: Pilates teacher, teacher trainer and author of Teach Pilates with Confidence and Pilates & Purpose. Both voices you'll hear are made with AI. Every word Tania says is her own, and she's approved each one.

Last time, we talked about why one cue lands and another doesn't. Today we zoom out to the whole class. How do I make a class flow?

Tania Huddart: Give it a story. Then let the body tell it.

Host: What do you actually mean by flow? It's one of those words everyone uses.

Tania Huddart: It is. Flow is one of the ten principles of the Pilates method. So it matters. But in a class, I think of it simply. Flow is how you get from one exercise to the next. When it's good, the class feels continuous and smooth. Almost elegant. When it's missing, the class feels like a list.

Flow depends on three things. The exercises you choose. The positions you ask people to move into. And how you get them from one to the next. Get those three right, and the class carries people along.

And the moment between exercises is part of the class, too. How do they get from lying down to sitting? Do they roll up through the spine, or clamber up any old way? A good transition is an exercise in itself.

Host: And where does the story come in?

Tania Huddart: A class is a story. Every story needs a beginning, a middle and an end. And it needs a thread running through it, so it makes sense.

That's why having a focus helps so much. When you know what your class is about, you make better choices. You know which exercises belong, and which ones can wait for another day. The focus can be almost anything. Breathing. Arm strength. Balance. Or building towards one particular exercise. A theme gives you the thread. And a thread is what makes a class flow.

Host: Last season you talked about too many changes of position. Back, then tummy, then sitting, then back again.

Tania Huddart: Yes. That's the opposite of flow. The class flops from one position to another, and it feels disjointed. The story I'm about to tell you solves that, almost by itself.

Host: Tell us the story, then.

Tania Huddart: I encourage teachers to follow the sequence a baby moves through as it grows. Every one of us moved through these positions as a baby, in this order, more or less. Our bodies know it.

It starts lying on the back. That's where you begin your class, with breathing and alignment. Everyone is supported. Nobody has to balance. They can settle in and notice how they're lying.

Then the baby lifts its head. That's your abdominal work, curling forward. The head lifts, the chest follows, and the tummy muscles do the work.

Host: And then?

Tania Huddart: Then the baby starts rolling, side to side. So that's where you go next. Rolling brings in the muscles at the side of your waist, the obliques. It's also a lovely place for side-lying work to strengthen the hips. And for twisting through the upper back, and bending to the side.

Then the baby rolls right over onto its tummy. So do you. Lying face down is where you work on lengthening the spine and the legs behind you. We call it extension. It's the opposite of all that curling forward we do at a desk.

Host: And sitting up comes next?

Tania Huddart: It does. Sitting is a big moment for a baby. And in your class it's where the seated exercises belong. Saw and the torso twist both live here. So does spine stretch, where you round forward over your legs. And so does mermaid, a lovely side stretch where you sit with your legs folded to one side.

Then onto hands and knees. Some people call it four-point kneeling. That's the place for cat-cow, where you round and arch your back. And for bending to the side, and thread the needle, where one arm slides under the body and you twist.

And last of all, the baby pulls itself up. High kneeling, then standing. So you finish the class on your feet, with some balance work.

Host: So the class grows up, in an hour.

Tania Huddart: In an hour. And notice what happens. Each position leads to the next one, the way it did when we were small. You do what you need to do in one place, and then you move on. You don't need to keep jumping about. A baby doesn't do a set of ten and then lie down for a rest. It just keeps going, one stage into the next.

Host: Why does the order matter so much? Couldn't you do the same exercises in any order?

Tania Huddart: You could. But think about what each stage gives the next. On your back, you find your breath and your alignment while everything is supported. Then you take that into harder places. Lifting the head needs the breath you just found. Sitting tall needs the length you built lying on your tummy. Standing needs all of it.

Each stage has a little less support and a little more balance. So the class builds. It starts simple and grows more complex. The early work prepares people for what comes later. And the hardest work arrives when their bodies are ready for it.

Host: Does every class have to follow that order?

Tania Huddart: No. It's a starting point. Once that shape is familiar to you, you can change it around. You can build classes that focus on breathing. Or on how the spine moves. Or on hip strength, or alignment. Whatever your clients need to feel strong, flexible and successful.

And your stories will change over time. As you get to know a group, you'll see where they struggle. Then you can shape the story around that.

Host: What would that look like? Say, a class about the spine.

Tania Huddart: You'd still move through the positions. But in each one, you'd pay a bit more attention to the spine. How does it curl? How does it lengthen? How does it twist? You don't ignore the rest of the body. It just doesn't feature as much. And at the end, you might link it to something everyday, like walking. How does your spine move when you walk? People leave knowing something new about their own body.

Host: Why does flow matter so much to clients? Is it mostly about looking polished?

Tania Huddart: Not at all. It matters for them. In my experience, the main reason people stop exercising is boredom. If every class feels the same, people drift away. Not because they've stopped caring. Because nothing new is happening for them. So variety, and a class that carries them along, keeps them coming back.

And when a class flows, people feel they've had more exercise time. They're moving more, and waiting less. That feels like better value. It feels more challenging, too, without you adding harder exercises.

And there's one people forget. It's fun to move together. Moving with others is inspiring. When a class flows, the whole room moves as one, and people feel connected. To each other, and to you. That's where friendships start.

Host: And for a teacher listening, who wants to try this next week?

Tania Huddart: Take your next class plan and lay it out in that order. Start on the back, and work your way up to standing, the way a baby does. See where your exercises fit. You'll probably find a few that keep jumping back to an earlier stage. Move them, or save them for another day.

Then teach it, and notice how it feels. Clients won't always notice flow. They'll notice when it's missing.

Host: So, three things to take away?

Tania Huddart: One. Flow is how you get from one exercise to the next. It depends on the exercises you choose, the positions you use, and the way you move between them.

Two. Tell a movement story. The way a baby learns to move gives you a shape every body already knows.

Three. Once that shape feels familiar, change it around. Choose a focus, and build each class around what your clients need.

Host: And a question to sit with?

Tania Huddart: What story did your last class tell? If someone had watched it, could they have followed the thread?

Host: You'll find Tania's article, Creating flow in your Pilates classes, in the Journal at taniahuddart.com. There's more on planning a class that flows in Teach Pilates with Confidence.

Next episode, the client every teacher has had. What do I do with the client who makes class hard?

Tania, last word?

Tania Huddart: Your clients' bodies already know this story. They learned it before they could talk. All you're doing is reminding them, one stage at a time.