Season 5, Episode 2: What do I actually stand for, and why do I teach?

Tania Huddart: Nobody teaches Pilates just for themselves. Have you noticed that? We teach it because it worked so well for us that we wanted to share the magic. We wanted to be part of making that magic happen for someone else.

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 episode, we drew the Wheel of Life, a snapshot of where your life is sitting right now. This one goes underneath it. What do I actually stand for, and why do I teach?

Tania Huddart: Those are the two questions that hold up everything else in the academy. Your values, and your why. And in between them, getting clear. We'll take them one at a time.

If you skip them, everything you build later sits on sand. Your niche, your marketing, even your prices. They all come back to these.

Host: Let's start with values. And I'll be honest, part of me hears "values" and thinks, that's a bit soft. I need clients.

Tania Huddart: I understand. But values aren't soft. They're practical. They help you live with purpose.

And they're one of the reasons you became a Pilates teacher in the first place. The values of wanting to share your knowledge and your passion with other people. Because you're a generous person. Because you want to help.

Your values lead you to the things that matter most to you. They give you a guiding system. And they shape how you take action and how you make decisions. So they're anything but soft. They're underneath every choice you make in your business.

When you understand your values at a very deep level, you wake up your heart's deepest desires. And then you can start making them real.

Host: Is a value just another word for my personality?

Tania Huddart: No. It's not whether you're an introvert or an extrovert. It's not what comes easiest to you.

In fact, sometimes sticking to your values puts you in a very uncomfortable situation. Because if you went against them, you'd be compromising something that's really important to you. So sometimes you have to make tricky decisions to honour them. You might lose a relationship. You might lose an opportunity.

Host: That's quite a cost.

Tania Huddart: It can be. But the other cost is bigger. If you keep going against your values, you stop being authentically you. In your business, and when you're teaching. And you can't be authentic in a room if you don't know what you stand for. Clients can feel it. You end up teaching classes you don't believe in, for people who don't really suit you, and wondering why you're so tired.

Host: So how do I find mine?

Tania Huddart: You start with one question. "What is important to me?" And from that, you start coming across your core values.

They might be things like freedom, kindness, honesty, adventure, integrity, courage. There's a values worksheet in the course with a whole list. Go through it and pick out the ones that resonate for you the most. Not the ones that sound good. The ones that feel true.

Do it quickly, the way you did the wheel. Then narrow it down. If you've still got fifteen, you haven't chosen yet.

Host: What are yours?

Tania Huddart: I value freedom probably the highest of all. Then adventure, and variety. I really like variety. I don't want to be doing the same thing all the time. I like having the freedom to follow my heart, and to do the things that inspire me.

Host: How does that show up in your work?

Tania Huddart: I notice it when I plan my week. If every day looks the same, I start to feel flat. And when I've said yes to something that boxes me in, I feel it quite quickly.

That doesn't make variety better than routine. Some wonderful teachers love the same timetable every week. Their values are different. That's the point. Yours are yours.

And that's the useful part. Once you know your values, you can tell why something feels wrong. Before, it just felt wrong.

Host: The next chapter in the academy is called Gain Clarity. What does clarity mean here?

Tania Huddart: It means knowing where you stand, and where you're heading. I think of your why as the compass of your business. It points you forward when the path feels unclear. And it pulls you back when something comes along that would take you off course.

Host: Can you give me an example of being pulled off course?

Tania Huddart: Say someone offers you a block of classes at a gym across town. Good money. But it's not the people you want to teach, and it's not the work you want to be known for.

Without clarity, you say yes, because it's money. With clarity, you can see what it costs you. Clarity gives you direction when you're making decisions. Even when that means giving up something in the short term, because it doesn't fit the long term.

Host: And how do you actually get clear? Is it just thinking hard?

Tania Huddart: Thinking helps. But it's better when you can see it. One way is a vision board. Fill it with words and images and colours that mirror what you're building. Put it somewhere you'll see it every day. Every time you glance at it, it's a reminder. This is why I'm doing this.

And let it change. Your why may shift as you grow, and that's fine. Revisit it often. Let it grow alongside you, your clients and your community.

You can also try this. Close your eyes and picture yourself standing outside your studio, or your class, a few years from now. Then step inside. What's the energy like? Calm and nurturing? Or buzzing with people and laughter? And who's in the room? What do you want them to feel when they walk in? Your answers tell you a lot about what you're really building.

Host: So clarity isn't a one-off.

Tania Huddart: No. It's something you come back to. The academy keeps bringing you back to it, too. You'll find it again when you set your priorities and your goals. That's on purpose.

And it makes the later chapters easier. If you're clear on your why, choosing a niche is much simpler. If you're not, every niche looks possible, and none of them feels right.

Host: Then there's the why. You use an idea from Simon Sinek in the course.

Tania Huddart: I do. He's very influential in the leadership space, and there's a link to his talk in the course. He talks about Apple, and why they've been so successful.

I'm a long-term Apple user. I recorded the whole course on my Apple computer. So I can relate to what he says. Apple didn't really sell you a computer. Underneath, most computers have much the same parts. What Apple sold you was the why. A lifestyle. Not "we have the fastest processor". That's the magic in their marketing.

It's the same for us. When someone books a class with you, they're not really buying a list of exercises. They're buying how they feel when they walk out the door.

Host: And what's the Pilates version of that?

Tania Huddart: Knowing why you teach. And I'll give you a little hint. Nobody teaches Pilates just for themselves. Most of us teach because it was so effective for us that we wanted to share it. We want to help other people.

I've told the story of my friend Tony on this show. That hospital room is my why. Yours might be much quieter. But it's there.

Host: And once I've found it, what do I do with it?

Tania Huddart: You put it into words. Your why goes into your niche statement. It goes into your ideal client. It goes into the things you say that come straight from your heart.

That's what helps the people who need you to find you. The clients who suit you. So you can make an impact, and spread the joy of what Pilates did for you.

And when you're anchored in that, clients feel the authenticity behind your teaching. They don't just come for Pilates. They come for the way your passion makes them feel.

There's a sheet in the course that takes you through it step by step, so you can crystallise it into your reasons. Not why people in general teach Pilates. Why you do. Write it down. Then read it on a bad day.

Host: So, three things to take away?

Tania Huddart: One. Your values aren't soft. They're underneath every decision you make, and sometimes honouring them costs you something.

Two. Clarity is a compass, not a one-off. Come back to it as you grow.

Three. Know why you teach, and say it plainly. People don't come for the how. They come for the why.

Host: And the question to sit with?

Tania Huddart: If a client asked you tomorrow why you teach, not what you teach, but why, what would you say in one sentence?

Host: Everything we talked about today is Chapters 3, 4 and 5 of Tania's Pilatespreneur Academy: Identify Your Core Values, Gain Clarity, and Crafting Your Why. You'll find it at taniahuddart.com slash academy.

Next episode, we get practical about your week. Where does my energy go, and what comes first?

Tania, last word?

Tania Huddart: You already know more about your why than you think. It's in the reason you walked into your first class and kept coming back. Write it down this week, and let it be imperfect. It doesn't need to be clever. It needs to be yours.