Season 6, Episode 8: How do images and stories help people move?

Tania Huddart: One of my favourite images came from a client. She'd had a very stressful day, and I was just helping her breathe and calm down. I didn't give her an image. I asked her what it made her feel like. And she said, "All I can see is a jellyfish. I feel like a jellyfish moving." I've loved it ever since.

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 was about what makes a cue work. Today we finish Part 2 of the course, your teaching toolkit. How do images and stories help people move?

Tania Huddart: They do something words on their own can't. With an image, you can give someone a thought, a feeling and an action, all at the same time.

Host: Explain that.

Tania Huddart: The course quiz says imagery can help a client bring together thought, emotion and action. Take a moonbeam. We can all imagine a moonbeam. You might take it as a direction. You might take it as a feeling. Either way, it can bring a lovely quality to the movement.

And our brains see in pictures. Even people who aren't very visual. If I say "apple", you see an apple. You don't see the word "apple" written out in front of you.

Host: Back to the jellyfish. Why that one?

Tania Huddart: We touched on the jellyfish back in Season 2. What I didn't tell you then is where it came from. We'd been talking about domes. The breathing muscle under your ribs, the diaphragm, is shaped a bit like a dome. But domes in buildings don't lend themselves to movement. We don't want them to move, otherwise we're in trouble.

A jellyfish does move. It pauses as it gets bigger. Then it moves in the current. Then it pauses and gets bigger again. That's just like our breath. It has the lightness and the floatiness. But it's also got power behind it. To me, that's an almost perfect image. I've even had a drawing done of it.

Host: Do images always work?

Tania Huddart: No. I've had clients look at me as if I'm completely nuts. And they'll tell me so. They have no idea how to be a moonbeam.

So I try a couple of images. And if they fall flat, I let them go. Some people just like their facts. That's fine.

And an image can work against you. I had a dance teacher who used to tell us that if we didn't keep our bottoms glued together, we'd get poked by a pointy stick. Guess what I did? I clenched my bottom really hard. That's not a good way to move.

So you want your images to help. Keep them positive and supportive. I always think about the quality of the movement I'm looking for when I choose an image.

Host: The quiz talks about seed images. What's a seed image?

Tania Huddart: It's the image I start the conversation with. Just something to get it going. Then I invite the client to come up with something that really works for them.

Because we all hear an image differently. If I say jellyfish, most people feel calm. But somebody else might see the deep, dark ocean. And if they're terrified of the sea, why would they want to think about a jellyfish? Then it's the wrong image. That's all.

I once asked a whole group to melt their shoulders. Nearly every single person pictured ice melting. Except one, who had butter in a hot pan.

Host: So how do you find the right one with a client?

Tania Huddart: I might say, "When I'm doing this movement, I think of this. Does that work for you?" If they say no, I'll say, "OK. This is what I'm trying to say. Is there an image that comes to mind for you?"

Then we talk about it. What quality would it have? What colour is it? What would it smell like, or taste like? That brings in all the senses. And it becomes theirs.

Host: Where do your own images come from?

Tania Huddart: Food, mostly. My clients tell me I'm making them hungry, and to please be quiet.

But once, with a student teacher, we went travelling through the stars. We were doing leg lifts lying on our side, and it started with a telescope. A small shape into a big telescope. Then we were moonbeams and star sparkles, right across the galaxy. I'd never used those images before. It was a load of fun.

Host: And when nothing is getting through?

Tania Huddart: Then I ask them to rehearse it in their mind first. Say someone's lying on their back, trying to keep their pelvis still as one leg lifts. They've done it a couple of times, and the feedback isn't helping.

So I'll say, imagine you're driving down the road in the middle of the night. Both your headlights are on, beaming up to the ceiling. Now you're going over a bump, as your leg lifts. Don't let the headlights move. They picture that two or three times in their mind. And then, when they're ready, they do the movement. It's often done in sport. I used it with my dance students all the time.

Host: You also use images when someone walks in upset.

Tania Huddart: I do. If a client comes in really upset or angry, saying "just calm down and breathe" isn't going to work. So sometimes I give them two sticks and a big Swiss ball to drum on, with rhythm patterns to follow.

And I'll say, "You're on stage. You're a Taiko drummer." That's Japanese drumming. "I want a deep, rich sound that reaches the back of the theatre." They have to focus on the pattern. And that brings them back into the room, and back into their body.

Host: And stories? Some people might think that's a bit far-fetched in a Pilates class.

Tania Huddart: People do think that. But we all know a lot of Pilates exercises are complicated. They have lots of moving parts. It's very hard for clients to organise themselves around all of them. When they remember the story, they're more likely to remember which movement goes with which part.

You can even think of a whole class as a story. That can help you plan it. But today, let's keep it to one exercise.

Host: Give me one.

Tania Huddart: Back in Season 2, I told you about the birthday party for the exercise called Saw. Here's another one. I often use it to prepare for a bridge.

You're lying on your back in the desert. You've seen lots of cactuses, so make cactus arms. Now your cowboy, or cowgirl, decides to have a rest, and takes out a frying pan. The handle is higher than the part that sits on the fire. So lift your hips. That's your bridge.

You've found some eggs along the way. Crack them into the pan. So let your ribs drop. Keep the handle up. Now scramble those eggs. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, keeping your eggs in the pan. And if your ribs pop up, the eggs fall out, and there's nothing left for dinner.

Host: I'm not going to forget that.

Tania Huddart: That's the point. It's a bit of a silly story. But I can bet you your clients remember it. Next class, I can ask, "Shall we make scrambled eggs today?" And everybody knows what to do.

Stories make a class fun. They give people a little giggle, and they help them relax. I have another one where we're on a yacht, looking across at the beach, and there's your favourite actor. Everyone gets carried away shouting out who it is. But mostly, a story is there to help memory. A story turns a list of instructions into something they can see.

Host: How do I make up my own?

Tania Huddart: Don't overthink it. It doesn't have to be an entire play. Start by asking questions. Where is it taking place? Is there a character? What do they want? The cowboy is hungry. Then, what's the highlight of the movement? For the cowboy, it's the scrambling. You want at least two or three elements to the movement, joined up by the story.

And choose something you struggle to teach. Four-point kneeling is a good one. That's hands and knees. People can't see themselves, and there's not a lot of feedback in that position. A story can help them find their place.

Host: What could a teacher try in their next class?

Tania Huddart: Choose one exercise you find hard to teach. Give it a little story, with two or three parts. Try it in your next class. Then next week, ask about the story, not the exercise. See how much they remember.

Host: So, three things to take away?

Tania Huddart: One. An image carries a thought, a feeling and an action, all at once. Keep it positive.

Two. Start with a seed image. Then let your client find their own.

Three. A little story helps people remember a complicated movement. And it makes the class fun.

Host: And the question to sit with?

Tania Huddart: Which exercise do your clients keep forgetting? What story could hold it together for them?

Host: Everything we talked about today is in Part 2 of Tania's online course, Teach Pilates with Confidence: Your teaching toolkit. It's open now. You'll find it at taniahuddart.com/academy.

Next episode, we start Part 3, planning and teaching your classes. How do I plan one class that works for everyone in the room?

Tania, last word?

Tania Huddart: Don't be afraid to be a little bit silly. Using an image isn't you failing to explain things properly. It's one of the most sophisticated tools we have. And it makes movement fun.