Beyond the Reformer

"There is a lot of money-hungry people chasing trends with a lack of moral compass and ethics behind them."
The Pilates industry is growing fast - but not always in the right direction. In this episode, Nic is joined by Katie, founder of Pilates Delivered, an Amsterdam-based at-home and private Pilates service. Katie trained comprehensively with Polestar Pilates and has been teaching for over a decade across private clients, studios, and her own business.
They get straight into the hard conversation: what's actually happening with teaching standards right now, why weekend certifications are producing a generation of teachers who only know the choreography, and why loving Pilates does not make someone qualified to teach it.
They also explore what separates good teachers from great ones - from personality and people skills to the ability to read a body, adapt on the spot, and never stop learning. Katie shares how expanding into sound healing, Reiki, fascia, and nervous system work has made her a more intuitive, holistic teacher - and why Pilates has always been about the whole person.
And on the business side, Katie talks candidly about building a sustainable private practice from scratch in a new city, setting boundaries with clients, pricing at a premium, and designing a career entirely on her own terms.

Timestamps
00:00 Intro to Katie
00:21 What's really happening in the Pilates industry right now
01:47 Weekend certifications and the choreography problem
06:17 Katie's journey into Pilates and why she chose Polestar
10:13 Building Pilates Delivered: at-home Pilates in Amsterdam
13:47 What clients actually want — and what keeps them coming back
18:55 Expanding beyond Pilates: sound healing, Reiki, and fascia work
23:17 How holistic training makes you a more intuitive teacher
26:57 Pilates and wellness as complementary — not competing
32:35 What actually makes a great Pilates teacher
37:09 Just because you love Pilates doesn't mean you should teach it
39:29 Authenticity, personality, and being exactly who you are
44:04 Building a sustainable career outside the studio model
49:02 Quick-fire questions
50:26 Where to find Katie

If you're enjoying the podcast, make sure you're following along so you don't miss future episodes. And feel free to share this one with someone you think would take something from it.

Connect with Nic:
Beyond the Reformer Instagram
Soul Pilates Instagram
Soul Pilates Education
Nic's Instagram
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Book a Pilates Class
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Connect with Katie
Pilates Delivered Instagram
Pilates Delivered Website
Katie’s Substack

Join the Soul Pilates Retreat in Cornwall on 19 June for a weekend of movement, rest and nourishment. Find all the details here.

Thinking about investing in Pilates equipment? Balanced Body are offering our listeners a special discount! Fill in the form here and mention Soul Pilates when you order.

Interested in joining the July Teacher Training intake? Find all the details and book a call here.
Get 5% off Balanced Body Pilates equipment with the code SOUL PILATES

"Real change in your body happens from grounded, consistent work. Doing the split and a handstand is entertaining, but that's not what Pilates is about."
In this episode, Nic is joined by Heather Andersen, founder of New York Pilates - one of the most recognisable reformer studio brands in the world, with nine locations across New York City and counting.
Heather built New York Pilates from a basement space in Greenwich Village in 2013, at a time when group reformer classes simply didn't exist. She shares what it actually took to scale to nine studios - from building onboarding systems and maintaining consistency across locations, to the pricing mistakes and people management lessons learned the hard way.
They also get into the state of the industry: why clients are confused about what Pilates even is, what separates genuine contemporary Pilates from the "Pilates adjacent" world, and why the most transformational work looks like nothing on camera.
Timestamps
00:23 How New York Pilates started
01:37 Heather's background in ballet and early Pilates training
07:14 Making the leap from teacher to studio owner
13:14 Building the brand from day one
14:38 Early mistakes and people management
16:03 What a New York Pilates class feels like
18:44 Classical vs. contemporary vs. Pilates adjacent
25:20 Scaling from one studio to nine
29:16 Building systems for consistency
31:34 Teacher onboarding and quality management
37:51 Pricing, ClassPass, and why loyalty beats volume
44:34 Social media and the decision to talk about real Pilates
55:22 Where to find Heather

If you're enjoying the podcast, make sure you're following along so you don't miss future episodes. And feel free to share this one with someone you think would take something from it.
Connect with Nic:
Beyond the Reformer Instagram
Soul Pilates Instagram
Soul Pilates Education
Nic's Instagram
Join Soul at Home
Book a Pilates Class
Sign up to Our Newsletter
Connect with Heather
Heather’s Instagram
New York Pilates Instagram
New York Pilates Website
New York Pilates Intro Offer
New York Pilates Reformer Certification

Join the Soul Pilates Retreat in Cornwall on 19 June for a weekend of movement, rest and nourishment. Find all the details here.

Thinking about investing in Pilates equipment? Balanced Body are offering our listeners a special discount! Fill in the form here and mention Soul Pilates when you order.

Interested in joining the July Teacher Training intake? Find all the details and book a call here.
Get 5% off Balanced Body Pilates equipment with the code SOUL PILATES

"I think self-acceptance and self-compassion... it's gonna keep changing and if you hear the loud stuff saying, I can't do that anymore - no." - Amy Havens
In this episode, Nic is joined by Amy Havens, a veteran Pilates educator, mentor, and movement teacher based in Santa Barbara with over 30 years of experience in the industry. Amy has trained across multiple lineages - including Fletcher, BASI, Kathy Grant, and Madeleine Black - and is widely respected as one of the most thoughtful voices in Pilates education today.
They explore what it really takes to become a truly great Pilates teacher - from the qualities that no training manual can teach, like patience and compassion, to the art of learning to see and respond to the bodies in front of you. Amy shares her rich origin story, from discovering Pilates as a dance student in 1989 to becoming injured, finding healing through the work, and eventually committing to teaching as a lifelong calling.
They also dig into the current state of the Pilates industry - the growing divide between fitness Pilates and the more healing-oriented tradition, the case for prerequisites before teacher training, and why mastering the fundamentals will always matter more than creative programming. Amy makes a compelling case for mentorship as the missing piece for so many new teachers, and shares what that relationship can look like when it's done well.

Timestamps
00:00 Intro to Amy Havens
00:14 What makes a truly great Pilates teacher
02:08 Learning to see and respond to different bodies
04:49 Amy's origin story - discovering Pilates in college
08:10 Observing from the front desk and falling in love with the work
10:42 Getting cold feet before teacher training - and why that was the right call
13:23 Amy's formal training with Madeleine Black at the Physical Mind Institute
15:27 Learning to teach, not just to do
17:34 How injury became the turning point toward teaching
21:38 Why the best teachers are often those whose lives were changed by Pilates
22:40 The case for prerequisites in Pilates teacher training
28:13 What great mentorship actually looks like
31:46 Amy as a forever student - training across multiple lineages
37:06 How studying different styles shaped Amy's teaching
43:29 The state of the Pilates industry - two forks in the road
45:14 Fitness Pilates vs. healing Pilates - is it all Pilates?
47:52 Why studio owners need to do better at describing what they offer
53:00 Don't teach too much too soon - a lesson from Madeleine Black
55:25 Why mastering fundamentals matters more than creative programming
56:44 Quick-fire questions
01:03:28 Where to find Amy

If you're enjoying the podcast, make sure you're following along so you don't miss future episodes. And feel free to share this one with someone you think would take something from it.

Connect with Nic:
Beyond the Reformer Instagram
Soul Pilates Instagram
Soul Pilates Education
Nic's Instagram
Join Soul at Home
Book a Pilates Class
Sign up to Our Newsletter
Connect with Amy:
Move with Amy Website
Amy’s Instagram
Amy’s Facebook
Amy’s Email 
Pilates Anytime Website

Join the Soul Pilates Retreat in Cornwall on 19 June for a weekend of movement, rest and nourishment. Find all the details here.

Thinking about investing in Pilates equipment? Balanced Body are offering our listeners a special discount! Fill in the form here and mention Soul Pilates when you order.

Interested in joining the July Teacher Training intake? Find all the details and book a call here.
Get 5% off Balanced Body Pilates equipment with the code SOUL PILATES

"I cannot be of service to other people if I cannot be of service to myself."
You left the corporate world for a reason. But somehow you're exhausted, resentful, and wondering why this passion-driven career feels just as relentless as the one you walked away from.
Nic is joined by Audrey O'Connor - former quantity surveyor, Pilates teacher, sound healer, and wellness educator who now works with global brands like Google. Back for her second appearance, Audrey digs into what burnout actually looks like for Pilates teachers - not just tiredness, but resentment, physical symptoms, and the trap of performing busyness as a badge of honour.
They get practical on morning rituals, finances, multiple revenue streams, and valuing your time before resentment does it for you. Audrey also brings in something unexpected: astrology and human design as tools for understanding why you show up the way you do - and why changing your mind is not the same as being flaky.
Whether you're in the thick of burnout or starting to feel the edges of it, there's something here for you.

Timestamps
01:13 What burnout actually is - beyond just being tired
03:50 Busyness as a badge of honour and how to recognise the patterns
07:52 Vision, values, and the Pilates industry comparison trap
09:02 How performance and money are connected to burnout
11:12 Taking care of your body when teaching is your job
13:15 Switching off on holiday (and why content creation doesn't count as rest)
17:05 Rituals, routines and habit stacking
23:37 Finding a ritual practice that fits your life
26:07 Astrology and human design as tools for self-understanding
31:34 Why Pilates teachers are particularly prone to burnout
32:21 Being of service vs. sacrificing yourself
34:15 Burnout, undervaluing, and our complicated relationship with money
56:58 Mindset, self-worth, and why opportunities arrive when you stop chasing them
58:44 If you're overwhelmed right now - start here

If this episode resonated, share it with someone in the industry who needs to hear it. And make sure you're following along so you don't miss what's coming next.

Connect with Nic:
Beyond the Reformer Instagram
Soul Pilates Instagram
Soul Pilates Education
Nic's Instagram
Join Soul at Home
Book a Pilates Class
Sign up to Our Newsletter

Connect with Audrey:
Audrey's Sound Healing Training
Core State Website
Audrey’s Instagram
The Everyday Hero Manifesto Book

Join the Soul Pilates Retreat in Cornwall on 19 June for a weekend of movement, rest and nourishment. Find all the details here.

Thinking about investing in Pilates equipment? Balanced Body are offering our listeners a special discount! Fill in the form here and mention Soul Pilates when you order.

Interested in joining the July Teacher Training intake? Find all the details and book a call here.

Get 5% off Balanced Body Pilates equipment with the code SOUL PILATES

Nic is joined by Clarissa Shepherd, kids Pilates specialist, pre and postnatal educator, Club Pilates master trainer, and author of Sage Does Pilates and Babies & Barre.
Clarissa's story is anything but conventional. From working in TV news and witnessing a live on-air shooting, to packing up her car with $600 and driving to Dallas, to funding her Pilates certification while working night shifts - her path to becoming a Pilates teacher is one of grit, resilience and pure determination.
But what makes Clarissa's work truly unique is who she teaches. While the Pilates industry talks about being "for everyone," Clarissa noticed a glaring gap - children are almost always left out. 
She shares why bringing Pilates into families' lives earlier is one of the biggest untapped opportunities in the industry, and how her own experience of an absent mother during childhood became the driving force behind her mission to connect families through movement.
The conversation explores how to adapt Pilates for different ages - from babies and toddlers to teenagers and everything in between - and why storytelling, play and affirmations are just as important as the repertoire. Clarissa also shares how she's training other teachers to do this work and working towards licensing her kids Pilates framework so it can reach families around the world.
Timestamps
00:00 Intro to Clarissa 
00:32 Why families are the missing piece in Pilates 
02:51 Clarissa's backstory - news, Dallas and $600 to her name 
05:43 Discovering Pilates and being inspired by female leadership 
09:01 Funding her certification and the sacrifices she made 
13:13 Moving to Germany, becoming a mother and finding her path 
16:03 How pregnancy sparked her interest in pre and postnatal Pilates 
17:30 Teaching children for the first time 
17:40 How to adapt Pilates for different ages and stages 
20:07 Using affirmations and mentorship with teenagers 
22:52 Making Pilates a game for younger children 
24:18 Mommy and me classes and incorporating babies into movement 
25:41 The creativity and storytelling skills kids Pilates demands 
25:41 Training teachers to teach kids Pilates 
44:10 Who Clarissa works with - from ballerinas to retirees 
45:04 What's next for Clarissa 
46:24 Quick-fire questions 
48:24 Where to connect with Clarissa
Thanks so much to Clarissa for coming on the podcast and sharing such an honest and inspiring story. Please make sure to subscribe and rate the show 5 stars if you've been loving it - it helps the show more than you know.

Connect with Nic:
Beyond the Reformer Instagram
Soul Pilates Instagram
Soul Pilates Education
Nic's Instagram
Join Soul at Home
Book a Pilates Class
Sign up to Our Newsletter

Connect with Clarissa:
Clarissa's Instagram
Pilates Mamii Website
YouTube: Pilates Mamii
Facebook: Pilates Mamii
Clarissa’s Sage Does Pilates Book
Clarissa’s Babies & Barre Book

Join the Soul Pilates Retreat in Cornwall on 19 June for a weekend of movement, rest and nourishment. Find all the details here.

Thinking about investing in Pilates equipment? Balanced Body are offering our listeners a special discount! Fill in the form here and mention Soul Pilates when you order.

Interested in joining the July Teacher Training intake? Find all the details and book a call here.

Get 5% off Balanced Body Pilates equipment with the code SOUL PILATES