Success Story: Unite Health grad, Tanya, opens own Pilates studio Feel Good Pilates

Success Story: Unite Health grad, Tanya, opens own Pilates studio Feel Good Pilates

When Pilates Instructor Certification grad Tanya got her hands on a rickety old reformer to use at home through covid lockdowns, her love of Pilates emboldened her to take a leap and change her life.

After quitting her corporate gig, she pursued her Pilates teacher training, teamed up with a friend and together they opened their very own studio, Feel Good Pilates. Tanya left her high flying corporate career and now spends her days teaching Pilates to people from all ages, backgrounds and walks of life and finds joy in making people happy, healthy and strong everyday. 

What was your professional background prior to enrolling into the Pilates Instructor Certification?

I worked in corporate for a really long time and some government roles as an IT portfolio and project manager so I was very much entrenched in the corporate world. Then it was prior to lockdown that I really started getting into reformer Pilates. I borrowed a home reformer machine from a friend. They’d bought it off Danoz Direct at like 3am in the morning or something Iike that - it was kind of falling apart but it was great! 

And it just so happened I borrowed it because I really got into reformer and I was like, oh I just love this so much I want to wake up and do it in the morning if I can’t make it to a class. So I ended up having that all through lockdown. I signed up to a couple of different apps doing reformer classes, so it was doing that that made me think you know what, I need a lifestyle change. I got sick of the corporate world, I’d been thinking about getting out of it for a while. And I just loved Pilates, everything about it. Being in a beautiful studio, where everyone’s in a good mood and everyone’s there to have a good time. It’s all smiles, it's all positive and I just loved that, I wanted to work in a place like that. Obviously corporate is very stressful so I felt I really needed a lifestyle change and I was in love with Pilates so I went from there. 

What made you choose Unite Health for your Pilates teacher training? 

I did a bit of research, and after calling the main institutions I resonated most with Unite Health. I’d heard a lot about Unite Health through instructors who had done the training. I also looked at socials, at reviews and I saw that there’s some great educators there and the course material seemed really good. I thought, I want to sign up with these guys. Unite Health is a great provider and a huge provider in Victoria and Australia and the fact that I could go to your studio in-person and meet people was a real draw card as well. 

At what point did you open your studio? What’s the story behind Feel Good Pilates? 

We opened doors on 30 April 2022. It took a lot of planning through lockdown. Trying to find commercial properties through the lockdown was pretty much impossible because you couldn’t go anywhere or see anything so that was quite challenging. But I think it allowed us the opportunity to really explore what we wanted to do. There was always the option to go into a franchise and I think if you’re starting out and you don’t want to start your own business a franchise is a great way to go because you’ve got all the collateral, all the experience and resources behind you from that company to be able to support you through that approach. But my business partner Ange and I decided we wanted to start our own brand. We’d been dreaming about it for a long time, we’d been thinking about it for many years and of course we got talking through lockdown and so it was a fair bit of time in planning but yeah it finally opened last year! 

Since finishing the course, where has the Pilates journey taken you? 

I’m teaching a fair bit at my own studio which is great and to be able to do that. I feel very privileged that I was able to put into practice straight away what I was learning through the course. Opposed to being a brand new teacher, not having a job, and you kind of just practise on friends. I went through that period earlier so for me I feel very fortunate that I’ve been able to put into practice what I’d learned from day dot from the first weekend. Even after the anatomy component things started to make a lot more sense. Not that I hadn’t learnt that before but the Unite Health material was much more comprehensive than the online course I’d done previously. So it was great, that was one of the best things I’ve been able to implement through the whole course. 

So you started your Pilates teacher training by doing an online course through another provider, and then came to Unite Health for additional training? 

Yeah that’s right, I did a course through another provider which was all online but I really wanted to do something face to face and actually have people correct me. So I was very fortunate in that we’d opened our own studio just after covid and I had my business partner coach me quite a lot when I started teaching. She helped me with those hands on corrections and all the things I needed to know that you don’t quite get with an online course. 

What do you love most about Pilates?

Honestly, everything, it’s so good. I think it’s the way I feel when I do Pilates. It started with me doing Pilates and having that experience of in-studio, having someone instruct me. I think body awareness and also just the mindfulness of the practice. It’s similar to yoga in that you walk into a studio and you just totally zone out and it’s my time to not think about anything else in the world. Especially when you’ve got your career in the background, kids or whatever it is that’s distracting you, you can just totally switch off and really be in the moment. So that’s from my personal perspective. But from a teaching perspective, honestly the best part is when everyone is really happy. They come into class in a good mood, they leave in a great mood, they're always so happy and I love that. I think there’s something really special about that. 

What is your favourite Pilates exercise? 

Oh god, there’s so many! I do love teaser but I’m probably a few months out of practice now that I’m pregnant. I’ve got a massive baby bump so I can’t do any ab work any more! But I love teaser because it’s such a challenging move. I wouldn’t teach it to everyone unless they’ve progressed to the right place to be able to do it properly, but I just love that it’s such a challenge. It's a great exercise to be able to build up over time especially if you’re starting Pilates. To have that exercise as a goal and knowing what you have to be able to do with your body, you have to be able to condition your body to get it to that point. 

What makes your studio, Feel Good Pilates, unique? 

I think Feel Good is just such a special place because the whole mantra is about feeling good. It’s about feeling, it’s about positivity and it’s about inclusivity. At our studio we have classes for pretty much anyone over the age of 16. Although we are looking at some student classes in the future for under 16s. But we’ve got classes for just about anyone, so what I mean by that is, I take prenatal classes - I've practised all through my pregnancy and we offer that to our clients as well. Which makes us unique as if you’ve ever been pregnant before, you probably found that you get locked out of pretty much everywhere in Melbourne! So you do a private session when you get to 15 weeks and I love that we’re inclusive so that all the preggie ladies can come along. 

We’ve got mums and bubs so when you’ve finished your pregnancy journey you can come along with your baby for the next 21 months until they start walking. We’ve got different styles of fitness classes, so we’ve got feel good fit which is cardio based and we’ve got our HIIT class which is called feel strong and that includes lots of weights, kettlebells and different apparatus. And then all the way through to our feel fabulous which is for our over 55’s and that class is fantastic. They love it. Mostly the average age is over 75. So my mother-in-law comes to that class and Ange’s parents in-law come to that class as well. It’s such a social group, I love it. It's really beautiful. 

What a beautiful community that you’ve created! 

I think that really sums it up, it is a community. Everyone can get involved in Pilates. Pilates is for everyone and I think it’s not an age limit thing, it's exercise for everyone. 

How would you describe your classes and teaching style? 

Oh gosh I have been told that I have a really calming voice, which I can’t hear myself, but I love to teach a pretty challenging class. I learned early on in my teaching journey through my business partner Ange that you really have to push your clients. So the challenge for me when I started teaching was being able to find a point where people were fatigued enough to get enough from the exercise and get the most out of every class. So for me, the aim of every class is to firstly get the most out of every exercise, making sure I’m correcting form - I always do hands on adjustments in class. Making sure there’s a peak to the class, so making sure there’s something for people to work towards. And holding things for long enough or making it tough with enough advancements. Then everyone in the class can feel included and get enough of a challenge so that everyone from beginners to advanced clients walk out thinking “that was awesome, I feel amazing!"

When you’re looking to bring new instructors into the studio, what kind of people are you looking for? What kind of qualities would you look for in an instructor? 

I think there’s a bit of a special sauce to instructing which you would know if you’ve been to a number of classes. Obviously you need to have the skill level and to have done your certification. A bit of experience definitely helps, even reflecting on my own journey when I first started I was so nervous teaching and I think sometimes that can come across. So if you have a little bit of teaching under your belt that’s always a good start. It’s about personality, so how do you share your personality with the class, because clients don’t just want to come in and do a class and never see you again. It’s about building that relationship and that’s about that community vibe as well and that’s how you make people feel good. By connecting with them through exercise but also before and after the class as well. There’s a few different things but I think there’s also that X factor too, so personality and just fit the culture of the studio. 

What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about doing their Pilates teacher training but are feeling unsure or worried it won’t pay off? 

Honestly, just go for it. I know it’s scary because it could mean a few things. It could mean that you want to commit to a proper practice. It could mean that you want to become certified as an instructor but you may not want to actually teach full time because for financial reasons or whatever you want to stay in your current role. Or it could mean that you want to leave your job entirely and start up a whole new career in Pilates. I’d say go for it, whatever iteration it is, just do it because you’ll never regret trying. You can always go back to that job, you’ve always got that safety net to go back to where you were before, so try it! And you’ll feel really good doing Pilates anyway so it’s win-win. 

What does Pilates mean to you? 

It means more than just exercise, it’s really a lifestyle. I think that Pilates has not only taught me about how to move my body in the best way possible and get the most out of exercise, it's also taught me about discipline. Both in my everyday life and around mental discipline. So there’s that factor that comes in like how many times do you go to class, how many times do you practise and put that discipline in, and that filters into everything. 

The other part is around mindfulness so not just being mindful in class - yes that time is for you - but you can find that time outside of class as well. It’s helped me to do that. Especially during lockdown there were a lot of mental health things going on at that time and I wasn’t immune to that either. Having that reformer at home, obviously I was very fortunate with that, I practised every morning. And then I found time in the day even just 5 or 10 minutes just to reflect or have quiet time by myself. I know that’s not always possible for everyone but even if it’s late at night, just find that time. That is a huge benefit of firstly having that discipline and second just being a little bit more mindful about how you’re living life as well. 

What are your future plans for the studio?

We definitely want to expand, I mean that’s part of the journey right. There’s two of us so we’re fortunate in that it’s given us some capacity to be able to even consider that, because it is a lot of work. But, we’d love to expand and share the Feel Good brand and our whole vibe.

For anyone that wants to book a class with you, how can they find you? 

Easiest way is through our website, our app or social media. We’ve got our own Feel Good Pilates app through mindbody so you just download the app and book your class that way. 

You can visit the Feel Good Pilates website here.