Is Pilates good for Ehlers-Danlos syndrome?
From Worried she Couldn’t teach – to getting another teacher to help with her growing business!
With her medical conditions, she was worried she couldn’t teach….. 🥺
Meet Leanne!
When Leanne was thinking about doing her teacher training she called me up and we had a chat, followed by a visit to the studio so I could show her around and show her all the course materials.
Now most people have some sort of doubts, whether that’s skill or talent or whatever, but for Leanne, it was whether or not she’d get through a course with her disability. Not that she even considers it a disability.
Leanne suffers from Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, which in all honesty I had never even heard of until I met Leanne! A quick google search enlightened me!
So if you don’t know then EDS is an extreme dislocation of joints and the connective tissues of the body are very supple, to explain it very briefly. An example of this might be if Leanne was writing with a pen for too long it could cause her thumb to dislocate. This can happen in any joint in the body – knees, hips, shoulders so I”m sure you can appreciate the impact this can have on anyone’s life!
After meeting Leanne and talking about her condition I knew she’d definitely be able to qualify and be a great teacher, as we were able to support her in a way she needed.
Since we’re a small and bespoke teacher training studio, we don’t have strict timetables and schedules.
We can be more flexible and we strive to accommodate our teachers and the barriers that they face, as we know life does throw curve balls and we don’t want that to stop you from becoming a Pilates or Yoga teacher!
After Leanne and I met and we discussed how we could work around her needs like having extra breaks or even just giving her some space to sit some of the exercises out – she felt supported enough to register for her teacher training, so much so that her mum joined us too!
Anyway, to cut a long story short Leanne completed her training to a high standard and this is where the fun starts.
2 years on, today Leanne has left her job to work full time in her own business. Not only is she enjoying teaching. Her business has grown so much that she has actually hired another teacher to start teaching more classes for her.
Leanne markets her business to people just like her. People with medical conditions that can’t find “normal classes” to suit them and guess what…
Most of Leanne’s classes are online! (people always think no one wants online, but there are people out there that love online classes!) ❣️
The reason I wanted you to meet Leanne is because apart from all the normal self doubts people have when they’re thinking about becoming a Pilates or Yoga teacher, she also had to consider her own condition and whether or not she would be able to get through each day.
Although our training is intense, you’re never forced to do anything and everything and you go at your pace. If the practical elements are getting too much then you can modify them or just watch. We all have off days physically and mentally. Some days you might feel great and other days you haven’t got an ounce of energy. You will not be judged when there’s something you feel isn’t right for you.
AFTER all that is what we are trying to teach you as teachers. Not everything is right for your clients to do and it’s a big learning curve to allow people to make those decisions for themselves.
I love sharing Leanne’s story as she has overcome so much to get to where she is and so can you.
If being a teacher and helping others is something you really want to do then there is no reason why you can’t do it and the only person that is stopping you is YOU.
If you have this burning desire inside of you to do your teacher training, but maybe have lots of gremlins talking dirty in your head, then get in touch and we’ll go through your concerns and help you to take the next step forward!
We have a Pilates Course & Yoga Courses starting in soon and it’s the perfect time to join us!
Lots of love
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