Thursday, April 14, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Making Connections
So, as I venture into the world of blogging two things occur to me: First, how moved I am by the endeavor of writing - it feels right. Second, I believe that the point to having a blog is to discover, explore and connect with what's happening in the world of teaching Pilates - and yoga and movement in general. And if that's true then part of my job is to help connect you to all the valuable resources that are out there.
Honoring the idea of one small step at a time, here's what I've found today:
Pilates For The People
This blog, authored by guest contributors and the originator, Julie A. Schondfeld is a lovely site with a wide variety of information. I would encourage you to check it out and then comment here whether or not you enjoyed it.
Also ...
The Pilates Biz
I found Gina last week when a friend of mine Sean Daily (Social Media Ninja's) heard Gina speak at a social media conference in San Diego. She's got a really nice feel to her site and offers lots of great tidbits of information - for free. I would recommend definitely checking her out.
And so we begin. I would love to know if you found either of these sites useful, what you thought and what you are interested in seeing here and out there.
Can't wait to hear from you!
Warmly,
Chantill
Honoring the idea of one small step at a time, here's what I've found today:
Pilates For The People
This blog, authored by guest contributors and the originator, Julie A. Schondfeld is a lovely site with a wide variety of information. I would encourage you to check it out and then comment here whether or not you enjoyed it.
Also ...
The Pilates Biz
I found Gina last week when a friend of mine Sean Daily (Social Media Ninja's) heard Gina speak at a social media conference in San Diego. She's got a really nice feel to her site and offers lots of great tidbits of information - for free. I would recommend definitely checking her out.
And so we begin. I would love to know if you found either of these sites useful, what you thought and what you are interested in seeing here and out there.
Can't wait to hear from you!
Warmly,
Chantill
Monday, March 21, 2011
Teaching To Learn - Getting Reinspired
I've been thinking lately about what keeps us going as teachers. What is it? Because you and I both know that sometimes it's just not easy.
It can be difficult to stay fresh, to stay present and to offer a truly open experience hour after hour.
What I notice in my own teaching is that the more I learn the more I love teaching. The more I am open to hearing, exploring and taking every hour as if it were my first the more I am able to offer.
We can do this in 2 ways:
First, we can make sure we take care of ourselves and nurture our strengths and skills by studying with other teachers. This could mean taking a workshop, or working out with another teacher or visiting another studio or even checking out someones blog or website to see what they are working on.
Second, we can open ourselves to learning during each class and each session. The moment we come into an appointment closed off, expecting the outcome and unwilling to see it as a fresh opportunity we loose so much of what that moment has to offer. Buddhists call it beginner's mind. I think of it as student's mind. If I am willing to let go of my knowledge and see each session for what it has to offer then I feel reinvigorated when I finish, not depleted.
Isn't that what we all want.
What do you do to stay inspired?
It can be difficult to stay fresh, to stay present and to offer a truly open experience hour after hour.
What I notice in my own teaching is that the more I learn the more I love teaching. The more I am open to hearing, exploring and taking every hour as if it were my first the more I am able to offer.
We can do this in 2 ways:
First, we can make sure we take care of ourselves and nurture our strengths and skills by studying with other teachers. This could mean taking a workshop, or working out with another teacher or visiting another studio or even checking out someones blog or website to see what they are working on.
Second, we can open ourselves to learning during each class and each session. The moment we come into an appointment closed off, expecting the outcome and unwilling to see it as a fresh opportunity we loose so much of what that moment has to offer. Buddhists call it beginner's mind. I think of it as student's mind. If I am willing to let go of my knowledge and see each session for what it has to offer then I feel reinvigorated when I finish, not depleted.
Isn't that what we all want.
What do you do to stay inspired?
Starting Over Again
Last year sometime, most likely around the New Year, I wrote an article about the power of practice and the deep belief in allowing ourselves to start over again, and over again and over again. So it is to this thought I draw on now for a little strength to start again with our Skillful Teaching blog.
Life is pretty amazing - completely unknown, unpredictable and astonishing in it's uncanny ability to steer us in the right direction. Although it's not often the "planned" direction I find it is always the direction I am meant to go.
The skillful Teaching project has ebbed and flowed this past year with the ebb and flow of our studio, Pilates Collective. It has evolved as I've met, spoken with, been inspired by and taught by so many new people. And instead of waiting to see what it will become "eventually" I thought perhaps it better to take the bull by the horns and be present with what it is right at this moment.
It's exciting!
It's uncertain.
It's exhilarating.
It's very much a venture into the unknown.
And I feel like it's the right direction.
So, here we are starting again. I hope this post finds you well and thriving. I'd love to hear about how your teaching is going, what challenges you are facing and what you are doing to make your teaching more skillful.
Life is pretty amazing - completely unknown, unpredictable and astonishing in it's uncanny ability to steer us in the right direction. Although it's not often the "planned" direction I find it is always the direction I am meant to go.
The skillful Teaching project has ebbed and flowed this past year with the ebb and flow of our studio, Pilates Collective. It has evolved as I've met, spoken with, been inspired by and taught by so many new people. And instead of waiting to see what it will become "eventually" I thought perhaps it better to take the bull by the horns and be present with what it is right at this moment.
It's exciting!
It's uncertain.
It's exhilarating.
It's very much a venture into the unknown.
And I feel like it's the right direction.
So, here we are starting again. I hope this post finds you well and thriving. I'd love to hear about how your teaching is going, what challenges you are facing and what you are doing to make your teaching more skillful.
Monday, February 1, 2010
Diving In
Welcome!
If you are reading this right now you've no doubt been looking for a place to get some answers or at least see what other teachers are doing about the inevitable challenges and pitfalls of teaching. Well, here we go. There is only one guarantee I can make you right from the start and that is that you will recognize yourself here in the comments, stories, successes and challenges. What we all encounter teaching is universal. We are all working with the intricacies and complexities of human nature and those don't change with teaching style. Oh, and I guess I can also guarantee you there is no one answer to any question. You will find, however, there are many wise and practical answers - it's your job (and mine if I do it right) to guide you in the direction of the answer that is authentic to you and your deepest values as a person and a teacher.
So, it's exciting. It seems to me that I know I am supposed to be teaching because it's not always easy. Kind of like being a parent - it constantly makes you reevaluate who you are, your intentions, motivations and values. In short, it's a hell of an undertaking, but worth it.
Both the Skillful Teaching website and the local Teacher's Exchange are an opportunity to help us improve those skills that often get left out of our teacher training no matter if we are Pilates, yoga, dance or any other kind of movement teacher.
The content generated here is a sounding board for articles, podcasts and audio workshops that will populate Skillfulteaching.com, so don't be shy. I want to know what's really going on in your teaching and in your studio.
Keep in mind this is a place to share good and bad - I would love to hear from you about what is important to you as a teacher: what kind of teacher do you want to be; what challenges to do you face day-to-day; what successes have you had; what inspires you to teach; what are your ongoing struggles? Make us laugh or cry - it's likely we've done both at some point in our teaching journey.
If you'd rather remain anonymous just email me at chantill@skillfulteaching.com.
With gratitude,
Chantill
If you are reading this right now you've no doubt been looking for a place to get some answers or at least see what other teachers are doing about the inevitable challenges and pitfalls of teaching. Well, here we go. There is only one guarantee I can make you right from the start and that is that you will recognize yourself here in the comments, stories, successes and challenges. What we all encounter teaching is universal. We are all working with the intricacies and complexities of human nature and those don't change with teaching style. Oh, and I guess I can also guarantee you there is no one answer to any question. You will find, however, there are many wise and practical answers - it's your job (and mine if I do it right) to guide you in the direction of the answer that is authentic to you and your deepest values as a person and a teacher.
So, it's exciting. It seems to me that I know I am supposed to be teaching because it's not always easy. Kind of like being a parent - it constantly makes you reevaluate who you are, your intentions, motivations and values. In short, it's a hell of an undertaking, but worth it.
Both the Skillful Teaching website and the local Teacher's Exchange are an opportunity to help us improve those skills that often get left out of our teacher training no matter if we are Pilates, yoga, dance or any other kind of movement teacher.
The content generated here is a sounding board for articles, podcasts and audio workshops that will populate Skillfulteaching.com, so don't be shy. I want to know what's really going on in your teaching and in your studio.
Keep in mind this is a place to share good and bad - I would love to hear from you about what is important to you as a teacher: what kind of teacher do you want to be; what challenges to do you face day-to-day; what successes have you had; what inspires you to teach; what are your ongoing struggles? Make us laugh or cry - it's likely we've done both at some point in our teaching journey.
If you'd rather remain anonymous just email me at chantill@skillfulteaching.com.
With gratitude,
Chantill
Welcome to the Teacher's Exchange
The Teacher's Exchange: An opportunity to build community and support; an chance to inspire, be inspired, share and learn; a moment to slow down and share our work, to discover our roles as teachers, mentors and students.
"No one achieves anything in life on one's own." Deng Ming-Dao
The Teacher's Exchange is a small way for us as movement teachers to share the path together and support one another through challenge and success. It is so easy to get involved in the moment to moment of teaching, working and achieving that we often loose track - unintentionally - of our greater path as teachers.
I can't imagine a more important gift to be given: to be a teacher and to teach.
It is with gratitude for you that we start this endeavor. We have many hopes and ideas for what the Teacher's Exchange might become and lead to, but it is with curiosity and a sense of openness that we begin.
Teacher's Exchange is:
- First and foremost, a place to laugh, have fun, find and share the joys of teaching
- A place to share what kind of teacher you are and want to be
- A place to share what inspires you, what challenges you and just outright perplexes you
- A place to tell stories, ask questions and learn
- A place to build support for ideas, endeavors and goals
- And really anything else you imagine it to be
How we started:
Teacher's Exchange began as an idea spurred by our involvement with the Philanthropy and Outreach program for the United Pilates Collective (UPC) out of San Francisco. The UPC is a professional organization for Pilates teachers that supports teachers in their training, businesses and beyond.
The discussion of philanthropy and outreach in the Pilates community lead us to identify several areas in need of attention: scholarships for professional training; community participation, outreach and volunteerism; teacher collaboration; resources for teachers.
We have learned the hard way that starting simple is more often then not, the wisest path. So, we started the Teacher's Exchange.
So far it consists of monthly gatherings the last Sunday of each month from Noon - 2 at our studio, Pilates Collective and this Blog.
From here, we see where it takes us.
Other elements in the works:
- A forum for a quarterly column or article related to skillful teaching
- Collaboration with veteran teacher, Carol Appel, on a six month workshop series for supporting teachers beyond the Method: Beyond The Technique – Business Skills, Savvy, & Strategies For a Thriving Pilates Business.
See our website for details. pilatescollective.com. Begins February 5th, 2010.
- The Teacher's Exchange Newsletter: A Resource for Pilates Professionals.
Sign up by emailing us at info@pilatescollective.com.
We hope you will join us on this journey. You can start by sharing any thoughts you have about teaching movement whether it's Pilates or Yoga or any other kind of practice.
We can't wait to hear from you.
"No one achieves anything in life on one's own." Deng Ming-Dao
The Teacher's Exchange is a small way for us as movement teachers to share the path together and support one another through challenge and success. It is so easy to get involved in the moment to moment of teaching, working and achieving that we often loose track - unintentionally - of our greater path as teachers.
I can't imagine a more important gift to be given: to be a teacher and to teach.
It is with gratitude for you that we start this endeavor. We have many hopes and ideas for what the Teacher's Exchange might become and lead to, but it is with curiosity and a sense of openness that we begin.
Teacher's Exchange is:
- First and foremost, a place to laugh, have fun, find and share the joys of teaching
- A place to share what kind of teacher you are and want to be
- A place to share what inspires you, what challenges you and just outright perplexes you
- A place to tell stories, ask questions and learn
- A place to build support for ideas, endeavors and goals
- And really anything else you imagine it to be
How we started:
Teacher's Exchange began as an idea spurred by our involvement with the Philanthropy and Outreach program for the United Pilates Collective (UPC) out of San Francisco. The UPC is a professional organization for Pilates teachers that supports teachers in their training, businesses and beyond.
The discussion of philanthropy and outreach in the Pilates community lead us to identify several areas in need of attention: scholarships for professional training; community participation, outreach and volunteerism; teacher collaboration; resources for teachers.
We have learned the hard way that starting simple is more often then not, the wisest path. So, we started the Teacher's Exchange.
So far it consists of monthly gatherings the last Sunday of each month from Noon - 2 at our studio, Pilates Collective and this Blog.
From here, we see where it takes us.
Other elements in the works:
- A forum for a quarterly column or article related to skillful teaching
- Collaboration with veteran teacher, Carol Appel, on a six month workshop series for supporting teachers beyond the Method: Beyond The Technique – Business Skills, Savvy, & Strategies For a Thriving Pilates Business.
See our website for details. pilatescollective.com. Begins February 5th, 2010.
- The Teacher's Exchange Newsletter: A Resource for Pilates Professionals.
Sign up by emailing us at info@pilatescollective.com.
We hope you will join us on this journey. You can start by sharing any thoughts you have about teaching movement whether it's Pilates or Yoga or any other kind of practice.
We can't wait to hear from you.
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