Mari and Romana have made a significant impact on how I currently teach. I’ve kept Mari's wonderment of movement practices. I’m constantly experiencing new movement trends to enrich my vocabulary. I do not use these experiences to change the Pilates system but to fortify it with my expertise. With an expansive movement language,  I can communicate better with students who practice various movement modalities. I recall Romana suggesting that her students observe sports and dance to understand movement better.  Understanding the body’s mechanics in various practices is an asset for any Pilates teacher.

When a client enters my studio, I assess them immediately. They walkpast five reformers and two Cadillacs to the reception area. Duringthose thirty steps, I’ve studied their walking gate and interaction withother students and paid close attention to their posture. The individual’s body movement patterns give me their history in a fewseconds. Right away, I’m computing how I will add resistance to the bodyto start transforming it to its optimum function.

My first goal is to teach my client how to use the body efficiently through repetitive movement, and like Joseph Pilates, I don’t overload a set of muscles to the point of fatigue. Winsor Choza Pilates is a fully-equipped Gratz Pilates studio, so if I’m not getting the result of an exercise on the reformer, I move on to a different apparatus. That’s when I like to say, “Let’s play.” I’m letting my students know we’re taking a detour to explore the mechanics of a given exercise on a different piece of equipment.  I always bring it back home by reminding the student that the goal is to finish a reformer workout in 45 minutes. Once the client can flow through a 45-minute workout, the customizing of the workout begins. I tailor the client's needs in the workout's last 10-15 minutes.

Pilates is the perfect workout because, when done right, it fits the current recommendation of the American College of Sports Medicine: 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity and two days per week strengthening all major muscle groups. When students participate in a Pilates flow workout, they do a moderate-intensity aerobics class. (I always tell my students that it's not Pilates if you're not sweating)! Also, every Pilates session should target the whole body. If you do Pilates five days a week, you are covered.

At Winsor Choza Pilates, we have group classes so students can supplement their private lessons. The prescription for weekly sessions is at least three times a week. That’s how the student will get the result they are looking for. Athletes and high-performance celebrities like Miley Cyrus and Rosalia depend on their physicality for work. They require more days of workouts per week. Their workouts are divided into intensive day workouts and recovery workouts, giving them at least one day of rest.

The bottom line is that the Pilates system was designed with consciousness. It is a discipline that requires maturity. One must make it a lifestyle to reap the benefits. Mari Winsor used to describe Pilates as life. The way one approaches Pilates is the way they approach life.

The secret to my success is keeping the work fresh to avoid boredom. The client is part of the learning process. The body will transform if the client knows the exercises' purpose, mechanics, and order. The person sticks long enough with the practice; then they start noticing the benefits.