Pilates Instructor of the month: Emma Newham

Where do you teach?

North East

My teaching tips

Your students are always your biggest teachers, so learn from them and adapt and evolve your teachings accordingly.  Always put yourself in the role of a student.  It can be humbling.  As teachers, we are often guilty of not working out ourselves, since we get so busy with the day to day teaching.  Remember, we were once Pilates students ourselves and that passion drove us to do the job we now do, so don’t lose that fire.  Read new material and keep learning.  Lose the ego and don’t criticise other methods or instructors.  Remember not any one person has the authority on the body or movement - it’s only their interpretation, so question what you are told.  There are many different approaches and ways of teaching a particular movement.   Exercises can be interpreted in different ways to emphasise a particular movement pattern or goal, as long as you can justify your reasons for teaching an exercise in a particular way.  There are more ways than the Pilates method to move the body.  I incorporate many different techniques, gained from my background in gyrotonic, yoga, personal training etc into the way I teach.  At the end of the day, it is always down to the person in front of you at any one time and what works for them.  What works for one person, may not work for another, so keep an open mind and keep learning.

Favourite Exercise and reason why

I love spinal rotations, particularly in the thoracic area.  We can hold much tension in this part of the body, particularly if we are busy or stressed and I feel that the release I get from moving my spine in this way, helps to unlock my body both physically and emotionally.   That’s why I love the stirring exercise in gyrokinesis and on my gyrotonic machine.  Pilates movements can often be very linear and the spiral movements in gyrokinesis seem to me to be a more natural and complete way to move the body.  I felt liberated when I did my first gyro session because of this reason. 

In a nutshell, tell us a little bit about yourself and your experience in the industry

I did ballet and gymnastics from the age of 8 and I got the bug!  As a child, I remember saying that I wanted to be a dance teacher in London when I grew up, so my passion started early.  At the age of 13, I wrote a ten session exercise plan and made music on my tape recorder to go with the exercises on each session! I didn’t actually start my training until the age of 25 when I moved to London and did an exercise to music course.  I went on to do my Diploma in Personal Training and built up enough clients to leave my part time admin job.  I did my Pilates training course in 1997 and became inundated with clients, as there were only a handful of teachers in London at the time.  A few years later, I did my Level 4 Cardiac Rehab course and loved the medical side of the profession.  Gyrokinesis came to the UK in 2005 and I wanted to discover a different way to move the body and boy, did I find it in this course.  It was in 2006 when I went to live in an ashram in the Himalayas for 5 weeks on a yoga teacher training course, that I met my now husband, Andrew.  He lives in Australia so it’s a long commute! Spending 3 months of the year in Sydney allows me to write my courses and manuals and I’m grateful for this precious time.  I got tired of some of the politics within the Pilates industry, so I decided to create my own independent organisation, where instructors could come together, regardless of their affiliation.  I wanted teaching and training to be available to all instructors, regardless of their background and a platform to share knowledge and ideas.  That was really the birth of Pilates Union and we continue to work behind the scenes, developing new ideas and services for the global Pilates community.

Do you have a motto or mission statement?

Question everything and don’t be rigid.  Be open to new ideas.  Shop around.  Step out of the box.  Dare to be different.  Don’t get stuck or set in your ways. Think big. Challenge yourself honestly.  Innovate and be prepared to stand out and be a bit different and to take risks.  Be forthright but always be respectful.  Be open to new ideas and trust in your intuition. Passion makes a difference as does courage, risk, belief, and strength.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?

I would like Pilates Union to grow globally with members joining from around the world.  Since our BarreConcept course is now accredited in 3 countries, I would like the brand to be internationally recognised, and respected with instructors teaching the method around the world.  I see myself writing more manuals, courses and producing more DVD’s.  Although I love to create, I also wish to gain a better work/ life balance.  I’m a very busy person and I juggle many things so ultimately, I would eventually like to take a step back and reap the rewards of my efforts.  How do you measure success?  I would suggest that success is someone who has a real balance in life – spiritual, family, career.  Real success is not measured by money – but by the impact you have on other people’s lives.  The real difference is measured by you - not by anyone else.  It is therefore not necessarily what you achieve but how you achieve it that often counts in the long term.  I would like to think that I have achieved a better life balance in 5 years time.