I've been coaching instructors and movement professionals for years, so I thought it was time to flip the script and bring on someone who experiences Pilates from the other side — as a client. In this episode, I'm joined by one of my absolute favourite people to work with, Charan Bhattal.

In this episode, we talk about:

• Why Charan came back to Pilates after completing teacher training — and never using it

• The moment she realized she couldn't (and didn't want to) practice alone

• How Pilates has transformed her tennis game, her yoga practice, and the way she simply walks through a city

• The difference between pushing through pain and truly listening to your body

• Why I believe the "no pain, no gain" mentality is one of the most damaging things we were ever taught

• What Charan looks for when she walks into a Pilates studio on the road — and what she refuses to do in a class, even when everyone around her is doing it

• Her biggest physical transformation (hint: it involves her core, her glutes, and yes — new jeans)

• Why I think the patient is always the smartest person in the room

~ Connect With Charan ~

Website - graceandgoode.com

~ Connect With Me ~

Instagram - @adriana.rotella

Website - adrianarotella.ca

This week I sat down with Hilal Lee — certified STOTT Pilates instructor, studio founder, app creator, and the 2024 Pilates Journal Instructor of the Year — based out of Dubai and reaching Pilates lovers everywhere through her mobile app and social media community.

Hilal's story is not your typical career pivot. A serious neck injury in 2014 that left the left side of her body temporarily paralyzed became the turning point that led her to leave a successful corporate career and pursue Pilates full time. What struck me most about her story is not just the courage it took to make that leap, but the sheer discipline and strategic thinking she brought to it. She had a plan — and she worked it.

In this episode, we covered:

• Leaving corporate behind — why a near-paralysis experience became the catalyst for a completely new life, and why she says she might never have left without it

• The romanticization of becoming a Pilates instructor — what it actually takes, including years of early-morning and late-night shifts, continuous education, and learning in a second language

• Why solid training matters more than ever — with weekend certifications flooding the market, we got into why a rigorous foundation (and ongoing education) isn't optional if you want to truly serve your clients

• Building a one-to-one practice and staying sane — the isolation of solo teaching, and how community, workshops, and getting out to events is what keeps the spark alive

• Creating the Hilal Pilates app — how she built a mat-based library of 250+ classes from scratch, during COVID, with a baby at home, and why knowing your audience is everything

• Pricing yourself fairly — a conversation I know so many of us need to have. Hilal's perspective: benchmark your peers, trust your education, and know your market. You have earned it.

• Pilates as a foundation for everything — whether your clients go on to lift weights, play pickleball, or just want to pick something up off the floor without pain, we are giving people the tools to move well for life

• Face fitness and fascia — Hilal's newest certification and why posture work from the neck down shows up everywhere, including on your face

~ Connect With Hilal ~

Instagram - @hilalleighpilates

Website - hilalleighpilates.com

~ Connect With Me ~

Instagram - @adriana.rotella

Website - adrianarotella.ca

In this episode, I sit down with someone who has been a cornerstone of my own Pilates journey — Connie Ierullo, co-owner of the Pilates Body Studio in Oakville, Ontario, and one of my very first instructors and instructor trainers. Twenty-five years in, Connie is still one of the most thoughtful, principled educators in this industry, and this conversation did not disappoint.

We go deep on what it actually takes to build a lasting studio, what it means to be a skilled instructor, and why Pilates — done right — is a practice for life.

In this episode, we cover:

• What inspired Connie to open her studio 25 years ago (hint: it's deeply personal and incredibly moving)

• What it was like teaching Pilates back when people literally couldn't pronounce the word

• Why the staying power of Pilates comes down to adaptability — for instructors and clients alike

• The shift in clientele from older demographics to younger practitioners, and why the conversation we have with each group needs to be different

• Why private sessions when you're starting out are so worth the investment

• What Connie looks for in her certification students — and the traits that separate a good instructor from a great one

• The 10,000-hour rule... and why it might actually be a lifetime

• Why Connie went back to school to become an osteopathic manual practitioner, and how that has completely transformed the way she sees the body in motion

• The beautiful overlap between Pilates and osteopathy — and why understanding the body as a whole, interconnected system changes everything

• What makes a studio last: client-centered motivation, community, a strong team, and knowing your "why"

• Why Connie believes Pilates is here to stay — and what will separate the studios that thrive from those that don't

~ Connect With Connie ~

Instagram - @thepilatesbodystudio

Website - www.pilatesbody.ca

New Student 3 Class Group Pass - ACCESS HERE

STOTT PILATES Certification Schedule - ACCESS HERE

STOTT PILATES Online Live Intensive Mat-Plus Certification Course - ACCESS HERE

~ Connect With Me ~

Instagram - @adriana.rotella

Website - adrianarotella.ca

In this episode, I sit down with someone I've had the pleasure of knowing since her earliest days in Pilates — Mina Aleshina, functional movement coach and founder of Saana Studio in Geneva, Switzerland. This one got me fired up in the best way possible, and I think it will for you too.

Mila is a STOTT Pilates instructor, Functional Range Conditioning mobility specialist, ELDOA practitioner, and TRX trainer. She works out of a physical therapy center in Geneva where she takes a deeply therapeutic approach to movement — and she is not afraid to say exactly what she thinks about where the Pilates industry is headed.

In this episode we talk about:

• Mila's personal journey from discovering Pilates for her own rehabilitation to building a multi-disciplinary practice that blends Pilates, ELDOA, FRC, and TRX

• Why finishing your certification is just the beginning — and how working under an osteopath early in her career shaped everything

• The Pilates boom: what's exciting about it, what's deeply concerning, and why Mila calls it "the McDonald's era of the Pilates industry"

• How watered-down training and fitness-branded Pilates is feeding off a therapeutic reputation it hasn't earned — and who gets hurt in the process

• The client who came in saying Pilates hurt their back (and why that should never happen)

• Why I believe — and Mila agrees — that Joseph Pilates himself would have kept evolving the method

• Knowing your "why" as an instructor and choosing a lane: therapeutic vs. fitness Pilates and why trying to be both often means serving no one well

• The moment early in my career that reminded me exactly why I do this work (and it involved a client with tears in her eyes)

• Teaching the person in front of you — not the exercise

• The connection between nutrition and movement, why Mila brought in a clinical dietitian to work alongside her practice, and why exercise alone isn't the full picture

• Battling sarcopenia, building bones, and why the unsexy basics — consistency, nutrition, movement — are still the most effective tools we have

• Mila's expanding studio in Geneva, her growing reformer classes, and her vision for a space that never capitalizes on women's insecurities

~ Connect With Mila ~

Instagram - @mila_aleshina_

Website - www.sanastudio.ch

TikTok - @mila_aleshina_

~ Connect With Me ~

Instagram - @adriana.rotella

Website - adrianarotella.ca

In this solo episode, I dive deep into one of the most essential tools in our Pilates instructor toolkit: cueing. Whether you're a new instructor or a seasoned pro, how we communicate with our clients can either transform their movement or leave them confused and frustrated.

Chapters:

• 0:52 - Verbal Cueing - The Foundation of Instruction

• 9:07 - Tactile Cueing - The Power of Touch

• 11:08 - Visual/Imagery-Based Cueing

• 26:49 - Using Positive Cues

• 28:46 - Group-Based Cueing

~ Connect With Me ~

Instagram - @adriana.rotella

Website - adrianarotella.ca

What an incredible conversation I had with Salvatore Liberti, founder of Liberti Breathwork! Meeting him in Lima a few months ago and experiencing his breathwork class firsthand completely shifted my understanding of what's possible with conscious breathing.

Chapters:

• 1:16 - Salvatore's Journey

• 11:53 - The Breathwork Spectrum

• 15:58 - Working with Groups vs Individuals

• 20:01 - Why Breathwork is Having Its Moment

• 25:09 - Practical Tools You Can Use Today

• 29:15 - Improving Your CO2 Tolerance

• 34:43 - Building Resilience Through Breath

• 37:58 - Transformational Stories

~ Connect With Salvatore ~

Website - libertibreathwork.com

Email - [email protected]

~ Connect With Me ~

Instagram - @adriana.rotella

Website - adrianarotella.ca

Welcome back to Pilates Unscripted! In this episode, I'm speaking to two audiences at once—clients looking for a great Pilates experience and instructors who want to create one.

Chapters:

• 0:53 - The Intake Process: Building Trust from the Start

• 2:59 - Postural Analysis: What We See vs. What We Diagnose

• 6:44 - Client Agency and the 80/20 Rule

• 7:53 - The Guitar Story

• 10:43 - Red Flags for Clients and Instructors

• 12:51 - What a First Session Should Feel Like

• 15:23 - Debunking No Pain, No Gain

• 16:34 - Delivery of Principles

• 17:45 - End of Session Questions and Next Steps

• 19:08 - Setting Realistic Expectations

~ Connect With Me ~

Instagram - @adriana.rotella

Website - adrianarotella.ca

Welcome to the very first episode of Pilates Unscripted. I'm so excited you're here! In this episode, I'm sharing my story as a Pilates instructor trainer with 25 years of experience and a registered holistic nutritionist practicing just outside Toronto, Ontario. This show is my space to explore all things movement and health with you.

Let's dive in!

~ Connect With Me ~

Instagram - @adriana.rotella

Website - adrianarotella.ca