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Free mini workshop · For Pilates instructors

You don’t need more exercises. You need a method.

Most of us plan a class forward. First exercise, then the next one, then hope it adds up by minute fifty. I plan backward. This is the whole method, plus two complete series from one of my class plans so you can see it used on a real class. Free, and I’ll send it straight to your inbox.

Send me the free workshop

Free · 3 videos · About 12 minutes · No card required

One thing to watch for: at checkout there are two small checkboxes. Please check them both, including the second one that reads “Yes, receive news and updates via email.” That box is how the workshop reaches you, and if it’s left blank I have no way to send you anything.

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“What should I teach today?”

You have the certification. You know the exercises — you could name forty of them right now without thinking about it.

And still, you sit down to plan, you open your notes, and the page just sits there looking at you. So you reach for what you taught last week. And the week before that. And you walk into the studio not entirely sure whether the flow makes sense or whether you just found a way to fill fifty minutes.

Here’s what I wish somebody had told me when I started. Planning is a sequencing skill, not a creative gift, and skills have rules you can learn in an afternoon.

The shift

Most instructors plan forward.
I plan backward.

Forward

The way most of us were taught

  1. 1Pick an opening exercise
  2. 2Think of the next one
  3. 3And the next one
  4. 4Hope it adds up at minute fifty

Backward

What I do instead

  1. 4Start at the end: the whole class, or the one peak exercise
  2. 3Work out what has to be true for that to be possible
  3. 2Move the pieces around like puzzle pieces until the flow is logical
  4. 1Run the finished class through the checks before you ever teach it
I’m the kind of person who reads the last page of a book before the first page. Turns out that’s also how I build a class. Leah, in the workshop

What you’ll get

A method, and then proof it works.

A written Pilates class plan open on a laptop and phone

The workshop · 6 min

Two ways to plan a class

My Freestyle method for when you need a class by Tuesday, and my Crescendo method for building toward one hard exercise. Plus the nine checks I run every single class through before I’ll teach it.

An instructor working on the reformer

Preview one

Bridging & arms in straps

A complete series taught start to finish, including the gearing choice most instructors get backward, and why it changes what the series can do.

An instructor demonstrating a standing series on the reformer

Preview two

Standing off the long box

Lateral lunges, skaters and curtsy work, with the spring and foot bar setup that keeps your clients safe through the balance. Teachable this week.

Not clips: two full series, pulled from a real class plan inside Pilates by Leah. Watch the workshop first, then watch the two previews and count how many times I put clients into hip extension. That’s the check almost everybody skips, and once you’ve seen it you’ll notice it missing everywhere.

Trusted by 1,000+ instructors worldwide

The planning problem is almost universal.

“I was finding myself spending way too long planning my classes and trying to find ways to be creative without being too repetitive and making sure that I am progressing in my programming and I am SO HAPPY that I found the Pilates by Leah app because it solved all of those problems and more!”
Joanna Joanna
Pilates Instructor
“Pilates by Leah is such a wonderful tool to have as an instructor. The layout makes it so easy to pick and choose from different categories and ‘build’ your own class, giving me endless combinations of class plans!”
Helena Helena
Pilates Instructor
“I’ve tried many instructor platforms, but this one stands out. The routines are innovative, explanations are clear and concise, and the modifications make it adaptable for all. It’s a game-changer for new or seasoned instructor looking for fresh ideas and efficiency.”
Michelle Michelle
Pilates Studio Owner

Before you decide

Three things you might be thinking.

“I’m not creative enough for this.”

Technique beats style, every time. What this asks of you is a process and a checklist, not invention. The most methodical, least improvisational instructor in the room can run it, and honestly she’ll run it better than I do.

“I’ve been teaching for years.”

Then you already have the exercises. What a lot of experienced instructors don’t have is a reason their class is built the way it is: a way to look at a finished plan and know it’s balanced instead of hoping. That’s the gap this closes.

“I don’t have time for this.”

You’re already spending the time. It’s going into staring at a blank page on a Sunday night. The question was never whether to spend time planning, but whether that time gives you back a class you trust.

Who this is for

Brand new, or twenty years in.

Newly certified

You get a process now, instead of building one slowly over three years of trial and error in front of paying clients.

Teaching full-time

You get a way to check your own work, so the classes you build on autopilot at 9pm still hold up.

Studio owner or lead instructor

You get a shared framework you can hand your team, so “is this class any good” stops being a matter of opinion.

Leah Maselli sitting on a Pilates reformer

Who’s teaching this

Hi, I’m Leah.

I’ve taught more than 5,000 Pilates classes over the last nine years. Packed group classes, private sessions, beginners, advanced clients, athletes, prenatal clients, and everything in between.

Class planning is, by a wide margin, the most requested topic on Pilates by Leah. So this is the thing I’d start with if you were standing in front of me.

“I’ve forgotten sides. I’ve struggled with confidence. I’ve navigated difficult clients. Pilates by Leah was created to be the resource I wish I had when I first started teaching.”

How to get it

Three steps, and one of them matters more than it looks.

1

Click the button

Enter your name and email. There’s no card field, because there’s nothing to pay.

2

Check both boxes

You’ll see these two together. The first one you can’t skip. The second one starts empty and it’s the one everybody misses. It’s what lets me send you the workshop link and the planning notes that follow it.

3

Start watching

All three videos unlock in your library straight away, and the link lands in your inbox so you can find it again later.

Questions

The practical bits.

Is this really free?
Yes. No card, no trial starting in the background, no charge later. You give me an email address, check the box that lets me use it, and I send you the three videos.
How long does it take?
About twelve minutes for all three: a six-minute workshop and two short series. You could watch it before your next class.
Do I need a reformer?
For the workshop, no. The planning method and the checks apply to any class you build, on any apparatus, for any level. The two previews are reformer series, so you’ll get the most out of those if you teach reformer.
What happens after I sign up?
The videos unlock right away, and I email you the link so it’s easy to find again. After that you’ll get a handful of notes from me over the following week with more on planning, including the things that didn’t fit into six minutes. All of that depends on the email box being checked at signup. Unsubscribe whenever you like.
I signed up and nothing arrived. What happened?
Almost always it’s the second checkbox at checkout, “Yes, receive news and updates via email,” being left empty. It sits right under the terms box and it’s very easy to scroll past. Log in to your account, open your settings, and turn email updates on. Everything will start coming through from there. If it still doesn’t, email me and I’ll sort it out.
Am I signing up for the membership?
No. This is a separate, free thing. The previews come from inside the membership, and if you want the rest of that class plan afterward I’ll tell you how. Nothing here commits you to anything.
Send me the free workshop

Two checkboxes on the next screen. Check them both. The second one reads “Yes, receive news and updates via email” and it’s the only way the workshop can reach you.

One last thing

You already know the exercises.

This is about the order you put them in, and about knowing before you walk into the room that the order is right. That’s a learnable skill, not a gift you were born with or without.

Send me the free workshop

Free · 3 videos · About 12 minutes · No card required

Check both boxes at checkout. The second one reads “Yes, receive news and updates via email” and it’s what lets me send the workshop over.