We recently had the chance to connect with Bonnie Cahoon and have shared our conversation below.
Good morning Bonnie, we’re so happy to have you here with us and we’d love to explore your story and how you think about life and legacy and so much more. So let’s start with a question we often ask: What do you think is misunderstood about your business?
Over the last few years, as more and more gyms and workout studios have embraced Pilates, what is becoming known as “Pilates” is something very different. Classical Pilates is difficult to teach safely to a room with sometimes up to twenty reformers, populated by mixed-level students. So, what has evolved is “Gym Pilates,” or “Reformer Pilates.” This involves breaking down Classical and Contemporary Pilates into easy-to-teach moves and doing an exorbitant number of reps so you can, “Feel the burn!” This certainly is exercising. This is fun. And I’m a huge propionate of people doing any kind of exercise modality that speaks to them, as long as it’s safe. But, just keep in mind, what you are doing might not really be Pilates. Pilates isn’t just exercise, it’s transformation. It’s not doing “arm day” or “leg day” it’s full body day, every day. When people say Pilates is easy, that gives me pause. I’ve been doing Pilates since 1998 and I can do a beginner class and it will kick my butt! The more you do Pilates the harder it gets, no matter what level you are doing. I’ve also heard people say Pilates is too hard and it’s injured them which, again, gives me pause. Pilates helps those who are injured. We work around people’s physical challenges. Again, this is hard for a teacher to do in a packed Reformer class where everyone wants to look as strong as their neighbor, whether what the person on the Reformer next to them is doing is safe for them or not.
Pilates is a long game. Sometimes it takes years to progress. And progressing isn’t adding more springs for more resistance, like you would add more weight for weight training, it’s changing the exercise to make it more challenging, or adding in new and more challenging exercises. I understand what group Reformer teachers are up against. I taught group reformer and sometimes I had advanced students mixed in with people who had never touched a Reformer before. It was hard. It could be dangerous. I was spinning many plates, trying to teach the tenants of Pilates (what the heck is a power house, anyway?) while making sure people weren’t flying off the apparatus.
And Pilates isn’t just Reformer. It’s Wunda Chair, Cadillac, Mat, etc. I understand that private sessions are expensive, but some places offer semi-privates that can be more cost effective and very helpful, especially if you plan on going to a group class. You can get the basics down and then apply them to those group classes. And I would always ask how a teacher was certified. Hundreds of hours of study, testing, student teaching, self-practice and more are required.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
My name is Bonnie, owner and instructor at Bonnie’s Pilates For Every Body, located in Glendale, CA. Check out my website at Bonnie’sPilatesForEveryBody.com. I teach private in-person Pilates, here in Glendale and group Mat Pilates and Gentle Chair Pilates on-line. I have been certified in the Pilates Method for 20+ years, and I’m a third-generation Classical Pilates Instructor, my master teacher having been trained by Joseph Pilates’ protégé Romana Kryzanowska.
I fell in love with Pilates in 1999. I met a trainer in an acting class and noticed how incredibly strong her calves looked. “I’m a Pilates teacher,” she explained. “Whaaat?” Never heard of it before. So I went on over to her studio, disenchanted with the local gym franchise where I could only hope the prior sweaty butt wiped down the stationary bike, and that I might not get hit on today. She threw me on what looked like a cross between a jacked-up hospital bed and an S & M apparatus, otherwise known as a Cadillac. I was hooked. It wasn’t so challenging that I was discouraged, and it wasn’t so easy that I wasn’t challenged. It was just right. After just one session I felt taller. I was standing straighter and muscles that had long slumbered were awakened.
Cut to 2003. I quit my job as a Writer/Producer for television promo and I found myself sitting on an exercise mat, with a notebook, learning anatomy, kinesiology and the secrets of classical Pilates, on my way to becoming a Pilates instructor myself. After nine months and hundreds and hundreds of hours of observation, student teaching, classes, written and practical tests, I was certified. I’ve had my own fully equipped studio ever since. I’ve also taught mat group classes at Glendale Yoga (don’t bother Googling, it’s not there anymore), Toluca Lake Body Works (not there either – I pilfered all their equipment when they closed) and Warner Brothers Studios gym (still there!). I more recently taught group mat and Reformer at the YMCA.
During my adult life I’ve wanted to cry when I stood on the scale, and I have been accused of being too thin. I have been ripped, and I have jiggled when I brushed my teeth. There were days when I felt I was so strong I could easily do the most advanced “Adult Gymnastics” Pilates, and there were days when I could barely do a Level One roll-up.
I returned to the network television workforce for a time and sat at a computer all day. I let my Pilates practice slip a bit – ok a lot. I wondered why my back seemed to “go out” a lot. I was stiff. I was grumpy. My knees hurt. I jiggled.
Well, I am BACK. And even if I’m not as ripped, thin and young as I was, my love for Pilates is as strong as ever, and I want to pass the joy on. I want everyone, no matter what age, weight or fitness level to experience the absolute magic of Pilates. You will feel taller, stronger, stand up straighter, and if you’re like me, smile a lot more. Join me.
Great, so let’s dive into your journey a bit more. What part of you has served its purpose and must now be released?
Perfection – the self-imposition, the importance, the perceived value of it, served me well at times, but now I’ve let it go. It helped me to succeed, to strive towards a goal, but now I realize that perfection is just a concept. It’s never really achieved. Pilates is all about the PRACTICE not being PERFECT. You do the best you can. You work with the body you have. There will always be something more you can do to make the exercise more challenging or more efficient. There is no such thing as a “Pilates Body.” Pilates makes YOUR body stronger, more flexible and more able to more through life with grace and ease.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Relax. It’s all going to work out.
Sure, so let’s go deeper into your values and how you think. Is the public version of you the real you?
The public version of me and the real me are pretty much the same. Ask any of my clients. They will tell you I’m a goofball. Don’t get me wrong, I want to give my clients an amazing workout, but hey, it isn’t brain surgery. Life’s too short. Let’s have fun while we are working.
Okay, so before we go, let’s tackle one more area. If you retired tomorrow, what would your customers miss most?
I believe my clients would miss a safe space to workout, the cozy, private, home gym and the fun we have together.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://BonniesPilatesForEveryBody.com
- Instagram: bonniespilatesforeverybody
- Facebook: Bonnie Cahoon
- Youtube: @bonniespilates
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