Hey Pilates teachers or any movement teachers out there. I've been teaching Pilates for over 14 years and have so so so soooo many notebooks filled with lesson plans. I've always loved the lesson planning process but I also understand it can be a bit overwhelming as a newly qualified teacher. Where to start? How long to spend lesson planning? Do I need to stick to it exactly? Is the class "balanced" enough? Will they like it? Will they like me?

So from years of experience and many many notebooks, I thought I'd share a few tips I've learnt along the way.

Lesson planning shouldn't take you hours and your clients don't need you to reinvent Pilates. A good class doesn't come from a perfect plan. It comes from a clear intention and the flexibility to meet people where they are.

1. Start with a feeling, not a list of exercises!

Before you write a single exercise down, ask yourself: how do I want my clients to feel when they walk out? Grounded and calm? Strong and energised? Lighter? More mobile through the spine?

That feeling becomes the thread that runs through everything. Every exercise you choose, every cue you offer, every moment of stillness - it all serves that outcome.

2. Think: start, middle, end

I like to move away from the traditional "warm up, main section, cool down" language because we know Pilates is so much more than a workout. Instead, I think of my classes in three chapters:

• The start - landing. Getting people out of their heads and into their bodies. No rush here. Stillness, breath, spinal mobility. Let the room settle.

• The middle - getting down to it. This is where your 5 key exercises live. Where you layer technique and deliver your takeaway lesson for the day. We will get to those bits below.

• The end - the send-off. How do they leave? This is the bit they'll carry with them - a body scan, a moment of gratitude, a final breath together.

3. The 5 key exercises

Okay so obviously there's going to be more than 5 exercises in your class but I want you to simply write down 5 key exercises that are like the MAIN ones. The Pilates ones. The ones from the book. Perhaps they are classical, perhaps they are fundamental. But basically these exercises make them leave the class thinking I definitely learnt some Pilates.

The world of Pilates is hugeeee now and everyone's like "hey that's not Pilates!", "this is pure Pilates" etc etc and there's literally any movement you could do and make it Pilates. You can be as creative as you want and I think that's fabulous! But I also think if they have booked a Pilates class than they want to do some proper Pilates whatever that means to you.

4. The takeaway lesson

So this is the one little "learning" bit you want them to take away with them. We know that Pilates is so much more than a regular gym class. There's nothing wrong with a regular gym class at all but Pilates is an education as well as a workout.

We don't need to give them an anatomy lesson of course but your one takeaway lesson could be, taking some time to breakdown the pelvic tilts or some belly breathing or some wall Pilates alignment work.

As movement teachers, we take for granted our awareness and understanding of our bodies but for your clients, it can be really enlightening and empowering to learn.

5. The bit that stays the same every lesson and becomes yours!

Finally I think it's really nice to have a small part of the lesson that is "yours", that repeats every single time they come, that your clients get to know "oh this is that bit she does every week.". It could be that you always start the same or end the same. It could be that you always end with a certain mantra. It could be a middle section of the class that you never miss out like the series of 5 but in your own way.

Familiarity and repetition is a comfort. Find a section of your class that becomes not only a comfort to your clients but a comfort to you.