Pilates Unscripted

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 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

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 - salvatore@libertibreathwork.com ~ 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