Fay Burchell

A few things lately have made me realise that community is incredibly important to me. When I started my Pilates business I knew that I wanted to build a community of people who got to know each other, became friends, supported each other and that has very much been the case in our classes. When I was ill recently lots of our lovely members got in touch to send good wishes and to ask if I needed shopping/help/dog walking.

A lot of exercise classes are run in a fairly anonymous way or take themselves too seriously. Booking is via a third party, be it the venue or a website with little direct interaction with the teacher. People don't always know their teacher's name when they join and often the teacher doesn't know theirs. When I taught at a gym several years ago people looked horrified when I asked their names in their first class (they got used to it!).

Don't get me wrong we take our Pilates very seriously - those who know me quite well know how much training I've done over the years (and that it never ends and our members are always being encouraged to try new things! 😆)

I know all of our members' names (even with perimenopause brain I still get most of them right too, though apologies when I don't 🙈).

I never wanted silent classes, I wanted them to be fun and for people to be able to get to know each other and to ask questions. It makes for a better learning environment - it's easier to ask if you know you're allowed to talk! Some of my classes go for coffee together afterwards. It delights me.

If you'd like to join a class and be part of a community, do get in touch. We'd love to meet you. 😊 www.faybpilates.co.uk/contact