Episode Show Notes
Welcome to the Pilates Diaries Podcast.
Our guest on this episode is Cie’Jai Zarb – Founder and Editor-in-Chief of The Pilates Journal .
Cie’Jai has always been a passionate advocate for functional fitness and movement and first completed her Pilates training in Sydney through Polestar Pilates.
Cie’Jai recognized her passion for the Pilates Method wasn’t going to be satisfied by just teaching, she had to broadcast the benefits to the world, so to fill her cup Cie’Jai took on the gargantuan task of creating an industry publication in the form of The Pilates Journal.
With the first edition of The Pilates Journal launched at just the beginning of 2023, The Pilates Journal is still in its infancy but it’s off to a flying start with regular editions making their way into Pilates studios around the country.
The mission of this podcast is to share the stories of the impact of Pilates to help you live and move with more joy, physical vitality, and renewed vigor.
Pilates was a somewhat unknown word until it started creeping into conversation somewhere around the 2000s- maybe even before then depending on who you asked and amongst which circles, and has largely remained and enigma for many reasons- one of which perhaps is that Pilates really has to be experienced to be understood.
There are now a wide range of Pilates styles available when you attend a Pilates class, perhaps borne from the variation of interpretations of how Pilates was originally taught by its founder, Joseph Pilates.
With The Pilates Diaries Podcast we’re inviting Pilates enthusiasts around the globe to share with us what they’ve noted down in their Pilates Diary. Our hope is that the Pilates Diaries Podcast goes some way to answering the question ” What is it that makes Pilates so special?”
We’ll take a privileged peek into the Pilates Diaries of our guests to gain a greater insight into the impact Pilates can have in all of our lives and contribute to the health and wellbeing of the community at large.
I welcome you along for the journey and welcome your comments and discussions through the links found on your favorite podcast platform. Enjoy.
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Episode Transcript
Bruce Hildebrand: In the spirit of respect, The Pilates Diaries Podcast acknowledges the people and Elders of the Bunurong people, members of the Kulin Nation, who have traditional connections and responsibilities for the land on which this podcast is produced.
Hi, I’m Bruce Hildebrand and this is The Pilates Diaries Podcast. The mission of this podcast is to share the stories of the impact of Pilates. We’re inviting Pilates enthusiasts to share with us the notes they’ve taken down in their Pilates journey as we seek out the answers to the intrigue Pilates has been able to ignite inside millions all over the world. Our hope is that The Pilates Diaries Podcast goes some way to answering the question ” What is it that makes Pilates so special?” Join me for privileged peek into this episode’s Pilates Diary.
In this episode we’re joined by Cie’Jai Zarb. Cie’Jai has always been a passionate advocate for functional fitness and movement and first completed her Pilates training in Sydney through Polestar Pilates.
As is often the case, she fell truly, madly and deeply in love with Pilates and couldn’t get her hands on enough training in the first couple of years, diving into any number of courses that she could. Very soon Cie’Jai recognized her passion for the Pilates Method wasn’t going to be satisfied by just teaching, she had to broadcast the benefits to the world, so to fill her cup Cie’Jai took on the gargantuan task of creating an industry publication in the form of The Pilates Journal.
Cie’Jai says she’s proud to be independent of any single Pilates institution, instead focusing on a commitment to showcasing all Pilates styles and their methodologies so the Pilates community has easier access to information, embraces all styles of training, serves as an information source to enhance work with clients, and helps studio owners run even better businesses.
With the first edition launched at just the beginning of 2023, The Pilates Journal is still in its infancy but it’s off to a flying start with regular editions making their way into Pilates studios around the country.
It’s a pleasure to have you on this episode of the Pilates Diaries Podcast, Cie’Jai, welcome!
Cie Jai Zarb: Thank you. It’s great to be here!
Bruce Hildebrand: Cie’Jai, we’ll begin by taking a look back. Can you tell me about life before Pilates? What were your pursuits? Where did you see yourself heading at the time? And in hindsight, what do you now see were some of the little threads that might’ve led you to discover Pilates?
Cie Jai Zarb: Yeah, so, way back when I was a journalist. I also worked in marketing for different corporates. As a child I danced a lot- all sorts of dancing- jazz, tap, ballet, hip hop, contemporary- I was one of those kids that was thrown into everything and I loved it.
Then as an adult, I found myself trying my hand at things like salsa dancing and tango. So there was this thread always of dance and movement always felt the best for me. I also competed at a very high level as a horse rider. So I think my posture and everything I’ve learned through the years definitely helped me there.
I always had taken what I was doing quite seriously in all of those different pursuits. I always wanted to achieve high levels and in every pursuit, I always gave it all I got. I think it’s probably a bit of a family work ethic where I grew up in a family where everything was possible and a very business minded family. they were always encouraging me along the way, which was great. So I think it was those real strong roots in loving dance and music and movement, and I found Barre and then I found my way to Pilates and I’ve never looked back.
Bruce Hildebrand: Great! Can we get an understanding of the origins of your name? It’s a beautiful name I think, but certainly uniquely spelled and quite a unique surname.
Cie Jai Zarb: Yeah, I get this quite a lot so Cie’Jai is French. It’s spelt C I E J A I- does throw most people off, absolutely- and I’m not responsible for my last name- that’s my husband- that’s Maltese- so between the French and the Maltese, it definitely packs a punch- that’s for sure.
Bruce Hildebrand: And the work ethic- does that come from the rich legacy from your parents? A lot of the time I think the immigration to Australia of various European often brings with it a really strong work ethic.
Cie Jai Zarb: Definitely! I think my parents have always owned small businesses. It’s always been part of who my family is so it always made sense. It was just a matter of when and for me I think it became abundantly clear what the ‘what’ would be. It was just a matter of timing and we’ve been through a few strange years now but now on the other side of it, it was a great time to reignite and say now’s a good time to jump in.
Bruce Hildebrand: As I mentioned in the preamble in regard to the size of the task you’ve taken on in creating The Pilates Journal, I think it’s a testament to your work ethic
Cie Jai Zarb: Yeah, there’ s definitely a lot of hours but it’s worth it. It’s so amazing to speak to so many different individuals who have so many great stories to tell. It’s great fun to share those stories and understand more about what makes people tick. But also how they go about making Pilates for everybody and their approach to that, and I find that really fascinating.
Bruce Hildebrand: One of my favorite questions to ask on The Pilates Diaries Podcast is tell us a story about when you first arrived at Pilates. I think everyone can reflect on the oddity and the unusual nature of what their first participation was. I’d love to hear your story.
Cie Jai Zarb: Yeah,
I had a dance teacher at a very early age who shared Pilates with me but it wasn’t till years later that I really connected with it and realised how incredibly beneficial it was to me both mentally and physically.
What kept me at it, I think, was that constant knowing you could always show up however you are and it’s okay. There was always something constantly to learn and I’m one of those forever students so it appealed to me from that perspective. It made me in tune with my body and I was fascinated by how much there was to the body and how Pilates captures and supports it so completely. I love the challenge of mastering a new skill as well- that’s always been something that gets me- so as soon as I realised this would be lifelong learning, I was hooked.
Bruce Hildebrand: Tell me about the first dance teacher- she was ahead of her time or was it all part of the participation?
Cie Jai Zarb: Yeah. She was ahead of her time. It was very early days back then, I think not many people knew what Pilates was- they thought you were just lying on a mat as we’ve all heard- I think when she brought it to us we were kids that were still learning about our bodies in a dance environment but it really did make that difference and I thank her greatly for that because I think I had no perspective then on what she was really bringing to the party and what it did for all the girls in that school to this day.
Bruce Hildebrand: What was the experience inside your body? You already had a body awareness through your movement participation by the sound of it?
Cie Jai Zarb: I think it was a case of mind to body connection and really understanding where my body was in space and time- cause I was so young and your body’s growing and adjusting, adapting or you’re putting it through extreme measures because I was in a dance school that was a very high profile school that traveled all over to do Eisteddfods so, high level expectation of your output so you really needed that support on the other end to make sure there was no injuries
Bruce Hildebrand: Tell us about the other people in your life when you told them that you’d begun Pilates. What were their interpretations of it? Were they looking at you sideways, And tell us about some of the earliest progress you made in Pilates.
Cie Jai Zarb: When I told my family and friends that I was doing Pilates, I think a lot of them thought it would be easy- I think they were so surprised when I took it seriously and started to make it my focus One of the things I loved most about other people in the class in those early days was I felt like they were on their own journey, working to make themselves stronger I felt like everybody was in this together, even though they were on their own journey. I think with a background in movement it was a natural progression me moving into doing what I’m doing now and teaching, which I absolutely love.
Bruce Hildebrand: The experience you had when you first started to notice Pilates was having an impact on your life. Tell us about the tangible changes you felt with your movements and your dance and your flexibility, perhaps?
Cie Jai Zarb: I would say there were actually two defining moments that made me realise how much Pilates was having an impact on my life. The moments when I first realised it was doing a lot for my body in terms of alignment, strength, endurance. But I also noticed it a lot through my first pregnancy and the support it gave me in the lead up to- and how it mentally and physically supported me through my recovery.
The other was when I was teaching my clients- I’ll never forget one of the first classes I taught one of the clients came up to me afterwards and said “Thank you so much!” It sounds so small but it wasn’t. For them to walk out feeling great and that they really enjoyed it- that hit me massively!- and that’s when I knew exactly what I was meant to be doing! I’ve worked in many different environments where it may be a little thankless, so to be able to make a difference was huge.
Bruce Hildebrand: Can you share with us what that breakthrough was for that client?
Cie Jai Zarb: I think they had felt a deeper understanding just how much they really needed to create connection between breath and movement- which we all know sounds so simple but it’s not. And we spent time really getting into understanding how breath would facilitate something as simple as a chest lift, but she felt it the way she was meaning to feel it and needed to feel it for the first time. You could see that ‘aha’ moment happen, you could see from that moment she wanted to learn more and she wanted to get better at other exercises around that. It was a real moment where she went ” I’ve been coming for a while but I hadn’t felt that. And now that I can feel what I should be doing, I’m really grateful And I want to keep learning from you. I thought that was pretty special.
Bruce Hildebrand: And for listeners to the podcast who are perhaps in that early stage of Pilates, what’s your experience Cie’Jai, of how long it takes to have some sort of connection or breakthrough or realisation of what the teacher is- talking about?
Cie Jai Zarb: Such a big question! It depends on the individual I find- some people have been doing it for years and they’re not mentally with you in the room. They’re doing their best and they might believe in the movement has to be done in a certain way that might be the way they’ve been taught through other methods of exercise . So we might need to break all that down. For others, it’s that ability to be open minded from the start and say sure, let me go on that journey with you- it’s a trust thing I think. Once that trust is established and you can show them- and you get them to the point where they go ahh, now I know what you’re talking about, now I understand what you want from me, and now I’m going to lean in further to more of what you’re wanting from me. That can take some clients months, some clients years, some clients just need to have a clear headspace that day to actually be able to absorb the information you want to give them. And some days they just don’t have it in them and they need you to support them!
Bruce Hildebrand: In your experience Cie’Jai, is there a way to expedite that? A way the magic sauce can be delivered more rapidly, so people can get that experience sooner?
Cie Jai Zarb: Sometimes props can help a different prop can help a client find it quicker. Depending on what type of learner they are- they might need to see somebody else do it to understand it. They might just need time- it just depends and I will definitely play around with different things to see what works for different individuals. I think once you grow a relationship with them you take them on a bit of a journey. You and them get to know when you can play together and when you need to get serious together. It’s a fun one but it’s one that they’ve got to be willing to go with you and that depends also if you’re doing it in a private scenario or whether it’s a group setting. Sometimes group settings can be great because they can all laugh at each other at the same time in the space together and share that moment and go yeah, we didn’t get that, did we? No, we didn’t get it, but that’s okay. We’re going to work through the next bit.
And that laugh might be that extra breath they need to be able to let them release. I love it. I get very obsessed with all this stuff and I’ve been talking to some amazing people because of The Journal who share either similar or different views- and that’s what I like about it too is, I’m still learning perspectives from other people about how to challenge different people differently, and that’s one of the things The Journal provides as well.
Bruce Hildebrand: I think we can all hear the passion in your voice when it comes to your deep love of Pilates.
Cie Jai Zarb: Definitely! And
I think you can see now why I started The Pilates Journal! To me it’s this love of learning that I just can’t get past, I’ve always been like that. There’s just something so unique in what we all do and so much more to learn all the time. And that’s why I want The Journal to be that resource where instructors can lean into it and educate and empower themselves and not feel like they’re alone in this. They’ve got a resource and a community they can lean into and go “Hey, I’ve tried this with a client, I’m not sure where else I’m meant to go here!” It’s okay not to have all the answers! that’s why it’s nice to hear from people in The Journal who say I tried this thing that someone else recommended to me, it’s great, give it a go with your clients, see what happens. And maybe that takes you down a new rabbit hole to discover something new.
Bruce Hildebrand: Cie’Jai, was there a part of the experience that you didn’t like in your Pilates progress that you didn’t want to accept or even parts of Pilates that you found more challenging in the pursuit of wanting to improve?
Cie Jai Zarb: I think the biggest thing I noticed was more recently during the pandemic, how we all became quite isolated as Teachers and Studio owners- that’s why I launched The Journal- it’s designed to educate and empower Instructors to make sure Studio owners have support in running their businesses. We often come from this place of love and passion but you’ve also got to run a business as well.
And I noticed how big the gap was in completing your certification- and then going into continuing education. There’s no clear pathway. I wanted to give instructors resources that could help guide their career a little bit. There’ve been so many new instructors teach for a couple of years and then lose momentum. When it comes to studio owners, I feel there isn’t enough resources to teach you how to run your business. Often Pilates instructors are having to figure out all these steps as we go.
So in The Journal we’ll be focusing on sharing useful tips and tools that can be implemented straight away- that’s my goal!
Bruce Hildebrand: It’s pretty impressive and admirable! Tell us more about this gap you’ve identified- where do you feel like that comes from? Was it initially part of the design from Joseph Pilates that had it become more client focused, and less about the running of a business? I’ve heard stories that Joseph Pilates used to have an honesty box where you drop in your five dollar note at the end of your class.
Cie Jai Zarb: Yeah. It’s a really interesting perspective. I think this gap has been something we’ve created over time and maybe it did start way back then. And this gap is this unspoken thing that exists where depending on where you’ve learnt and your school of training, often we have a very close knit community- those who were either taught with or were taught from and I still believe we need that because they do become a big part of our support network- but then outside that, potentially where our failings have come is not having those options presented to us where we can reach out for more information.
I think various groups have tried to do that but it’s been ad hoc. So many people constantly ask where’s the best training? Which one do I go to? What’s best for me? And that’s very individual. How do we help educate people in knowing, here’s all the options available to you, this is what your career could look like. And part of filling that gap is, you know, you can absolutely be a Pilates instructor but you might want to be an Osteo, or other career choices.
To me that gap has been fostered over years of staying in our own camps but true growth happens when we go and hear from somebody else and hear a different perspective.
Katrina Edwards did an article with us not long ago and she said I encourage my students, even if they’re a current practitioner, still come and watch classes, still learn from each other. And at the same time, she was like, there’s always interesting talks by Physios and other people. How much do we lean into that stuff?
I also know there’s great groups like Armature Education and Movementality Education who are doing a great job of trying to create workshops and questioning the way we go about doing stuff. The more we have these avenues out there and those courses and those skills and the knowledge circulating, the more we’re going to close that gap and be more inclusive of everybody.
Bruce Hildebrand: You mentioned the divisions and the silos in the Pilates industry, that seems like a really optimistic endeavor to try and overcome what’s I think divided the Pilates industry over many years it’s an interesting topic to dive into. What’s your thoughts on that, Cie’Jai?
Cie Jai Zarb: it’s a big nut to crack and it’s going to take a long time. I think like any other industry has also been through similar things where they’ve had to find moments of growth and. the space to be able to go yeah, we could potentially look at doing things differently. And it’s hard when things haven’t gone the way we may have wanted it to for example, there’s lots of talk in the industry about Group Reformer classes is it helping or harming our industry? And we did a really good article with Carla Mullins from Body Organics Education going into real depth- you know, the different styles of those two classes- a Pilates Reformer class versus a Fitness Reformer class and the differences.
There’s merit in my view, as The Pilates Journal, to all of those methods. There’s merit across all as long as our true intention is to facilitate and help that client have a great experience rather than sitting back just running my class today.
It’s a big ask and I’m under no illusion it’s going to take a long time- but we’ve got to start somewhere and that sense of collaboration starts now.
Bruce Hildebrand: My last question along these lines, the long family history of business that you mentioned earlier, does it go a long way to contributing to these commercial opportunities, that are offshoots of various interpretations of Pilates? The contrast to the conversation around keeping to truest possible Pilates, do you think there’s ever going to be an end to that where it becomes somehow more streamlined or does it continue having these offshoots until arguably Pilates becomes unrecognisable?
Cie Jai Zarb: Big question. I think there’s a number of things. There’s always been evolution of different industries and brands and so in order for us to grow we need offshoots. Offshoots are going to provide opportunities for us to look at things differently. Are they the right offshoots? Maybe not. But we need to explore them to work out what were the benefits and the strengths of some of these things that we can bring into what we’re currently doing? And what are the weaknesses that we want to steer away from?
Over time it will constantly evolve- we should be evolving. If we as Pilates teachers and studio owners and business owners want the industry to thrive, we need to make sure that we remain relevant, top of mind, that we remain focused on client goals focused on making sure that our services are truly as we say they are.
And those offshoots sometimes might feel for very seasoned practitioners ‘oh, here’s another one’ and I don’t blame them for feeling like that at all. But is there anything we can learn from them? I’m always, optimistic in looking at it as there’s always something to learn from everybody- everybody’s got something to offer. It’s just whether we’re listening enough to understand where they’re coming from. Maybe it’s an amalgamation between our thoughts and theirs that’s the sweet spot in the middle? But it’s a big task.
Bruce Hildebrand: The word that jumps out at me is education and having a common understanding, so called cross culturally, between different styles and different interpretations of Pilates.
Cie Jai Zarb: And fundamentally remembering at the heart of what we’re doing is all the same- at the very heart what we’re trying to achieve movement in bodies, efficient movement patterns, what we’re all trying to achieve is ultimately the end goal, we might just go about it differently. Just like we would if we’re going and doing tango dancing. We might go to different schools and they’ll have all different ways of approaching an exercise or going about a class structure or what that might look like. We’re not alone in this- sometimes maybe we get a little siloed in our thinking to think we are, but that’s also passion, There’s a lot of people with a lot of passion who want the industry to remain true to its principles, true to its classical roots. And That helps drive and shape what we do but I think we need to remain open minded.
Bruce Hildebrand: Cie’Jai, you already referred to a bunch of people that you’re in regular contact with The Pilates Journal. Can you tell us more about the training phase for you and some people along your Pilates journey that helped to shape your Pilates experience.
Cie Jai Zarb: Yes, One of the most amazing ones was Cat Giannitto, the Director of Polestar Australia. Cat is a wonderful human all round. But her approach to teaching and the way Cat simplifies it down, the way she supports other teachers whether they’re brand new or existing. Cat’s style is so giving in nature, she’s knowledgeable but she’s truly caring about the individuals at the end of the day and it really shows across everything that her team does.
Another one is Luisa Saiter Lins. She also is a Polestar Australia Educator. Luisa’s style is really encouraging and she shows great attention to detail and a great way of explaining things to those learning to teach, which is really insightful and there’s so much to learn from her. And again, she’s very compassionate and I kind of like that because at the end of the day, for some people, what we do is challenging, it’s hard! We might not find it that way because we’ve been practicing it for years but we’ve got to remind ourselves of that sometimes. Another great human that I think is fantastic is Louise Taube from Melbourne. She is fantastic. a true wealth of knowledge. She creates these amazing comprehensive online programs and she’s continually evolving, always looking at new ways and new information and new research and wanting to share what she knows. Another would be Carolyn Antony from the U.S. Her approach to pre and post natal pilates in women is second to none, I’ve done a lot of training with her. And Carla Mullins, the depth and knowledge of this woman and the detail that she has astounds me. She’s always setting the bar delving deeper into how we support both clients and teachers better. And that’s something I aspire to.
Bruce Hildebrand: And for those listeners who are yet to come across those practitioners then I couldn’t recommend each of them highly enough also. Check out the links in the show notes to reach out to those great trainers Cie’Jai, can you reflect on the time when you knew you were getting hooked on Pilates? What was the hidden gem that you were beginning to find in your participation in Pilates that you couldn’t ignore and that had crept under your skin the itch that you couldn’t resist scratching?
Cie Jai Zarb: You know what Bruce, I knew I was hooked when my day didn’t feel quite right without it. Whether that was teaching or my own self practice and I knew it because I kept signing up for more and more courses to learn more.
Bruce Hildebrand: And Cie’Jai, can you tell us about the challenges you had at this stage in your Pilates progress? Was there any factors that had you fall more deeply in love with Pilates at this point or was there some elements of Pilates that you were finding were perhaps rubbing you up the wrong way? Were there some hidden issues or hidden conversations in the studio you were attending or in the industry at large that you didn’t like or you didn’t feel aligned with at all? And were there also some people that you were drawn to more so or others who perhaps turned you off?
Cie Jai Zarb: Yeah, I think the big thing for me was I felt like a sense of community was missing. Sure we have the training bodies but what else was out there to educate and inspire us to be great Teachers and Studio Owners. So it’s why I created The Pilates Journal- one of our goals is to share all the different types of teaching and learning and experiences to remain brand agnostic and share information.
We’ve had so many great thought leaders so willing to get involved because they do believe in the sharing of knowledge and care for instructors and studio owners learning and their development so- there are certainly different views on what is right for Pilates. All those people are passionate but just have a different perspective on how to achieve it. So for me, it was just being able to bring all that together.
Bruce Hildebrand: I acknowledge your endeavor to achieve that through The Journal. It’s an interesting medium to achieving these great things through that connection with the community. well done.
Cie Jai Zarb: Thank you.
Bruce Hildebrand: Cie’Jai, it’s often at this stage that you’ve been in the Pilates game long enough to be getting a good feel of what Pilates entails and to get a picture of where you need to step into the game. You’ve talked about The Journal at length and what that needed to look like for you and where you saw the opportunity. Were you beginning to sense a little that the time was coming where you’d have to turn more inwardly and face up to the range of factors that would shape your involvement with Pilates? This Journal seems like it is. I’d be curious about that turning point where you looked at many different conflicting things and said ” You know what, I really need to take this on!”
Cie Jai Zarb: Yeah. I had two great opportunities that I like to call ‘Mat. Leave’ that helped me lean deeply into my teaching. I was teaching before for a while but now I had this opportunity to really immerse myself back into my teaching solely. And also focus on understanding a woman’s body and how to support them more than ever before.
It’s one thing to teach it, it’s another to experience it, and with both children it was completely different which gave me an even better perspective.
So It was the pandemic that made me realise how much more I could do for the Pilates industry as a whole and I’m really excited about that next chapter. I’ll keep teaching and supporting our industry as much as I can for as long as I can.
Bruce Hildebrand: Kids will do that to you- fair bit of time to reflect inwardly and get some introspection on what the future might look like for you and get a chance to review what sort of direction do I want to go with my Pilates and what sort of blend. I find that for many different practitioners that I speak with the personal blend of how that needs to look like in your life becomes quite a integrated element of what you choose to do as part of your family or as part of your direction moving forward.
Cie Jai Zarb: Absolutely, and
I practice myself at home and it’s great for the kids to see that- they’re seeing great habits early on and seeing me committed to a process and working on my own goals and getting better I think that’s a positive reinforcement for them as they get older.
Bruce Hildebrand: Cie’Jai, you have a background in journalism you mentioned, and this participation in many different elements of movement and dance and finding this pursuit for yourself. Tell us about that moment when you realised that you had the skillset already to bring together. Was it a sense of triumph at that point? Was there any sense of relief, of calm, of peace, or ease, or excitement? What was it for you at that point?
Cie Jai Zarb: The turning point was on a holiday- post pandemic and we finally could leave the house again, I realised that time is short and I just needed to get on with it. We were coming out the other side and after speaking to some senior leaders across the industry I just said to them, what do you think? Am I crazy? Is this the right time for a resource like this? Will people want this?
I wanted to create a resource that would be something for Pilates instructors with a love of learning and timing was everything. The industry was slowly starting to return to a new normal and lots of job opportunities were popping up. It felt like the right time to emerge and the right time to support industry so I just decided to go for it and see what happens.
Bruce Hildebrand: Tell us more about that pathway. When did you first conceive the idea of The Pilates Journal and what’s been the pathway
Cie Jai Zarb: I think a lot of it was in the thought process through the whole pandemic really. Very early on I found it very hard to sit still and we were all told to stay at home- so I was just feeling like I wanted to do more, I had more to give. And my journalism background it was a natural link there where I could lean into both writing but at the same stage understanding the marketing promotion of something like this with my background.
If you told me five years ago I’d be doing this I probably would have laughed. But now I’m like absolutely, it makes so much sense because I love all the practitioners who have so many amazing, passionate stories to tell. And I think early 2022- when I decided that it was time to start creating momentum and start thinking about what this could really look like and how it could shape and be. I spoke to a number of people around that time and then waited for the right time to launch and take a breath- breathe in and off we go.
Bruce Hildebrand: One of my other favorite questions on the podcast Cie’Jai, is what are some of the changes both in your body, mind, and even in your spirit- as Joseph Pilates like to put it- that are now second nature to you in the way that you do Pilates and even how you’ve managed to carry it over into your day to day life- and obviously into The Journal as well- that you could not have even imagined were possible either before you started doing Pilates, or couldn’t have imagined were possible when you were wrestling with some of the things like you talked about earlier.
Cie Jai Zarb: I think it’s a simple one but the complete coordination of mind, body, and spirit. I’m constantly drawing myself back to that and reminding myself of that. I understand that physical exercise is the first requisite of happiness and that stuck with me and I now appreciate exactly what that means, and I apply that to my everyday life, remembering that movement is happiness. It’s not just moving because I need to or because it’s on my agenda. I want it to feel good. I want it to mean something.
And it’s funny, it draws me to a thought, I caught up with Kristi Cooper from Pilates Anytime and we were talking about that sense of joy and how you need to bring joy into everything you do as a teacher and we’re actually doing something with her in The Journal about that because sometimes we’ve been doing it for so long we get caught in the detail so it also resonated with me what she was saying about joy.
I think I’m also much more dedicated to my practice now than any other exercise or movement I’ve tried over the years. I think this is the thing for me. It’s funny, I believe in reaching out and trying different things but I think I’ve found my sweet spot.
Bruce Hildebrand: So great to hear, again the joy in your voice is evident and clear and it obviously permeates every part of your life.
Cie Jai Zarb: Yeah, definitely and my whole family gets to hear about it all the time these days. They live and breathe The Journal as well but the more people it’s in the hands of they’re getting knowledge on how to look after their bodies better, the better.
Bruce Hildebrand: Such a great commitment, well done. Cie’Jai, tell us where you now sit with your Pilates. What does the future hold for you now with Pilates in your life and what plans have you in store with your Pilates involvement? I’d imagine that’s a big part of where The Journal is heading and what the future of The Journal is.
Cie Jai Zarb: I think I’m going to keep teaching and growing The Pilates Journal. I want to reach as many instructors as possible. I want them to truly read an article that helps shape how they think and how they work with clients. It might challenge their thinking or get them to want to explore or find out more. My plans are to continue to grow and evolve it and build on what we have- continue to talk to really interesting people in the Pilates community and share their stories. I’m conscious that everybody’s journey will be totally different- there’s no right way, it’s got to feel right for you. That’s sometimes nice to hear as well.
Bruce Hildebrand: Thanks for sharing. And Cie’Jai, what do you wish you knew at the start of the journey that would have made the biggest difference to someone who might be either considering starting Pilates or is facing some of the struggles that you did in your early Pilates progress?
Cie Jai Zarb: I think this is the thing around there’s no right way to go about it. It’s got to feel right for you. I wish there was more information up front that would have helped me navigate as an Instructor- which is something we’ll be focusing on some future issues- but I think it’s acknowledging that everybody’s journey is different and that’s okay and supporting them through that and this is an educational tool and resource that will help you do that.
Bruce Hildebrand: Cie’Jai, it’s been a pleasure chatting with you on the Pilates Diaries Podcast. Thanks so much for your time on the call. What’s the best way for podcast listeners to get in touch with you at The Pilates Journal?
Cie Jai Zarb: They can subscribe to The Journal at pilatesjournal.com For Instagram our handle is @ the_pilates_journal and for Facebook it’s just The Pilates Journal. I would love to have them get involved and tell us what they want to hear about, tell us what sort of things they want to understand more about and we’ll go and seek that information out because you’re not alone- there’d be many others that want the same answers as well.
Bruce Hildebrand: Wonderful. Thanks again for your time Cie’Jai. So great to dive into your Pilates history and your future endeavors with the launch of The Pilates Journal. Congratulations and I hope it all continues to grow throughout the industry.
Cie Jai Zarb: Thank you so much Bruce.
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