I taught my 1st class last night at my local leisure centre. Beginners course with 12 people in the class. Some had done Pilates before others never. I went through the basic principles ( Stott training ) which did take a while! One guy didn't even know what his pelvic floor muscle was! I was a bit nervous at first and probably didn't cover everything. I included some exercises afterwards too to insure they felt like they had done something. Am now worried they may not come back because they thought it was too much talking/explaining! Any thoughts? Am guessing the 1st group class will always be a tricky one.

Hi Michelle. You are right, the first class is always the hardest -- the more you teach, the more confident you'll feel. (I've been teaching Pilates more than 20 years & can attest to this!) It is tough to avoid "over-explaining" and thus confusing clients, but this too is something you will get a feel for, the more you teach. You can always just ask the group as a whole or a few students you know how they felt about the class & whether they "got" the instructions you gave. That can both give you information & let students know that you are interested in their experience. In a gym or rec center setting, I tend not to explain (at least in detail) every principle at once, but mention them during execution of exercises - for instance, explain the principle of breath/breathing while teaching a roll-up.