Pilates Elephants

Dallas Noerdlinger (Core Pilates, Oklahoma City) shares why she sold 50% of her studio during pregnancy, what changed in the business and culture, and how she bought it back.
We talk boutique vs franchise positioning, keeping instructors happy, managing owner overwhelm, and the “unlimited membership” + waitlist problem—plus practical fixes for capacity, pricing, and schedule structure.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

AdBarker - https://adbarker.com/privacy

The most useful kind of body awareness is mostly unconscious and automatic control, like a cat. This is built through practice, not narration.
Links:
Glute activation drills increase perception but not actual glute activation here
Episode 160 "Can we even feel muscles activating?" here

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

AdBarker - https://adbarker.com/privacy

Studies mentioned in this episode:
2025 longitudinal study finds text neck is not associated with future neck pain here
2023 systematic review of interventions for neck pain finds strengthening works here
2017 Chen et al. systematic review finds neck strengthening is the most effective intervention for workplace neck pain - more effective than posture or ergonomic advice here

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

AdBarker - https://adbarker.com/privacy

Your clients don’t skip Pilates because they don’t care.
They skip because the system asks them to do work they don’t have the capacity for.
In this short episode, Raphael shares:
Why flexibility often reduces attendance
The paradox of overwhelm: needing structure but lacking the bandwidth to create it
How studios unintentionally design for no-shows and drop-off
A simple shift from “choice” to “default” that increases consistency and retention

If your clients say they “don’t have time”, this episode explains what’s really happening and how to fix it.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

AdBarker - https://adbarker.com/privacy

What do flamingo, arms in straps and knee pulls have in common?
They look different. They feel different.
They’re secretly doing the exact same thing.

This podcast uses the following third-party services for analysis:

AdBarker - https://adbarker.com/privacy