I Made It: Part Three

This content has been updated January 9, 2020.

We are thrilled to share this inspiring three-part series by MOVE Wellness Studios Trainer Tony Brutz. Enjoy Part 3 below. You can click here to read Part 1 and Part 2.

February 2016 was the first weekend of the Mat training program. There were eight other students with me in the class. We all staked out a spot on the floor…Wait… There is something I forgot to mention. Before the classes started a few of the MOVE Wellness Studios trainers mentioned that a lot of information would come at me all at once. It may be overwhelming at first, but just hang in there don’t panic. Then one day everything will just click. Ok, now back to the first weekend… Our trainer for the Mat class was Aimee. She was and is a fantastic trainer. I mean this lady really knows her stuff. We started getting into everything right away. Quickly I realized why the trainers gave me the heads up. It was a lot of data to process in a short time. I mean I was getting new terms thrown at me left and right: Patella, vasti, concentrically, eccentrically. Transversus abdominis? Isn’t that a character from Greek mythology? All of us in the class left that weekend a little shell-shocked. Even though I was warned and told not to panic, well guess what happened. That’s right. I panicked. What did I get myself into? I can’t do this! How can I get out of this? How do I tell everyone at MOVE Wellness Studios? I will never be able to walk into MOVE Wellness Studios again. The world is coming to an end and I never did find out who shot JR. Yep, not one of my finer moments. I took a deep breath and collected myself and after a quick internet search I found out that it was Mary Crosby’s character of Kristin that shot JR. Hope I didn’t spoil that for anyone. That night I decided to just sleep on it and see how I felt the next day.

When I got up the next morning I was feeling a little less overwhelmed. I just remembered what I was told and decided to keep on keeping on. As the weekends went on, it started to get a little bit easier. Then one day, it started to click. Not that I was great, but it all started to make more sense. I even learned what transverus abdominis meant. Hint, it’s not a character from Greek mythology. Once I started practice teaching and observing other trainers it started to click even more. That moment of fear after the first weekend could have derailed everything. Lucky for me I didn’t have to go it alone. I had a great group of classmates that were going through the same experience. Add the MOVE Wellness Studios staff and I had a pretty awesome support group.

So, about one year after starting the training program, I am an instructor at MOVE Wellness Studios. I am enjoying the teaching I have been doing thus far and I am so looking forward to what the future has to bring. This last year has been great, even when things were tough it was still fun. Not that everything went smoothly. The training took up so much time that I began to neglect my own health. I fell back into some bad habits and they started to add up. Then those negative thoughts began to show their ugly heads. It took some time to pull myself back up and get back on track. I had to look back to that December day in 2014 and try to remind myself why I started this whole journey. Of course trying to lead a healthy life was a huge reason. Then something hit me, something I thought about even back in 2014. It was not just that I needed to treat myself better, but that I deserved to treat myself better. I know that may sound funny, but think about that for a minute. Sure we try to eat healthy and exercise, which is great, but how often do we treat ourselves the way we should? We forgive others when they make mistakes, but how often do we forgive ourselves for ours? We give compliments to family, friends, heck sometimes even strangers. You’re so talented, intelligent, kind, beautiful, and creative. How often though do we say those things to ourselves? How often do we give ourselves credit for our own accomplishments? It is one thing I think many people neglect to do for themselves. It suddenly dawned on me that I was neglecting doing it for myself. I would focus on my faults but never give myself the credit I deserved. It was about time I started treating myself with that kind of caring and respect. We all fall sometimes. We just need to stop beating up ourselves over it and get right back up.

Just MOVE Wellness Studios

So, why did I decide to become a trainer? That is a brilliant question that deserves an equally brilliant answer, but I will give you my answer instead. I can sum up why I became a trainer in one word; MOVE Wellness Studios…That’s it, just MOVE Wellness Studios…OK fine, I’ll elaborate. What Elaine and Robin have created with MOVE Wellness Studios is wonderful. The staff at MOVE Wellness Studios is a great reflection of the values that they hold. I told you I would explain the reason I name dropped throughout this post. All the trainers that I mentioned earlier were the ones teaching when I first started at MOVE Wellness Studios. Not only were they incredible at what they did, but also they were compassionate, caring, encouraging, and supportive. Along with Elaine and Robin, they helped me accomplish so much more than I would have ever thought when I first started this journey. To all of you wonderful ladies, thank you so much for your encouragement and support. You all were the main inspiration for me wanting to become a trainer. The first day of class we had to go around and introduce ourselves and tell everyone what we hoped to do with everything we learn during the training. I said, “I hoped to be for others what MOVE Wellness Studios has been for me.” I want to help others achieve their goals and now I am getting to do that. I am so glad I decided to do the training and would recommend it to anyone. Do I have any advice for anyone who may sign up for the training in the future? Why yes, I do. My advice would be this, to quote Douglas Adams, “DON’T PANIC!”

Tony Brutz teaches Gentle Pilates class at MOVE Wellness Studios on Tuesdays at 6:00PM. He is also available for private sessions.

About the MOVE Comprehensive Pilates Instructor Training Program

If you have ever considered Pilates as a career or as an enhancement to your current profession, we invite you to join us January 15, 2020 at 6:30PM for Talk and Train. This open studio event will offer you a preview of the MOVE Instructor Training Program. Come get your questions answered and see for yourself what the MOVE Instructor Training Program is all about. If you can’t make the event, you can also schedule a free 15-Minute Consultation with one of our Instructor Trainers. Get started on your own journey today!