Check Out Tanya Scott’s Story

Today we’d like to introduce you to Tanya Scott.

Hi Tanya, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started Pilates as a practice body for a friend going through a certification program. Finding relief for chronic pain and loving moving my body through the Pilates Method, I became obsessed and went on to get certified myself. I had three young daughters (between 7-12 years of age) at the time and was just resurfacing from being completely immersed in motherhood from playdates, PTA, snack mobiles, my back going out constantly, nonstop laundry and little sleep, it was the best way to come back to the working world while raising kids and starting to take care of myself once again. I immediately felt passionate about it and was excited to find a love for something like that as I approached middle age. I got certified as a Pilates Instructor and began teaching at a studio in Santa Monica. From 2015 to 2020, I taught at Classical Pilates Body and freelanced with a couple of other studios as well. When CoVid hit the US and we had the first wave of studio shutdowns, we did what we could to stay open and continue with clients online.

We opened up again and were shut down for the second time a couple of months later and the studio had to sell the equipment and could not survive. I lived in a small house with a big yard and had imagined building an open-air kind of studio for a while. When quarantine changed the landscape of day-to-day living, I was able to create an at-home business, helpful to my community’s health and wellness and get through a very challenging time. I bought a Reformer (most popular piece of Pilates equipment) from the studio, had a deck built, and put the Gazebo I had insisted on buying at Costco the year before on top of the deck, hung curtains, painted a wall, and there it was a Pilates studio oasis. Blessed to be in Southern California, I took my practice and some clients to my backyard to work out safely, outdoors, and with masks on and typical So Cal weather…very little rain. It was a blessing for many to get off the computer and come and work out, live in a beautiful outdoor space. Needless to say, school teachers were a large part of my clientele at the time. It has been an adventurous three years, this August, that I have been in business, running a home Pilates studio. I continue to do Pilates with the same clients, new clients, all types of clients weekly, and some twice a week. I see clients five days a week for private sessions.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I feel pretty lucky, it has gone well, but without a doubt, I have had the same struggles as any entrepreneur starting up their own business. My biggest challenge this past winter was the rain! As much as we love to have it in So Cal, it was not good for business. It’s an Outdoor studio so it’s not fully protected from a good rainfall, like we actually had quite a few this winter. Spring has been outstanding though, because of it, so that has been making up for it.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am a Pilates instructor and studio owner. I guide clients through the Pilates method of exercise, helping them to feel better in their bodies and in control of their bodies. Teaching them to heal through movement and move from their cores in the most efficient way for their bodies. I help you to connect your mind to your body to your spirit. I’m proud of many things right now, but what I’m most proud of is my clients when they show up for themselves every week and learn how to care of themselves through movement. My studio is unique and beautiful. It feels very safe and calm in the outdoor space and I’m encouraging, knowledgable, funny, and will kick your but into knowing you are strong and capable.

Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
I think it’s brave to take risks. It’s like having a fear to do something and still doing it. Now that you called it a risk, I see that I have taken many major risks. I’ve always said my fears have gotten me where I am today. Running from them to get to somewhere else, and not knowing where that may be. Then taking the risk of doing it anyway. Story of my life, be it moving to a new city, starting a new job, changing careers, having children, getting married, getting divorced, going back to school. Life, to me, is taking risks. And I’m not nearly done yet.

Pricing:

• Intro Package 3/$225. ($75 off reg rate)
• $100/session
• 4/$380 ($20 off package)
• 8/$750 ($50 off package)

Contact Info:

• Website: www.tanyayapilates.squarespace.com
• Instagram: tanyaya.pilates
• Facebook: Tanya Scott
• Other: Alignable – Tanya Scott @TanYaYa Pilates

Image Credits
Goshiggygo Photography