The Workout That Started on a Hospital Bed

Brandon Andres Green, host of Good Neighbor Podcast Tulsa, sits down with Lisa Council of Council Pilates to talk about Pilates, private instruction, small-group training, reformer work, and why the right movement can help people build strength, alignment, flexibility, and confidence.

Lisa explains why Pilates is much more than stretching. It is a focused approach to breath, alignment, controlled movement, flexibility, and strength, with the goal of helping people move better and feel better in their own bodies.

This conversation also gets into the reformer, including its surprising origin story as a tool inspired by a hospital bed. Lisa explains how the spring-based system can support low-impact movement, rehabilitation, spinal support, and advanced training depending on the person using it.

You’ll also hear Lisa’s personal journey into Pilates, including how her own health challenges after having children led her to take the work more seriously, pursue training, and eventually create a smaller, more personal studio setting in Broken Arrow. Her approach is hands-on, observant, and built around the person in front of her rather than a one-size-fits-all class plan.

If you have ever wondered whether Pilates is good for beginners, whether you need private sessions before joining a class, or why having an instructor watch your movement matters, this episode gives you a grounded place to start.

Sometimes the workout your body needs most is the one that finally pays attention.

Transcript

Welcome To Good Neighbor Podcast

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Oh, this is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Brandon Andris Green.

SPEAKER_02 0:13

Welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast Live. I hope everyone's doing well. I want to introduce to you Lisa Council with Council Pilates. Some people enjoy the energy of a large fitness class. Others prefer a more quiet setting, a little more personal attention, and instructor who really understands how their body moves. Today I want to introduce Lisa with Council Pilates. Lisa, how's it going?

SPEAKER_01 0:41

Good. How are you, Brandon?

SPEAKER_02 0:43

Doing so well. Thanks for joining us

What Pilates Is And Why

SPEAKER_02 0:45

today. So for someone who's never tried Pilates, what is it? And what makes your approach different?

SPEAKER_01 0:52

It's an exercise program that focuses on breath, alignment. We work on flexibility, controlled movement.

SPEAKER_02 1:03

And what first uh drew you to Pilates personally?

SPEAKER_01 1:08

I started Pilates around 20 years ago, and I um I purchased a reformer and I had privates on it. I I liked the pulley system with the wheels on the reformer, how the carriage moved. It just it felt really good in my body. I was a runner. Um, I was tight, my muscles were tight, and it was really good for strength or lengthening, stretching out when I was sore from running. That's how I started.

How The Reformer Was Invented

SPEAKER_02 1:39

And what is a reformer?

SPEAKER_01 1:42

It is um it was designed from a hospital bed. That was the first model was on a hospital bed. Um, Joseph Pilates was in a prisoner war camp, and there were people that were too sick, too weak to get out of bed. And so he took springs from underneath the bed, um, attached dowel rods to the springs and created exercise for people to be able to start moving that couldn't get out of the bed. Um, it has um the model today, and there are several models today. Um but it was it's it's designed for low impact. Um you can also do advanced movements on it, but it's it's really good for rehabilitation and to the spine.

Turning Personal Rehab Into A Studio

SPEAKER_02 2:38

How'd you decide to uh turn this into a business?

SPEAKER_01 2:43

Well, I had um I have five children, and with my last son, I had I'm I've got an umbelical hernia and I had a three-finger separation um at my belly button, and it was two years later, and I was having a lot of pelvic floor issues. I I saw a pelvic floor therapist, and then I took the knowledge that I knew and I was able to close that gap in my stomach and fix my pelvic floor issues, and then I became more serious about it. I went to school and started teaching, and I love it, and I decided to have my own business. I wanted a small, more intimate setting. I wanted to be able to make my own rules, my own schedule.

SPEAKER_02 3:34

And you offer private sessions, like you said, in a smaller, more intimate class. So, who's this kind of setting especially helpful for?

SPEAKER_01 3:43

But it's

Why Small Groups Beat Big Classes

SPEAKER_01 3:44

helpful for everybody because I'm able to watch their body move. I can make hands-on corrections while they're moving, like it was designed to do. So when I'm in a room, I can teach larger classes, but I can only watch so many people, and I can only help so many people at one time. So keeping it to three or smaller, I can see almost everything and get to where I need to be to make those corrections.

SPEAKER_02 4:15

Wow.

Myths About Muscle And Pilates

SPEAKER_02 4:16

Have you came across uh maybe misconceptions or myths that people kind of have about Pilates or this type of exercise in general?

SPEAKER_01 4:26

I've heard um lately um that you can't build muscle, that you need more weight resistance. Um and that's not true. You can definitely build muscle doing Pilates. There's a lot, there's a lot of different exercises you can do. So I think when I hear that people don't really understand everything that you can do. They're looking at maybe at one thing that they've seen.

Results Clients Notice First

SPEAKER_02 5:01

What are some changes that um clients usually begin noticing after they start working with you?

SPEAKER_01 5:08

Well, they feel better, they're their posture starts getting better, um, they feel stronger. It's great for relieving stress, just moving and breathing and energy.

Starting Safe When You Feel Intimidated

SPEAKER_02 5:25

And how do you help someone who feels maybe intimidated, out of shape, injured, or even just unsure where to begin?

SPEAKER_01 5:34

Well, they come in, they don't have to know anything. I walk them through the beginning and we add layers on. So you don't have to know anything. And I'm happy to help everybody.

SPEAKER_02 5:50

So you just kind of do a personal assessment and decide what's best?

SPEAKER_01 5:54

Yes, yes. I have classes, um, but if you are not if you're new to Pilates or I haven't taught you, we will start with privates and you'll feel comfortable enough to take a class by the time you take a class.

SPEAKER_02 6:12

And over the years, have you seen um some clients really transform their personal health just from doing Pilates?

Consistency And Real Transformation

SPEAKER_02 6:21

Yes.

SPEAKER_01 6:22

Yes. When you stay consistent, when you uh tell yourself you're going to go to Pilates three times a week, and you actually do it three times a week. I see you you start trusting yourself, you start believing in yourself, you feel better, you're following through with what you tell yourself you're gonna do, and that builds confidence in itself, and then what you're doing with your body, with your muscles, your alignment, you will feel better. And when you're consistent, you will see it takes about three months to notice some real differences. I mean, it doesn't take everybody that long, but after three months of being consistent, you'll notice a lot of difference. And then by then you'll probably be hooked.

SPEAKER_02 7:14

And is this something that people can uh continue to do on their own after they've taken some classes, or is this something that requires an instructor?

Why Coaching Still Matters

SPEAKER_01 7:23

There are some things that you could do at home. Um, if someone's having um issues, like a specific issue, then can come in, we'll go over the exercises, I'll make sure that they know how to do them. We can write them down, I can print them out, and they can practice. Well, there's a lot of things you can practice at home. Um, but you can't, it it does really help to have an instructor over you watching you. Because even I, after practicing for 20 years going to school, I have three instructors that I go to that still are teaching me, they're correcting my alignment, how how I engage, what I engage first. I I might not there are things I can't recognize in my own body because I'm concentrating to do other things, and so it helps having someone over me, watching me, seeing me, correcting me, and then I do it right. So I still I still go to instructors. I do a lot on my own, but I still need help with what I don't see in my

Teaching Style And Custom Programming

SPEAKER_01 8:35

own body. I'm sorry.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

Do you do you find that different instructors kind of go about it differently? Is that why you have three different ones?

SPEAKER_01 8:42

Yes, yes, every instructor has their own style, their own personality. Um, a Pilates, a whole hour, you should have a balanced workout where you work the front of your body, the back of your body, the side of your body. You you warm up, and then you get more intensity as you go on. We all have our favorite exercises. Um, we all communicate differently. We have our own cues, we see things different. So it really I benefit from always having like at least two different instructors that I go to. But I have my master instructor who's who I'm also continuing my education with, who I see, and then I have two here that I see.

SPEAKER_02 9:34

Have you um have you found your own type of style? How would you describe your teaching techniques?

SPEAKER_01 9:43

Balanced and I pay attention and I teach the bodies that are in front of me what I see that they need. So I won't, I might have a plan for what I want to do, and they come in and I see something different, something they would benefit from more, and we'll work on that instead of what I had planned. I change my plans a lot, depending on who's in front of me.

Where To Find Council Pilates

SPEAKER_02 10:10

And so for full transparency, my wife and actually, my wife and I actually came and saw you yesterday for our own Pilates session. And it was amazing. We're Laura and I are both very sore today, but I was very impressed not only with your setup, with your instructions, um, with the whole process, but also just Pilates in general. I I wish that I would have started it 20 years ago, honestly. Well, thank you. So, what's one thing that you want our listeners to really remember about councils Pilates?

SPEAKER_01 10:47

Well, I would like them to come see me.

SPEAKER_02 10:50

And where where are you located?

SPEAKER_01 10:52

I'm in Broken Arrow, practicing out of my house, off of Lynn Lane behind Target.

SPEAKER_02 11:00

And how can listeners learn more, maybe explore some of your private and small group options, or even just simply try to connect with you?

SPEAKER_01 11:10

I have a website, it's under construction right now. It's councilpilates.com, and I'll have all my information on there. It's it's getting I have it. Um, it's in the very beginning of science.

SPEAKER_02 11:27

And also, I know it's just a simple Google search for Lisa Council, Council Pilates, you pull right out.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

Oh, nice. I haven't it it's all getting done this month, so I'm not sure where I'm at with all of that.

SPEAKER_02 11:43

Well, Lisa, I really appreciate you being on the show, and we wish you and Council Pilates the best moving forward.

SPEAKER_01 11:49

Thank you. I do have an Instagram that I started, it's Council Pilates also, and I'll have information on that.

SPEAKER_02 11:59

Perfect. Thank you so much.

SPEAKER_01 12:02

Thank you, Brandon.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

Thank you for listening to the Good Neighbor Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gmptulsa.com. That's gmptulsa.com or call 918 3201 6356.