Heart of Motion
The Heart of Motion Podcast is an exploration of the heart, soul and science of movement - and what it means in our lives.
Movement connects us more deeply to ourselves, to our bodies and to the things and people that are most important to us. Beyond a fitness routine, why do you move? And what moves you? When we can look past the hamster wheel of ''fitness" - we start to realize that when we really live the lives of our bodies - life can be a whole lot more fulfilling, and a whole lot more fun!
Host Susannah Steers is your guide on a quest to understand how we can move better, feel better in our bodies and connect more deeply to our people and the world around us. Join her for some conversation, interviews with experts, and conversations with everyday people about what movement means to them. You might just find movement feels a little different on the other side...
Heart of Motion
When the Reformer Holds You, Freedom Begins
What happens when movement becomes more than just exercise? For Amy Rost, founder of Arc Pilates in Cochrane, Alberta, Pilates transformed from a desperate attempt to heal her broken, exhausted body into a lifeline that would ultimately change her career path and impact an entire community.
"The reformer and the spring could hold me and my stress, and I had the freedom to move," Amy shares, describing her first Pilates session. That profound experience led her from a corporate career in disability management to becoming a leading voice in Canadian Pilates. Working while raising four children—including twins—and navigating her oldest son's diagnosis with a rare degenerative neuromuscular disease, Amy discovered that maintaining her own strength through Pilates was essential for caring for others.
What makes Amy's approach special is her focus on accessibility and community over competition. Rather than getting caught in debates between classical and contemporary Pilates methods, she emphasizes their similarities: "Joe taught to the body in front of him, that's it." This inclusive philosophy extends to her creation of Pilates Fest North, born from her desire to bring Canadian Pilates teachers together regardless of lineage or approach. Despite launching during the pandemic, the conference has become a cherished gathering for the Canadian Pilates community.
Whether you're a Pilates practitioner, teacher, or simply curious about how movement can transform lives, Amy's story reminds us that the true power of Pilates lies not just in physical exercise but in its ability to support us through life's most demanding challenges. As she advises beginners: "Just start. Find a teacher who resonates with you, be open to the potential, and be patient—I promise it'll never be time that you regret investing in yourself."
About Amy Rost
Amy Rost is the visionary founder of ARC Pilates, located in Cochrane, Alberta, Canada. She pioneered Pilates Fest North and co-founded the University of Pilates and Pilates Mentors.
In 2016, Amy left her corporate career to become a Classical, Comprehensively Advanced, Trained and National Certified Pilates Teacher. Today, she is an internationally recognized educator and mentor in the Pilates community. In 2022, Amy expanded her expertise as a certified Life Coach through Jay Shetty’s certification program, enhancing her commitment to fostering community through movement, connection, and collaboration. Amy’s dedication to her practice and students and her impressive journey make her a visionary in the Pilates and w
Heart of Motion Podcast host Susannah Steers is a Pilates & Integrated Movement Specialist and owner of Moving Spirit Pilates in North Vancouver, BC. She is passionate about movement, about connections and about life.
Through movement teaching, speaking, and facilitating workshops, she supports people in creating movement practices that promote fitness from the inside out. She loves building community, and participating in multi-disciplinary collaborations.
Along with her friend and colleague Gillian McCormick, Susannah also co-hosts The Small Conversations for a Better World podcast – an interview based podcast dedicated to promoting the kind of conversations about health that can spark positive change in individuals, families, communities and across the globe.
Social Media Links:
Moving Spirit Pilates Instagram
Moving Spirit Pilates Facebook
Susannah Steers Instagram
Welcome to the Heart of Motion podcast. I'm Susannah Steers and I'll be your host as we explore the heart, soul and science of movement as a pathway to more active, vibrant and connected living. Nothing happens until something moves, so let's get started.
Susannah Steers:Over the years, in work and in play, I've seen close-up how movement can inspire connections and confidence and support really meaningful change for people. At the same play, I've seen close-up how movement can inspire connections and confidence and support really meaningful change for people. At the same time, I've also seen how it can create deep bonds of community too. My guest today embodies both of those.
Susannah Steers:Amy Rost is a force in the Pilates community in Canada, blending passion, resilience and innovation into everything she does. As the founder of Arc Pilates in Cochrane, Alberta, she's created a space where movement becomes medicine. An internationally recognized educator and mentor, she founded Pilates Fest North (Go, Canada!) and co-founded the University of Pilates and the Pilates Mentors. Her commitment to the classical Pilates method is matched only by her dedication to making Pilates accessible to everyone, fostering an inclusive community where every individual is empowered to explore their potential.
Susannah Steers:Today we're going to dive into Amy's incredible story her path from a career in disability management to becoming a leader in the Pilates world, and we'll talk about her approach to teaching and community building and the why maybe behind her creation of Pilates Fest North. Together, we're going to explore how movement fosters connection, resilience and joy. Amy, welcome, I am so glad you're here.
Amy Rost:Oh, thank you so much. I'm so excited to be here.
Susannah Steers:It doesn't really matter how many different Pilates teachers I talked to over the course of the years. There's always a bit of a different story about how they discovered it in the first place.
Susannah Steers:What is your story?
Amy Rost:So I discovered Pilates actually a little later in life. I was working in a corporate job in disability management. I have four kids, my youngest two are twins, and so working a job, you know, 40, 50 hours plus a week. And then my oldest son was diagnosed with a rare degenerative neuromuscular disease. And that's actually what led me to Pilates was my body was broken, it was exhausted, it was sore and I thought oh, oh, boy, I can't continue down this path of just sitting at a desk. And my husband kept saying to me you should try Pilates, you should try Pilates. And I was like, yeah, I think I did a Pilates yoga class in university. He's like, no, like you need to go where there's equipment.
Susannah Steers:And had he done Pilates?
Amy Rost:He had experienced Pilates. So I literally booked an appointment, went in and, honestly, the first day I went in a little intimidated but I was like and but I laid on that reformer and it was like the reformer and the spring could hold me and my stress and I just had the freedom to move and I hadn't experienced that ever and I thought, if this could be movement, I'm sold and I, honestly, from that first move, I was like I love everything about this.
Amy Rost:And then it also a little bit translated into what I was doing in my corporate job and that was disability management in a spine clinic and all of those patients who were told they were not a surgical candidate. What options were we giving them? And we weren't giving them any. We were telling them get on with your life. And so I really saw the correlation quick and I very quickly was like I wonder if I could teach this.
Susannah Steers:I was going to ask you if there was a moment or whether it sort of snuck up on you.
Amy Rost:It kind of. You know, I never went in thinking I was going to change careers. I just feel like, you know, everything comes to you when it's meant to. And Pilates landed for me when I needed it the most and I felt the power of change in my body and I thought, wow, what a gift that could be to give to other people. And it was pretty quick. I started researching where can I train, how can I do this in Canada, and it wasn't too long before then I literally left my job. I always say I left my job on a Wednesday and I started Pilates school on a Friday.
Susannah Steers:Oh, I love it. I love it. I'm really interested to hear you say that it felt like the equipment and the springs could hold you. That's a beautiful way of putting it. I'm always fascinated, even when I'm using different kinds of equipment, the different brands of Pilates equipment that you can get. I'm always interested to feel how that is different with different kinds of equipment, and sometimes you do feel supported and held. It's just such a beautiful way to put it, and sometimes it's a little, a little less so. I had never thought about it quite in that way, but I think I might've had a similar experience. It was there was a container, there was a place to hold you as you did this stuff.
Amy Rost:Well, I felt like the spring could hold the tension of my life, like I could just leave it there, and and then I had the freedom to move and I'll never, I'll never forget that day. It changed my life.
Susannah Steers:Yeah, yeah. I think for me it was a little more the idea of of finding a healthy way to move against that tension. You know what I mean as a way to engage with that tension. It didn't have to be all or nothing. To be all or nothing, there were degrees.
Susannah Steers:You've talked about twins, you have one of your kids with a really serious condition and you know that's a lot. How did Pilates help you navigate these challenges?
Amy Rost:Well, I think for me, when I was taking care of myself, then I could show up and be available to them and as my best self, and with a kid, you know, walking, this journey we're walking is, um, is a difficult one. I'm not gonna lie. Um, I share a lot of it. I don't share a lot of the some of the really hard stuff we see.
Amy Rost:I knew that, for me, to be able to take care of my child as his needs increased and his physical body was failing him, that I was going to need to be as strong as I possibly could be to be able to to just provide the care that he needed. And and that, for me, was that's where Pilates, you know, has given me the strength to be able to move a body that is no longer has a ton of feeling in it. Um, it's fully wheelchair bound and you know, there's lots of challenges, but it has kept me strong, physically strong, which also keeps us mentally strong. Yeah, no, kidding, right? So it is really that body, mind and spirit taking care of the whole person, the whole body.
Susannah Steers:Yeah, that's it right, we talk about Pilates as whole body movement and yes, it's physical. But, just as you say, I always think of the body a little bit like a hologram and we don't put the pieces in discrete parts, with the brain over here and the emotions over here and the body over here. They're all in one place and and if we can find a way to integrate and support them, then we're doing well and you can't separate them right right, like I can't.
Amy Rost:I, you know all of the things that have happened and that we can. A body who comes to us that has you know their, their, their journey to that point, comes with them to a class we can't, can't pick apart, uh, those pieces, and I would rather see them embody and integrate it all, and let's figure out a way to work with all of it together to get the best out of them possible.
Susannah Steers:Yeah, and then they're able to take that out into the world too.
Amy Rost:A hundred percent. I always say I see them for such a small amount of time. But then the real gift is what they get to take home to their communities and their families and their jobs. And you know their, their support system gets the best of them because they've invested that time in themselves and in movement and I do.
Susannah Steers:Do you speak to that directly in your classes or is this just something that you you're as part of the process of teaching pilates and helping them to embody that? That comes, I do speak to it directly.
Amy Rost:Yeah, I do, I, I do. I can't separate them for myself. So that, I think, is you know, probably the type of clients that are attracted to me. They're, they're, they're looking for something more right? I always say I'm not your teacher. If you just want a six pack, you can get one, but it would bring me no joy. What brings me joy is that you move well through your life. You are, you know, you have functional movement the rest of your life and and that to me I would say, even every year I get further into teaching and especially, you know, teaching. A kid who's got this horrific disease has taught me so much more about movement and functional movement and not so much about I could care less about performance. I don't come from a dance background, so I don't have that preconceived notion. Performance just doesn't do it for me.
Susannah Steers:Well, it's funny, I came from a performance background and when it came to Pilates it was really more about putting a broken body back together, because I had pushed myself in performance mode until I broke, and so it was really good to be able to not do that
Amy Rost:Right. Yeah.
Susannah Steers:I had my first Pilates experiences as part of my dance training in the 80s and then I did my initial training and certification in 1995 or 96. And back then we talked more about what Pilates lineage people came from, which Pilates elder did you descend from, kind of thing. Now we talk a lot more about classical or contemporary or even clinical Pilates for therapists. Are the primary principles of what is now called classical Pilates and I'm talking to you as a classical teacher are they different?
Amy Rost:So I think there's, I think there's such, there's so much noise around this discussion and I think I have always come out of the lens. Look, I had tried contemporary before I found classical. And when I found classical it was like, oh, this is actually like this feels. When I found classical, it was like, oh, this is actually like this feels, what I need, and I just really fell in love with it. I think there are way more similarities than there are differences and if we could, I think that just the better conversation is. What do we have in common? And I even think, like looking, you know, and teaching teachers now, like I, we always try and bring the different lineages in, talk about the different elders. Joe taught to the body in front of him, that's it.
Amy Rost:And guess what? Our clients don't care if we're classical or we're contemporary or we're clinical. They don't even know what that means. So for me it's just been there is way more similarities than there are differences, and one is not superior to the other. I think there's a value in all of them and it comes down to what resonates for you.
Susannah Steers:Yep, I agree with you 100%. Yeah, I don't think we even need to go any further If we recognize that people are coming into Pilates, when they first start, from all kinds of different directions. You know, people have seen it on Instagram or their doctor told them it was a good idea for their back or whatever, and they're coming into classical studios or contemporary studios or clinical studios. What do you think are the most important things that beginners need to know?
Amy Rost:So for me it's a little history lesson is, you know, recognizing that we teach a method that is attached to someone's name and and, and it was a guy. Yes, like a little bit of history. And then it's really for them to experience all of it. I always like to say my first few sessions are let's try everything. First few sessions are let's try everything, like as everything is in the equipment, not every exercise, but let's try. Let's try everything so that you kind of get a feel for why we have these different pieces of equipment. And then let's talk about some principles that are really important, I think in the method, concentration being one.
Amy Rost:I'm going to ask you to move, maybe in a way you haven't moved before. So let's talk about we got to focus to do that. Let's talk about your relationship to equipment how does it help, how does it maybe make it harder? What you know, what, what, what is the feedback you're getting from it? And then also let's like focus a little bit about how to kind of drop into our own bodies and have some body awareness, because I I see now bodies are quite different from pre-covid to post-covid and I really find bodies are there's more and more bodies that are just not not connected. I'm like, how do you operate that in your everyday life without having some awareness, and that's I really want to show them also an experience that they feel good. My goal is always you feel better when you leave than when you start it, and I don't care if we're doing foot corrector for an hour. You're going to feel better, yeah, yeah.
Amy Rost:So, that's for me, yep.
Susannah Steers:Well, okay. So I want to dig into the what you're noticing after COVID. This is my movement geek thing, because I've noticed some differences too and I'm just curious if you're seeing the same things, do you think it's distractions? Do you think it's the worldview just shifted and everybody shifted on their axis. What are you noticing?
Amy Rost:I think it's a few things. I think it's the busyness I think has almost, from such a retraction to where we are today, I feel like, has accelerated so much and I think, you know, I think bodies have changed in terms of what they're doing in a day. Yes, so when we're working from home and we only have to walk to our desk, that's creating a whole new set of issues. Yeah, yeah.
Susannah Steers:And the Zoom meetings, one after the other after the other, without appropriate breaks and being on 47 different apps and all of the ways people can get to you and you can't get away. And I've talked to clients like, put the phone away If you're going for a hike. Like put it away, put it away, notice what's around you.
Amy Rost:Yeah, and I think it's you know. The other thing I think I noticed in bodies too is you know, those who've come through, who've had COVID there's a different body coming through the door there is. There's just some different patterns, different challenges that we're having to work through. That we didn't have five years ago.
Susannah Steers:Right, it's funny when there's an experience that was so collective and so individual at the same time and it has profoundly changed everything, 100%. Okay, I would like to shift gears a little bit now, because I first encountered you through Pilates Fest North, maybe first for people who haven't heard about it, tell us what it is.
Amy Rost:So Pilates Fest North is my sort of passion project and it's really a project that is for the love of the Pilates industry in Canada. I got really tired of traveling to the US to take continuing ed and being like, often I was the only Canadian in the room and I just thought, well, how am I ever going to know what's happening in Quebec, like, where is the opportunity to come together, regardless of your background? It is not a classical conference and it's not a contemporary conference, it's a Pilates conference. And how could we have a space to come together, learn from each other, move together? I don't know. There's just something magical when there's a room full of Pilates teachers doing the hundred together. Yeah, the breath, just the energy. And I just saw there was a lack of that in Canada.
Susannah Steers:That must have been a huge undertaking. When was the first one?
Amy Rost:Well, the first one was supposed to be the end of April 2020. So this and look, if I didn't have a passion for this community, it would have not kept going, because it was. That was probably one of the most challenging experiences, as many other things were happening in our own lives, with challenges around COVID, but literally six weeks out, we had sold 80% of the tickets and we paid all the venues. Like I always say, I'm just a girl with a studio in her basement, like I really I am, but I love this community and I had literally paid everything to vendors already. And then we were shut down and there was no like protocol in oh, they have to refund. There wasn't actually that. So, anyway, so it didn't happen. It paused.
Amy Rost:We were able to bring back the big conference in November 2021. And it was. It was. It happened when it was supposed to, because it was so magical and so many moments that just filled my soul and allowed our industry to reconnect on another level. And then it happened again. We took it on the road last year. We went to Kamloops last May and that's how we met and, yeah, we're working on another one here for maybe a little later in 2025.
Susannah Steers:That's exciting. I wish I had known about it in 21, because I can only imagine, after the chaos of 2020, you know of that whole period and the ups and the downs and and all of it to have people be able to come together and and and be together, and move together and mourn together and and be joyful in movement together. I can only imagine what a powerful experience that was.
Amy Rost:Yeah, and that's part of part of my mission is that it is a little bit of a different kind of conference. Yes, you can get your educational credits, but really at the core of me is creating really like unique and meaningful connections and we try to be really thoughtful about how we do that. And you know, we also had some of those also really great ones in in Kamloops and and those are. You know, I think it's what sets us apart from like a PMA or um. We we just have a little different lens and I've learned that the Pilates industry in Canada is a little, we are a little different. Oh, what do you notice really benefits when we come together towards growing strong, sustainable businesses in Canada? It's not competition.
Susannah Steers:So how do you ensure that something like Pilates Fest North is inclusive and accessible to a wide range of people, maybe including those who might not typically go down to a PMA conference or and that's Pilates Method Alliance or, you know travel to another country somewhere to study with someone else?
Amy Rost:Well, and I think part of that is that inclusion is one we're traveling in Canada and we're using Canadian dollars, which you know has been, you know that has been a deterrent from traveling to the U. S. It is very expensive and I think in you know, ensuring that there is a diverse group of teachers from all different backgrounds and again, I, as a classical teacher, have never, ever thought, oh, I would never take a contemporary session. I always think, okay, there's always something I can learn from every single teacher, what can I take from that? So I think making that accessible and I very much the environment of Pilates Fest North is, even if you come alone, I promise you you will not be alone. No one sits in the corner, no one sits in the, no one gets to hide. We, you will meet everybody and I ensure that we have some, really you know, unique ways that we are getting to know each other, I'm sure, unique ways that we are getting to know each other.
Amy Rost:I'm sure Last time we were in our Taylor Swift era, so we had friendship bracelets and you had to find your matches. Oh, no way, I was just thinking an interesting movement experiences and that kind of thing, but that's fun too.
Susannah Steers:A whole different theme, I like it.
Amy Rost:Yeah, I also think there's like setting the stage for, you know, any teacher who wants to present and making sure that every voice is heard. I mean, one of my favorite memories of the last one was because of our connection. So Sue had nominated one of her teachers for the Pilates Heart Scholarship to attend the conference and Katya came and such a beautiful, beautiful soul. But in our finale is, every teacher had to teach an exercise in our final math class and she's like, and she was so cute because she's like I don't know the words I. I said then speak in Ukrainian, we all speak, we all speak movement, and it was one of the most impactful moments and I think it's, you know, setting that stage. It's guess what we're not like here and the rest of the teachers are here. No, we're all here, yeah, and maybe one's a little further along than you, but everybody has. Again, I just think everybody has value to share and we can learn from that. So that's how we keep it inclusive as well.
Susannah Steers:I love it when really we recognize I mean Pilates at its heart is an oral tradition. It's not something you learn in books, it's something you learn from another teacher, it's something you learn from other people. And I love it when we can come together in a non-competitive environment and just learn from each other. Well done you, Thank you. Do you see the community in Canada evolving? Is it changing?
Amy Rost:I do. I do think it's changing. I do think you know, Pilates Fest North is a real grassroots festival and I think it changes by having one inviting. I always say, say, I'll always make the table bigger, nobody is excluded from the table and I think with the more opportunities we have to come together is where we see real shift and again it's inviting those who are ready to shift. I appreciate not everybody is ready. I appreciate not everybody is ready and that's that's okay too. That's okay too as long as we are providing events and supporting events that are happening in our industry and within our with. We have to support them within our country or they don't survive. That is a huge undertakings. People don't maybe always understand the undertaking it takes to produce something like that. It is not for the faint of heart I can't imagine. But I do think it's evolving and I do think, because we've been through such a collective difficult time, that we are more open to healing and rising even higher in this next time.
Susannah Steers:You have so much on the go between Arc Pilates, university of Pilates, the Pilates Mentors, pilates Fest North and a very full family life. You know there's a lot going on for you in pretty much every direction, I look. How do you balance it all?
Amy Rost:Well, I think you know, when you're blessed with twins, you learn some really good scheduling. Um, you know I have always been really good with time. I am really good with time management. There are times where, like art, pilates gets my full attention and then there's times where, you know, pilates Fest North doesn't get as much time. Right now it's not getting as much time. That's just the season it's in. But I also like variety. There isn't one that I would take off my plate. I might from time to time have to adjust the amount of time it takes on my plate, but for me, as a teacher, I continue to grow because of those other things that I do Right.
Susannah Steers:They kind of feed each other.
Amy Rost:A hundred percent. Yeah, a hundred percent.
Susannah Steers:Okay. So now I have to ask how how your movement life fits into all of that. I mean, maybe aside I mean Pilates, obviously is a part of it, but maybe aside from Pilates, what kind of things do you do and what does movement mean for you?
Amy Rost:Movement is everything for me, and I don't mean that like I'm like spending 10 hours a day moving. I am moving. I don't work in a desk job, right, I'm moving in my everyday, but for me it's. Can I get outside? I am very. You know, I live just outside Calgary. We are a 30 minute drive to the Rocky Mountains. We are hiking, walking, paddleboarding, skiing, all of those things in our downtime, and I, you know our bodies are meant to move. If I'm not moving, nothing's moving in my downtime. And I, you know our bodies are meant to move. If I'm not moving, nothing's moving in my life, Nothing's moving yeah.
Amy Rost:Yeah, and it's, you know it. It it starts with the movement, whatever that can be. So you know we've got a beautiful day here in Cochrane today. I'll get out on my path and take that dog for a walk and enjoy whatever fresh air and outdoor movement. And for me it's become. You know, pilates supports all these things that I want to be able to do and, as I you know, get into middle age and the challenges that come with that. Movement really is it's medicine for the body. It keeps those joints moving, it keeps me doing the things I want to be able to do in life, and as soon as we stop moving, we run into trouble.
Susannah Steers:Yeah, I'm with you 100%. If you were speaking to someone just starting their Pilates journey, either as a practitioner doing Pilates for themselves or an instructor, what advice might you give them?
Amy Rost:I always say just start. That's the hardest part. Find a teacher and this would go for both. Find a teacher who resonates with you, who you connect with, and just be open to what the potential could be and your potential and I always say this in my classes do not look at what the other person is doing, it's your practice, it is not a competition. You're going to give your best today and that's going to return your body to life, as Jo would say.
Susannah Steers:With spontaneous zest and pleasure.
Amy Rost:Zest and pleasure yes. And be patient. Be patient because Rome wasn't built in a day, as you said, right, yeah, it takes time, but I promise you it'll never be time that you regret investing in yourself. I love it.
Susannah Steers:Before we go, I wanted to let people know that, among all the other things you've created, you also have an online Pilates platform called the Pilates Vault. Can you tell us a little more about that?
Amy Rost:So this I'm going to be honest with you came out of a lot of discomfort for me. Lot of discomfort for me.
Susannah Steers:Oh, interesting,
Amy Rost:But it came out of I do not like video. It just it is not my preferred platform. But out of COVID, I had like 800 videos unlisted on my YouTube channel and I kept getting asked you know where can we keep working with you? And I didn't want them in a just anyone could have added in YouTube, because there's different levels, there's classes for different people, and I wanted to make sure that I could present that in a way that was accessible. Right To be like, is this a level I should be working in? We shouldn't start at advanced.
Amy Rost:Yes, right, it looks cool but don't start there, don't start there, and so that has been really a labor of love over the last four months trying to get this up and running. I've got an app that's coming. It's available right now on Apple. We're still waiting for Google approval. We talked about the tech stuff at the beginning. This has been a lesson in technology which is not my like. I always say like that's not my lane, my lane is movement. I get to find the people who can do the tech. So that's really where it came from, and it's actually maybe taken a little bit of a different path than I thought it would in terms of more and more of the practitioners I work with are recommending this to their clients. It's a way to keep Pilates accessible financially and geographically and them still get a great workout and have access to me as a teacher. So that's where this has blossomed from.
Susannah Steers:I love it. There were so many interesting things that came out of the scramble that we all had to do during the pandemic, and it's lovely to see that something has come out of that for you in this way, and you have generously offered our listeners a free seven-day trial on the platform, so I'm going to make sure to add all the details for that in our show notes for today. Amy, it is always inspiring to talk to you. Thank you so much for joining me today.
Amy Rost:Thank, you so much for having me and always such a pleasure to speak with you.
Susannah Steers:I'm sure we will find each other soon, whether it's in Canmore, whether it's in some other part of the country. I look forward to getting together in person one day Me too. All right, take care, and we'll talk soon.
Susannah Steers:I hope you enjoyed today's episode. Subscribe and if you love what you heard, leave a five-star review and tell people what you enjoyed most. Join me here again in a couple of weeks. For now, let's get moving.
