A Conversation with Asayo Yi

“What I like most about Westwood Pilates is that we are all a team, not rivals against each other. All the instructors are always willing to offer and accept advice and new ideas, regardless of experience. I love that kind of supportive environment and love learning from my peers.” 

- Asayo Yi

What do you love most about Pilates? What frustrates you most?

What I love about Pilates is that if you believe in the system and keep at it, you will see it transfer into other parts of your daily life when you least expect it. What frustrates me the most is, just when you think you’ve conquered a challenging movement, an instructor comes around and makes a small adjustment and makes it difficult again.

If you were stranded on a desert island and you could only have one piece of equipment with you, which one would you pick?

This is a difficult one to choose, as all of the equipment has something special to offer to help my body stay happy. However, if I just have one to choose, it will have to be the Reformer. It gives me the most challenging workout and takes me through all the different planes of the body. Following the classical order will ensure that I work every part of my body - the full package.

What’s your favorite thing about being a Pilates teacher?

My favorite thing about being an instructor is being able to work with clients one on one. Working one on one enables me to tailor the workout to the body in front of me, and how that body is in that moment. Even the same client will have a different body each time they come in, and choosing what to do or what to focus on by looking at what’s going on right now keeps me curious and creative.

What do you like the most about Westwood Pilates?

What I like most about Westwood Pilates is that we are all a team, not rivals against each other. All the instructors are always willing to offer and accept advice and new ideas, regardless of experience. I love that kind of supportive environment and love learning from my peers. I think the clients can appreciate that too, as they benefit from their instructors always improving their knowledge, and training in an environment where there is no tension between the instructors.