How I got started in Pilates

How did I get my start in Pilates? I must say that I do stand out in a training profession dominated 10 to 1 by beautiful athletic women. It's not something many people can say, but hey! I'm not complaining. I made the choice to be outnumbered, and how I got to be surrounded by beautiful women is an interesting story!

How did I end up as a Pilates instructor? Well, time for a flashback! My introduction to the Pilates method came when I was eight years old. I was a young athlete who was a gifted martial artist, and an aspiring skater that by good fortune trained with Olympians in Lake Placid NY (the home of the 1932 & 1980 Olympics). I did Pilates, because it would benefit my fast growing, unstable, and relatively uncoordinated body. And, that's what it did! It improved my coordination, balance, strength, and even flexibility. I stopped doing Pilates when I was eleven when I moved to Connecticut, and continued training there, but without the help of Pilates.

Nine years went by with no Pilates. I am now an adult that has completed high school and college. At the time I worked as a personal trainer, and was still a relatively high level athlete when my life hit a personal wall. I decided that it would be best to just get away from the situation entirely, and I chose to spend my summer training in the altitude of Lake Placid with my former coaches. While I was there I restarted training in Pilates, and gained a whole new level of appreciation for the work. I discovered that over my high school years I had developed kyphosis (a rounding and stiffening of the upper thoracic spine), combined with an incredibly unstable lower spine that hampered my posture. Pilates combated this with amazing exercises that over months worked to strengthen and stabilize my lower spine, and stretch my upper back providing it with movement that I had thought would never return.

I gained such an appreciation for the work that it was an easy decision too apply for the NYC Romana's Pilates Certification Program. The program that earned its nickname "Train with the best", and is known as the best, and hardest certification program in the world. A certification I knew offered me a chance to help make a difference in many peoples lives (just like it did for mine). And, I was right. Two years removed from starting the program, and completing my certification I now work as a Pilates instructor in Philadelphia changing the lives of people of all shapes and sizes. Some, with aspirations of becoming professional dancers, and others who aspire to just wake up each morning without back pain. Regardless, I feel a great sense of accomplishment knowing that I can make a difference with the same form of exercise that changed my life.