Why did you start taking Pilates classes?
I was a dancer and part of our company training was daily mat classes and weekly Iyengar yoga classes!
What inspired you to become a Certified Peak Pilates Instructor and then a Peak Pilates Master Instructor?
When Peak Pilates decided to open an educational division Julie Lobdell, then owner of Peak, contacted me and asked me to join the development team. Working with Colleen Glenn and Clare was all about sharing our passion, vision – and the dream of creating the best Pilates education in the world! I am still active today teaching 20 hours a week, developing and leading courses for Peak, and coaching and training the MI/Instructor Trainers.
What do you love about teaching Pilates classes?
I love that Pilates creates a framework for addressing the entire body. You can go deep into one body part and then integrate that into the whole body.
What is your favorite apparatus?
Toss up between ladder barrel and Cadillac!
What makes Pilates such a great workout?
The focus and flow!
What advice would you give to someone who is thinking about becoming a Certified Peak Pilates Instructor?
Stay on top of assignments, prepare, don’t get behind in your hours. The reality is the more on top of things you are the greater your ability to absorb HOW to teach rather than worrying about what exercise comes next! Do your homework and ask for help if you need strategies to learn!
Share a memory from your experience as a teacher/coach/presenter that embodies the value of being a Certified Peak Pilates Instructor or Peak Pilates Master Instructor.
I had a student come into me for evaluation to join a group I was teaching at a physical therapy center. She walked with hand crutches and was in pain constantly. I knew group mat was not the way and so we started full session privates. In a few months, I was giving her a lesson and a group of new Level I teachers was observing- they didn’t know she had been injured by watching her. She shared her story which totally illustrates the power of teaching and trusting the system.
What’s one of your favorite motivational quotes?
“Here is my secret. It is very simple. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; What is essential is invisible to the eye”. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
To me this quote addresses the fact that we teach the entire person- not just the physical being we ‘see’ with our eyes. We need to see with our hearts, our hands, our minds!
Do you have a hero in the Pilates community, someone who deserves recognition for their leadership?
Mary Bowen is one of my mentors. I credit her with teaching me to trust my intuition, to find my own voice. Also Colleen Glenn, who originally certified me and is super intuitive herself!
Is there anything about you that would surprise people?
I was a Marine! The first female to train male troops in physical training!
List relevant professional certifications in health and fitness (define acronyms):
MSC Exercise Science, Peak Pilates Comprehensive Instructor, Pilates Systems Comprehensive Instructor, PMA, Jivamukti Certified Yoga Instructor, ACE Group Exercise
What year did you join the Peak Pilates Master Instructor Team?
1999 as a member of the Educational Team
Confirm your location (city and country OR city and state if you are in the United States):
Haymarket, VA
Where do you teach Pilates classes and/or Pilates Certifications/ Continuing Education workshops:
Life Time Athletics Reston and out of my home!
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