In a world where we are more disconnected than ever, the best place to rebuild connection is to start from within.
I was born and raised in Southern California. I grew up in the Inland Empire—Riverside to be exact. I was always a very curious child but also cautious and observant. I always had a lot of anxiety and the idea of being the center of anyone’s attention was (and sometimes still is) a green light for anxiety to take the wheel. I grew up venturing to the beach or the mountains and sometimes a little more inland to the desert. I had the very good fortune of being able to live a lot of my life playing outdoors. The beach was always my favorite place; I never felt stressed or anxious. The healing heat of the sun, the soothing sounds of the waves, everyone around was always happy. I always knew I would move to the beach so while a junior at Cal Poly Pomona college, I secured a job bartending in Orange County and moved to Huntington Beach, CA.
While attending college I discovered my love for Pilates. In 2008 I stumbled into my first Reformer Pilates class while living in HB, and it was love at first class! I was SO exhausted but so incredibly energized—how could that even be possible?! Thats the key about Pilates, you always feel great leaving, no matter how hard the class may kick your ass. I spent the next several years attending Pilates classes 3x a week. I had tried internships for Dietetics while in college and quickly realized I did not want to be in a hospital. After graduating, I became a General Manager for a well known national chain restaurant and spent 2 years with them. During that time, I was working a closing shift the day before Fathers Day in 2015 and was still at the store very late trying to push out my team schedule when the restaurant was broken into and my ATM was stolen from the front lobby while I was standing right there as a human shield for one of the team members on the cleaning crew. It was a horrible thing to experience but I thank God that I was not hurt nor forced to get into the safe in the office. I suffered a nervous breakdown though as a result. I spent a lot of time off work to recover my nervous system. I did not sleep well or eat well during that time, but I did do a lot of Pilates. It was the most consistent I was with my practice leading up to that point. I decided I never needed to be working anywhere at 4AM anymore.
It was eight years of Pilates classes before I decided to take the plunge into fitness and retire from the hospitality industry. I became a Certified Pilates Instructor through BASI Pilates Academy in Newport Beach, CA in 2017. Learning ignites my fire! And was there a LOT to learn and relearn. I got to nerd out on anatomy, biomechanics, and physics, all through the lens of movement in Pilates exercises. Sixteen years into my adventure with Pilates, I am still as obsessively in love. Why? Because Pilates is a system of exercises that incorporates the body as a whole through meaningful movement. It is a healing mind-body modality that makes you feel incredibly strong and stable, yet nimble, light and empowered. Injury does not happen to one specific system in the body and healing does not happen alone either.
I moved to Columbus in 2016 with my then fiancé now husband, Paul. We were dating at the time when my restaurant was robbed and he is the prime inspiration for my becoming a Pilates instructor. He encouraged me to look into teaching others something that I cherished receiving. I am so incredibly thankful for his support. He is an Ohio boy and wanted to be closer to family after his father’s passing early into our relationship. And after the restaurant incident, I was ready for a big change. So… why not change careers and leave behind my home state for something new? 😛
I bring to central Ohio the knowledge I have built upon, to help develop a strong Pilates community. I’ve been spreading Pilates love all over Columbus since moving here in 2016 and now it’s your turn! I incorporate my understanding of the body from continued education, my client feedback and response, as well as what I have experienced in my personal practice. I was put on God’s green Earth to empower people to feel more connected to their bodies through movement. In a world where we are more disconnected than ever, the best place to rebuild connection is to start from within.
I am here to share my passion for Pilates with you!
View comments
+ Leave a comment