About Abbie

My Pilates Progression...

I started doing Pilates before my first pregnancy in 2007/2008. I found Pilates mat work helped my posture, strength, and endurance during pregnancy, and helped me get cleared to return to exercise quickly, postpartum. I used Pilates throughout two pregnancies, and was able to successfully avoid a host of problems that all too often are labeled as "normal pregnancy side effects".

In 2015, I embarked on a journey to reach a healthy weight. With the help of a fabulous naturopath, I was able to lose 50-60 lbs (I avoided getting on the scale, until I'd lost some weight, so I'm unsure as to exactly what my peak weight was before asking for help). I had carried this weight with me for 20+ years. I turned to forms of exercise that required me to stop multitasking, and just be in the moment; spinning classes and weekly Pilates mat classes became my refuge.

In 2017, my ladder collapsed as I was getting off my roof (ask me sometime for the long story), and I fell, face up, on top of the ladder; I took the brunt of the impact to my sacrum and my skull. While I had spent 10 years doing therapeutic and rehabilitative massage, treating other people's injuries, I suddenly found MYSELF recovering from my first serious injury. Lower back/sacrum pain, and long term brain fog were my main challenges. Once again, it seems Pilates found its way to me. I started taking weekly Pilates classes with a BASI Pilates instructor, Jan Marie, who taught small group classes at my chiropractor's office. Soon, she invited me to try a private training session on Pilates apparatus in the full studio where she worked. I fell in LOVE with the Pilates reformer, and signed up for reformer group classes....Jan Marie kept nudging me, "you should TEACH!" When the next BASI Pilates Instructor Training Program opened up, in October of 2019, I decided to heed Jan Marie's whispers.

Pilates is a refuge for me. It has helped me prepare for/recover from my pregnancies, gave me mental solace and helped me develop a nurturing attitude in my goal to reach a healthy weight, and most recently, aided me in recovering from a major physical injury and the brain fog that accompanies a traumatic brain incident.

I love using my background of massage therapy to analyze movement patterns and try to not only help my clients move better in the studio, but to be more aware and present in their daily lives. Wherever you are in your journey to better health, I look forward to challenging you, cheering you on, and celebrating your personal progression!