Proper Pilates

The Proper Pilates Story

Proper Pilates has been serving Pilates clients in Hendersonville, TN and surrounding counties since 2007.

After having my first baby in 1996, I began experiencing debilitating low back pain, that often rendered me helpless, literally on the floor, and unable to get up. I had gained a lot of weight from having two additional babies by 2000, which affected my low back pain even more. I sought treatment from chiropractors and massage therapists, in addition to pain relievers, and muscle relaxers. But these seemed to only provide temporary solutions, and I would be right back in for treatment and prescriptions, over and over again. But in 2005, I discovered Mat Pilates and its amazing core and back strengthening attributes. I was amazed how strong my abs had become, and that in turn, tremendously helped to support my back. Through the practice of Pilates, in addition to strengthening my core, the powerhouse of support for the entire body, I learned how to stretch and manage muscle groups, some which were the source of my sciatica with radiating pain going all the way down from my right gluteal area, through my leg, all the way to my foot. These trials, in addition to having knee joints similar to an eighty- year- old with arthritis, sparked my fascination with Pilates and how it could be the key to living pain free, by unlocking muscle imbalances with both stretching and strengthening.

Proper Pilates was the name I decided upon for my studio, in my search to find proper Pilates form, proper Pilates technique, and safe proper Pilates modifications, not only for my own body issues, but for a myriad of varied issues that many other people experience in their bodies as well. For the first two years 2006-2008, Proper Pilates was not a real brick and mortar studio, but a humble and meager “have car will travel” with my Pilates mat, Pilates Rings and Thera-bands. So, I started by teaching Mat classes and Stretch classes at churches, health clubs, community centers, the YMCA, corporations, and resorts, as I worked to pay my way through the intense 488 hour Comprehensive Pilates Certification in Nashville, which took a year to finish. In 2009, I opened a tiny studio with a Clinical Reformer/Half Trap and Combo Chair in the guest bedroom of my home where clients and friends would take sessions from me. Shortly thereafter, a client introduced me to Dr. Cory Crowley D.C., owner of Absolute Wellness, who just happened to have a space open up in his chiropractic clinic. So, Dr. Crowley, a visionary who saw the benefit of Pilates as a complement to chiropractic, massage, acupuncture, and other fitness modalities, kindly and enthusiastically let me move into the extra room in his practice on Main Street in Hendersonville, TN. After a year of many logged hours and a TN Health Related Board Exam, I had earned my Chiropractic Therapy Assistant License (CTA) through the state, which allows me to legally work with chiropractic patients, utilizing Pilates based chiropractic physical therapy. To the best of my knowledge, I was the first Comprehensive Pilates Instructor who had become a CTA in the state, and I still may be the only one.

My personal journey to health and wellness has had it’s challenges since 2013 when I was diagnosed with Mixed Connective Tissue Disease (MCTD), also called Sharp’s Syndrome, which is an overlap of autoimmune diseases, including lupus, fibromyalgia, scleroderma, polymyositis, sjogren’s syndrome, reynaud’s syndrome, and rheumatoid arthritis. It’s a confusing disease, and I was hoping the tests were wrong. But to my surprise, it was confirmed three separate times with ANA blood tests. Thankfully, none of these autoimmune diseases are full blown, and some of them haven't fully presented themselves yet. However, several of them flare up from time to time. But I am one-hundred-percent certain, that being vigilant with a supreme mostly organic lifestyle diet, managing stress, getting adequate sleep, and practicing Pilates are all the keys to health, longevity, and pain free living. Although, I am disappointed I have this struggle with MCTD, I truly understand when someone tells me they have an autoimmune disease. Since I have experienced and struggled with many of these issues within my own body, as well as managing them, I am able to help others to gain that same relief, as well as mange it naturally, or to complement their current treatment if they choose.

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