11/19/2025
Teacher & Class Spotlight: Why Julie loves Pilates!
Teaching yoga since 2006, Julie Merwin first turned to Pilates when joint laxity issues - especially with her SI joint - left her hips, psoas, and lower back chronically sore. Rock climbing, a beloved hobby, became painful. Yoga wasn’t offering relief, and everyday movement was a chore.
Frustrated, she tried a simple series of 20-minute mat Pilates classes. That's when things shifted. Within a week, her joints felt more supported, her body aligned, and she moved with greater ease. “I couldn’t believe the difference. It was like everything in my body finally knew how to work together again,” Julie shared.
Although challenging, Julie keeps the movements in her Pilates classes uncomplicated. Maintaining perfect form and keeping with the beat are NOT required. She encourages students to take it slow and rest when needed.
Drawing on a bachelor's degree in health and fitness, a competitive gymnastics background, and 20 years as an Access Consciousness Facilitator, Julie infuses her classes with balance, intuition, and empowerment.
Julie loves helping students cultivate awareness, build stability, flexibility, and a deeper connection with their bodies to develop practices that feel good and are sustainable. She’s passionate about guiding people beyond their perceived limitations and witnessing the “ah-ha” moments when something new becomes possible.
Outside the studio, Julie finds joy in the natural world. She gardens, hikes, climbs, cares for animals, and does what she can to support a sustainable planet. She is a blown-glass artist, and she loves exploring photography and textured painting techniques.
Look for Julie on the schedule teaching yoga and pilates, you're sure to love her class!
