What is Pilates?
Pilates is an exercise system developed by Joseph Pilates in the early part of the 20th century to strengthen muscles, increase flexibility and improve overall health. Exercises are performed on a mat and on specially designed equipment. The Pilates system includes exercises for every part of the body and applications for every kind of activity.
Pilates focuses on engaging the mind with the body to create exercises that involve the whole body. Every exercise is performed with attention to the breath, proper form and efficient movement patterns. Pilates strengthens the core, improves balance, increases coordination and decreases stress. The exercises are safe, low impact and appropriate for anyone. Pilates focuses on learning to move better so the benefits are felt in sports and every day life.
Pilates focuses on engaging the mind with the body to create exercises that involve the whole body. Every exercise is performed with attention to the breath, proper form and efficient movement patterns. Pilates strengthens the core, improves balance, increases coordination and decreases stress. The exercises are safe, low impact and appropriate for anyone. Pilates focuses on learning to move better so the benefits are felt in sports and every day life.
Benefits
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Owner/Instructor
Kellie Loomis grew up in South Florida and has always enjoyed an active lifestyle playing sports in school, running, swimming, and biking. After becoming a stay-at-home mom, she decided to explore Pilates on her own through online videos. She was instantly hooked on the method, but found she was looking for more. She began to take regular sessions at local studios and as the weeks passed she developed a better understanding of the method, felt better overall, and began to see remarkable changes in her own body—improved posture, flexibility, and balance; stronger core; leaner muscles; and decreased stress. As a former Certified National Athletic Trainer (care and prevention of athletic injuries), she saw how Pilates allowed clients to work therapeutically as well as for fitness and decided to become a Pilates instructor to share the benefits of Pilates with others. She is comprehensively trained on mat, Reformer, Cadillac, chair and barrels through Balanced Body. Kellie enjoys helping her clients improve strength and flexibility, increase mobility and reduce pain, and increase their overall quality and enjoyment of life through Pilates. She has experience helping clients with osteoporosis/osteopenia, total knee replacements, hip replacements, pre/post natal, diastasis recti, herniated or bulging discs, arthritis, scoliosis, sponydylolysis, spondylolisthesis, stenosis, and other spinal and orthopedic conditions.
Kellie was a scholarship tennis player at Indian River Community College and the University of Montana. Kellie obtained her B.S. in Health and Human Performance, with an emphasis in Athletic Training and continued working with student-athletes as a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer at Clemson while she earned her M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling Services. She went on to become the Head Athletic Trainer at Queens University in Charlotte, NC. She currently lives in Cary, NC with her husband Brett, their two active boys William and Jack, and their two rescue dogs Barley and Lexie.
Kellie was a scholarship tennis player at Indian River Community College and the University of Montana. Kellie obtained her B.S. in Health and Human Performance, with an emphasis in Athletic Training and continued working with student-athletes as a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer at Clemson while she earned her M.Ed. in Guidance and Counseling Services. She went on to become the Head Athletic Trainer at Queens University in Charlotte, NC. She currently lives in Cary, NC with her husband Brett, their two active boys William and Jack, and their two rescue dogs Barley and Lexie.
Instructor
Jeannie Game was an All State Cross Country runner for all four years of high school and ran briefly in college, before a knee injury ended her running career. Jeannie has worked with runners with a variety of injuries, as well as new mother's with issues such as diastasis recti, clients recovering from a variety of surgeries including joint replacements, and clients with chronic issues such as scoliosis, arthritis, osteopenia and osteoporosis, sciatic nerve pain and back pain. She graduated from The Pilates Center's Advanced Teacher Training Program (a 950 hour training program) completed in March 2015 and has taught private lessons, semi-private lessons, equipment classes and mat classes at a variety of Pilates studios. Jeannie is a Pilates Method Alliance Certified Pilates Teacher, and she believes in the effectiveness of Pilates in helping to reduce muscle and flexibility imbalances, thus improving overall wellness, reducing injuries, and improving performance and longevity in athletes.
Instructor
Amy Murray has 15 years of experience teaching Pilates. She is comprehensively certified through Power Pilates and the Pilates Method Alliance. Her passion for Pilates began in 2002 when she took her first mat class and was amazed at what a great workout it was, and how great she felt afterward. She completed the Power Pilates Mat teacher training in 2003, and continued her training with the Comprehensive Equipment Training with Power Pilates in 2004.
After teaching Pilates for 10 years, Amy decided to expand her teaching horizons and completed her 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training with InnerLight Yoga school. She has since been teaching Vinyasa style yoga classes, as well as a weekly Chair Yoga class. She is currently pursuing her 300 hr advanced Yoga teacher training at Asheville Yoga Center.
Amy is originally from Ohio, where she attended Bowling Green State University, and earned a degree in Health Information Management. Outside of the studio, Amy enjoys cycling, yoga, swimming, hiking, SUP (stand-up paddle boarding), and spending time with family and friends.
Amy truly believes that “movement heals”, and that Pilates can bring your body back into balance and optimal functioning. She teaches with compassion and a sincere interest in making clients feel great by creating length and strength in their bodies. She looks forward to challenging you in fun and creative ways on the Pilates equipment.
After teaching Pilates for 10 years, Amy decided to expand her teaching horizons and completed her 200 hr Yoga Teacher Training with InnerLight Yoga school. She has since been teaching Vinyasa style yoga classes, as well as a weekly Chair Yoga class. She is currently pursuing her 300 hr advanced Yoga teacher training at Asheville Yoga Center.
Amy is originally from Ohio, where she attended Bowling Green State University, and earned a degree in Health Information Management. Outside of the studio, Amy enjoys cycling, yoga, swimming, hiking, SUP (stand-up paddle boarding), and spending time with family and friends.
Amy truly believes that “movement heals”, and that Pilates can bring your body back into balance and optimal functioning. She teaches with compassion and a sincere interest in making clients feel great by creating length and strength in their bodies. She looks forward to challenging you in fun and creative ways on the Pilates equipment.
Instructor
Lara Torgesen received her 600-hr Comprehensive Apparatus training through Power Pilates and is nationally certified through the Pilates Method Alliance. She’s worked with clients who suffer from arthritis, bulging discs, degenerative disc disease, Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, fibromyalgia, joint hypermobility syndrome, lupus, osteoporosis/osteopenia, plantar fasciitis, scoliosis, and tendonitis, among other conditions. A former avid distance runner and marathoner, Lara found her way into Pilates after a debilitating running injury that required reconstructive surgery on her foot and ankle, leaving her in chronic pain and barely able to walk. Post-surgical scar tissue, arthritis, and frequent subluxations made returning to distance running unfeasible, but she found she could fill that exercise gap with Pilates.
She started her rehabilitation with mat Pilates and immediately noticed an increase in her core strength and stamina, but she initially avoided the room of Pilates equipment resembling a “torture chamber”. However, after braving her first equipment session, she was hooked! Each time she finished an equipment session, she felt stronger, taller, and more centered both mentally and physically. In fact, by incorporating regular Pilates practice into her own life, she has noted increased muscle strength, better body alignment, lessening of joint pain and instability from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, as well as reduced scoliosis curvature. Experiencing the benefits of Pilates in her own practice has made her even more eager to share these benefits with her clients.
Lara is a former technical writer, editor, and published author. She’s a westerner at heart (from Colorado, California, and Utah) who still misses the mountains—the real mountains. Lara has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in women’s studies. She lives in Cary with her family.
She started her rehabilitation with mat Pilates and immediately noticed an increase in her core strength and stamina, but she initially avoided the room of Pilates equipment resembling a “torture chamber”. However, after braving her first equipment session, she was hooked! Each time she finished an equipment session, she felt stronger, taller, and more centered both mentally and physically. In fact, by incorporating regular Pilates practice into her own life, she has noted increased muscle strength, better body alignment, lessening of joint pain and instability from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, as well as reduced scoliosis curvature. Experiencing the benefits of Pilates in her own practice has made her even more eager to share these benefits with her clients.
Lara is a former technical writer, editor, and published author. She’s a westerner at heart (from Colorado, California, and Utah) who still misses the mountains—the real mountains. Lara has a B.A. in English and an M.A. in women’s studies. She lives in Cary with her family.
Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness.
Joseph Pilates
Blue Sky Pilates proudly uses Pilates (or CoreAlign) equipment by Balanced Body.
