About Emilie

Based in North San Diego County, I have been teaching Pilates since 2008. My Comprehensive Pilates Certification was earned after completing the 800+ hours of Romana Kryzanowska's teacher training program, Romana's Pilates® in NYC. Certified in Yamuna® Body Rolling (YBR), I also provide myofascial release services. Additionally, I completed the TRX Suspension Training course, Power Plate training, as well as Lisa Danylchuk's Yoga for Trauma (Y4T) certification course. During my years serving as Director of Continuing Education at re:AB Pilates in NYC, I was fortunate to participate in 100 hours of additional anatomy-based training and continue my education with yearly workshops as directed by advancements exercise science and my clients’ needs.

PILATES INSTRUCTION

It was by fluke that I discovered the benefits of Pilates. After taking a mat Pilates class at Equinox for the first time, I noticed a remarkable relief from my constant, underlying anxiety. As I continued to go back to classes, I noticed a reduction in pain stemming from bilateral hip labral tears and scoliosis. The physical and mental changes I felt due to my regular Pilates practice created this intuitive calling to pursue Pilates professionally and became an instructor. The motivations to teach being: to guide people toward realizing the full extent to which they have power over their own whole-body strength and well-being; and to share the mental and physical freedom one can experience from incorporating Pilates into your fitness program.

It was not until after many years of practicing and teaching Pilates that I realized the method was benefiting on a deeper level: the movement was down-regulating the persistent fight/flight/freeze state I was in due to being violently sexually assaulted. Pilates was aiding in my recovery. Unwittingly, I found in Pilates a way to safely reconnect with my body, unwind the protective armor of immobile connective tissue (fascia) I had developed over the years, and ground myself through the reliability of my physical strength. Years of repressed suffering preceded the relief I stumbled upon in my Pilates practice. Through Pilates, I became aware of that I lost my true self in the aftermath of the assault, but Pilates also revealed that my original blueprint was still within me and could be accessed. As painful memories and sensations rose to the surface, I began to process what had happened to me. They rose to the surface through practicing Pilates, but also when teaching Pilates because I began to recognize trauma as being to the root cause of physical limitations in my clients. This changed my approach to teaching, with the changes all being again intuitive and ultimately, holistically effective. However, I did not want to solely rely on my intuition when teaching those with unprocessed, physically limiting past trauma. I devoted myself to understanding and providing body-based modalities as complementary services for trauma healing.

NERVOUS SYSTEM-INFORMED TEACHING + CONSULTING

To gain a deeper understanding of psychological trauma and its effects, I have participated in retreats and trainings led by Dr. Bessel van der Kolk and Dr. Peter Levine, and, as mentioned, successfully completed Lisa Danylchuk's Yoga for Trauma (Y4T) certification course. I have a Master of Arts in Integrative Health Studies from the California Institute of Integral Studies, where my studies focused on the neurobiology of trauma and the application of somatic therapies. Using my education and personal experience, I began to adapt trauma-informed yoga to Pilates. Due to my insatiable curiosity, I continue to research body-based techniques for nervous-system regulation, including the effects of biotechnology on optimizing functionality (biohacking). I now provide research-supported, nervous system-informed Pilates teacher training, as well as continuing education and consulting to certified teachers. My heart lies in teaching clients one-on-one, but I am only one person, and the more I can educate my cohorts, the further the reach of relief can be.

The nervous-informed training I provide does set aside specific emphasis on sexual trauma considerations. Though clients are unlikely to disclose past sexual trauma, with 1 in 5 women being sexual assault survivors, all movement teachers will, with certainty, work with this population. It is our responsibility to teach bodies that have been sexually victimized without triggering them. The connection to my body provided by my Pilates practice has physically and mentally empowered me. Yet I have taken a more than one Pilates session or class that has triggered me into paralysis. A Pilates class taught by a "Master” Pilates instructor caused a panic attack so severe that I became physically ill before I could get out of the studio. In a private session with another “Master” Pilates instructor, she continued to comment on my trembling/shaking in between exercises. Trembling during exercise is a neurogenic response indicative of your body releasing stored stress and tension, which traumatized individuals tend to have. It is a normal self-regulating response and ideally should be normalized by the teacher - not called out, questioned, or fought. When you teach physical movement, you are conversing directly with the nervous system. What I provide in my teaching and continuing education training is the unspoken language of the nervous system. Balanced strength and flexibility is only an option when there is balance in the nervous system.

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In addition to working with those with post-trauma obstacles (including PTSD and C-PTSD), I teach those with disc herniations, scoliosis, arthritis, fibromyalgia, rheumatoid arthritis, muscle/ligament tears or strain, kyphosis, lordosis, digestive issues, plantar fasciitis, heel spurs, dislocated joints, labrum tears, thyroid issues, tightness due to scar tissue and/or adhesions, vertigo, stenosis, sciatica, anxiety-related tension, hip dysplasia, chronic muscle cramping, multiple sclerosis, adrenal fatigue & burnout, among other conditions. I am trained to teach both pre- & post-natal women. I teach people of all ages. I am a volunteer Sexual Assault Response Team (SART) member in North San Diego County. My undergraduate degree is from Sarah Lawrence College. Before moving to California in 2016, I spent 15 years living in New York City, where I first started teaching Pilates to survivors of sexual trauma - completely by chance at first.

Through a strong body, comes a liberated life★