Reflections on my Pilates Immersion Week in Portland, Maine. Part One.
Portland, Maine
An immersive week with The Pilates Center teachers
It’s so hard to put into words how amazing my summer visit to the States was, working with such phenomenal, world-class teachers. Just as Joseph Pilates called his original work, it was a true “Return to Life" for me. It was an intense but utterly revitalizing week, surrounded by these incredible teachers and teachers-turned-students for the week!
The setting was just perfect. Our home for the week was the fantastic Springboard Pilates with its amazing owner and teachers: Meredith Coffin, Ash Salisbury and David Reese. They're celebrating 20 years of Pilates in Portland, and it was such a treat to work with an institution like this and see firsthand how The Pilates Center (TPC) produces such world-class teachers.
Speaking of world class - what an honour it was to work with Amy Taylor Alpers again. I last saw and worked with her in London back in 2018.
Co-founder of The Pilates Center, Amy received her Pilates training at the original NYC Pilates studio with her sister Rachel Taylor Segel, under Romana Kryzanowska, Joseph Pilates’ protégé and inheritor of his NYC studio. Little did they know, but they would play a significant role in the rebirth of the industry as well as become an integral part of Pilates history.
The Pilates Center was founded in Boulder in 1990 by sisters Amy Taylor Alpers and Rachel Taylor Segel. Amy and Rachel have worked to foster the legacy and tradition of the original, classical method of Pilates while also incorporating a humanistic approach to meet every individual’s needs. Their mission to "heal the world by empowering people to transform their health and Return to Life" through Pilates is just so inspiring.
I also had the absolute privilege to work with other incredible teachers from TPC including Kelli Burkhalter Hutchins, Kaile Larson Ziemba and Leah Wecksler. I was blown away by their passion, clarity, care and ease of their cueing. So much of the week felt so gratifying - it confirmed and validated everything I feel about Pilates and was such a great reminder that we are all forever students. It was truly a special few days.
Photos below taken by yours truly from Springboard Pilates, Maine.
My schedule
Over five days I dove into twenty hours of workshops not to mention taking and observing classes.
It was invigorating and all-encompassing! Every time I walked into the studio it was buzzing with teaching, discovery and joy. You can get a feel for it below with this short video clip.
You know me - I always love to share anecdotes and stories from other teachers as I really feel it enriches your understanding of the method.
