Joe and Me Pilates

I am a teacher. Professionally, there is nothing else that I’d rather be.

Movement came to my life at a young age as an attempt by my mother to help me improve my breathing problems. All my childhood I suffered from severe asthma and breathing-related allergies. Dance, swimming lessons and very caring parents helped me to overcome the limitations of my condition.

As a dance teacher I’ve started to see movement with different eyes. There wasn’t only poetry and hard work but the mechanics and the different strategies that the human body creates for executing a movement. Pilates came to my life, as to many other dancers, as a way to condition and help me manage my injuries. The need to understand how to improve my own movement lead to a greater project:  becoming a pilates teacher.

I’ve been teaching since 2000, seems like a long time but you need a lifetime to understand the brilliance of this technique! This practice is so specific, the modifications that are required according to the characteristics of each individual can be so subtle. It demands commitment, lots of study, patience and intense practice.

I put a lot into my work. However, what I receive from it is even more. For that I’m thankful to my parents for the example of dedication, my wonderful teachers for inspiring me in many ways and my students for making going to work a pleasure every day!

Eneida Marques