HI! My name is Gretchen and I LOVE Pilates! I know that may sound goofy or insincere, but it is true. Pilates has allowed me to heal from injury, feel strong and confident in my body, and push myself to new levels of skill and endurance. Since I found Pilates it has always been a saving grace for me and my ability to maintain my desired level of fitness. My first introduction to Pilates was through a Gaim DVD with Ana Caban that I would follow every day as my newborn son laid on a blanket on the floor beside me. This way of doing Pilates saved me from the stress of being a new mom, far away from my family, with no real way to easily get to the gym to work out. I memorized that DVD and took the notes with me when we moved to the Dominican Republic, continuing my Pilates practice there. After moving back to the US, and finding myself teaching Pilates, I used it as a form of rehabilitation after injuries from teaching weightlifting classes. Unfortunately, I was unable to find a PT that truly addressed my injuries but was able to fine-tune my Pilates practice to help to heal my body and muscle imbalances over time. I have never found another form of exercise that can accomplish such a feat. Now it is 2020 and through quarantines and shut-downs, I have managed to maintain my strength, heal running injuries, and spread the joy of Pilates through live stream and pre-recorded classes. I honestly do not know where I would be without Pilates and I will be forever grateful for the discovery I made back in the day.
When I am not thinking about, and doing Pilates, what am I doing? I am a mom of two busy teenage boys and the wife of an amazing and caring dad and civil engineer! I have been working on becoming a better runner and cook. In my spare time, I love to travel, read, try new recipes, knit, and sing. Growing up I played piano, flute, and sang in the choir that my dad was the director of in high school and continued to sing through college. I was in ballet, jazz, and tap and I ran the 100M and 300M hurdles in high school. I grew up all over Washington state and attended Washington State University. I met my husband in Seattle, Washington and after our wedding, we moved to Monterrey, Mexico. I have lived not only in Mexico, but also in the Dominican Republic, Houston, Texas, and Idaho Falls, Idaho. I love to ski, hike, and camp. We also have a dog, Sugar, who we adopted from the Colorado Prison Dogs program. My family still lives in Washington state and my husband’s family lives in Texas and Mexico so we find ourselves traveling a great deal to visit them. My boys are involved in Boy Scouts and Diego achieved his Eagle Scout in January of 2020. Andres is a Life Scout and will soon be working on his Eagle Scout project. Both Diego and Andres run, play soccer, and love to ski. Andres is a musician as well and enjoys learning trumpet, guitar, and drums. Diego is an aspiring pilot and is working on flight lessons to earn his pilot license.
In the midst of all of this, I teach Pilates and try to bring a work/life balance to everything I do.