About

When I took my first Pilates class in 1999, it was not love at first teaser. Actually, I gave it up shortly after. But in 2002, I was diagnosed with MS, and my doctor recommended I try yoga or Pilates because I couldn’t run anymore (that’s part of my MS story, but it doesn’t happen to everyone with MS). I still wanted to work out, so I started doing a lot of yoga, and I got pretty good at it. But I also kept hurting my shoulder and my unstable sacrum, so I did Pilates to get better. Ultimately, Pilates stuck, and I fell in love.

I started teaching in 2003, and in 2005, I had developed my signature style (Fuse Pilates). I opened my first studio in 2010. In 2013, on the request of a teacher I admire greatly, I developed the first 3-day Pilates for  Neurological Conditions course. It’s changed a lot over the years, as I learn more with every student and course I teach (plus all those google alerts I have set up to make sure I stay on top of neuroscience and exercise).

I have studied medical neuroscience and spent countless personal hours in neurophysical therapy. I have had MS for nearly all of my adult life, and I’ve experienced almost every issue to some degree or another. It’s been my best training - although, admittedly, my least favorite. 

I have worked with clients with both relapsing-remitting and progressive MS, Stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Charcot-Marie-Tooth, ALS, spinal cord injury, and other neurological conditions. I’ve also trained Navy SEALS, former Olympians, and students with everything from osteoporosis and Ehler’s Danlos to those who have a desire to do a handstand or run Tough Mudder. I like to mix it up - all of my students are great teachers. 

In a weird turn of life events, fitness and health became my job. I spent a lot of time in elementary school trying to get out of gym class, yet I have owned 3 Pilates studios, run teacher trainings around the world, and have created a fitness apparatus called the Fuse Ladder. I have also been a guest teacher on Pilates Anytime since 2013. I sold my studio to one of my fabulous students in 2020 to focus on all of my other things that didn’t involve brick and mortar.

My first training was with Power Pilates, and then I kept going with Balanced Body, Peak Pilates, PureBarre, and ultimately a comprehensive certification with BASI. I was fortunate to have followed that up with a three year mentorship with Master Instructor Julian Littleford before he passed. I have also had hundreds of hours of classical Pilates training with Romana and Jay Grimes trained teachers. I’ve taken dozens of workshops and continuing education. Today, my favorite workouts combine strength and gymnastics trainings with Pilates. And, obviously, I love to do those the most on the Fuse Ladder and through The Neuro Studio. 

Other than the above, I’m a dog mom of 3, an avid reader averaging well over 100 books a year, a wife with a patient husband, a Netflix junkie, a fan of halloumi cheese and most things crunchy, and a dual citizen – U.S. and the Netherlands.