Your Instructor

Hi, I’m Liz:

• Mindfulness practitioner and wellness enthusiast
• Life-long learner, fascinated by human anatomy
• Movement educator, inspired by helping others

Many years ago, I fractured my hip in a car accident. I remember it well: Getting up from the couch was excruciating. Navigating on crutches was exhausting. The embarrassment of being lowered into the bathtub and fetched again afterwards… at 16, oh my goodness! It was the 90s and physical therapy wasn’t yet in it’s heyday, at least not in my town. Young and resilient, I was told to carry on and it would heal on its own. True, it did… but not very well.

The pain subsided but over time, my hip began to grumble. Walking wasn’t a problem but a slight turn of the leg was a bit of a chore. You could almost hear it creak-creak-creaking.

Today, it continues to be a work in progress. Ignore it and it’s not happy. Overuse it and it’s even grumpier. My Pilates education has taught me that during recovery, new tissue is developed and its elasticity is dependent on the directions it is moved in. Walking forward (as we usually do) created the flexibility for my hip’s forward motion. Moving my leg from side to side or in a circular motion was not part of my rehabilitation and as a result, my movement is limited. Working against hardened scar tissue isn’t easy and I may never recover full range of motion. Pilates helps and I am at my best when doing it consistently.

The simple truth? At some point in the healing process, there must be movement. If I had known to move my leg in a variety of directions as it was healing, I probably wouldn’t be talking about it now. It wouldn’t have taken much – just varied movement, early on. Lesson learned, I now prescribe restorative exercise for people recovering from injuries and better yet, preventative exercise to avoid injuries. It’s why I’m here today, advocating movement as medicine.

I’ve arrived here alongside a 20-year career in adult education and instructional design, bringing a curiosity and wonder for how our bodies work. The body may be complex and that’s a good thing because it is a very thoughtful design. What I know for sure is that the basic concepts of human anatomy and exercise science are:

• vital to our well-being.
• learnable, when clearly presented.
• actionable, with established principles that we can each apply.

Yes! It’s time we learn more about this incredible body that we inhabit, after all… we are in it for life.

I wholeheartedly believe that Pilates is one of the most intelligent forms of exercise available. And, I genuinely want to share my knowledge and enthusiasm so that you, too, can witness its amazing effect. I’m honoured to have you here – thank you.