Carissa Fernandez Of Club Pilates On How Pilates Can Improve Your Health and Wellbeing

An Interview With Maria Angelova

Stress Reducer: Pilates reduces stress on the body and mind. The practice of Pilates focuses on the syncopation of breath and movement, and this practice helps to calm the mind and fuel the body.

Pilates was invented around 100 years ago, and it is becoming an increasingly popular form of exercise. What exactly is Pilates? How is it different from other modalities like Yoga or Tai Chi? What are the benefits of Pilates? Who can most benefit from it? In this interview series, we are talking to Pilates professionals & practitioners who can talk about how Pilates can improve your health and wellbeing. As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Carissa Fernandez.

Carissa Fernandez is a comprehensively certified Pilates instructor who has been teaching various fitness modalities for over ten years. She is a Club Pilates Master Trainer and currently resides in Denver, Colorado. In addition to teaching Pilates, she is an avid traveler and loves to explore new places.

Thank you so much for joining us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your ‘backstory’?

I started doing yoga and Pilates when I was in high school after an injury that left me unable to finish out the Field Hockey season. I quickly fell in love with the gentle, therapeutic, and mindful movement that are the pillars of these practices, leading me to continue these exercises throughout college and graduate school. After earning my Master’s degree in Nonprofit Management, I attended a yoga teacher training in Mexico. Once I completed the training, I returned to the United States, started teaching movement and haven’t looked back. Since 2012, I have completed the Balanced Body comprehensive Pilates certification, as well as TRX, Barre Above, and Trigger Point certifications. I find immense joy and fulfillment in the career I chose, helping people move and feel better.

Can you share with us the most interesting story from your career? Can you tell us what lessons or ‘takeaways’ you learned from that?

It might not be the most interesting story of my career, but it is a recurring moment that always makes me feel proud of what I do when it happens. Recently my client of six months, who is in her 80s and new to Pilates, brought her daughter who was visiting into our session. Her daughter was so excited to meet me and thank me for the increased quality of life she has been witnessing in her mother. She said her mother was happier, standing taller and didn’t have the same aches and pains she once complained about. Both her and her mother attributed it to her time with me practicing Pilates and I was so grateful to receive this feedback. Those kinds of interactions and results are the reason I teach Pilates.

You are a successful leader. Which three character traits do you think were most instrumental to your success? Can you please share a story or example for each?

My success as a leader can be attributed to three key character traits: determination, adaptability and a willingness to learn.

1. Determination: When I first started teaching, I grappled with a lack of confidence. However, my determination to get it right motivated me to keep going. I continued engaging with my clients, building connections, and gradually, this perseverance made me more comfortable over time.
2. Adaptability: The challenges posed by the pandemic and the events of 2020 made me realize that being adaptable was important. With this in mind, I embraced a proactive approach and recognized the need to make the studio more flexible to accommodate people’s evolving situations.
3. Willingness to Learn: Post-2020, I actively sought out ways I could offer more resources to my clients. This led me to a pivotal decision to return to school to train and become a Health and Wellness Coach. By acquiring new skills and knowledge, I not only enhanced my own capabilities but also expanded the resources I could offer to my clients. A successful leader always seeks out new knowledge and skills in order to improve their craft.

Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that might help people?

This year, I will be hosting my first Pilates retreat with a fellow passionate Pilates instructor in Sag Harbor, New York. I am very excited to share my love of Pilates with others and create community around this practice. I think it is so important for people to connect, relate, and move with others.

Ok, thank you for all that. Now let’s shift to the main focus of our interview about Pilates. To begin, can you tell our readers a bit about why you are an authority on the topic of Pilates?

Having been teaching and learning Pilates for over 15 years, I am constantly gaining new knowledge and experience as I work with more and differing clientele. Serving as a Master Trainer at Club Pilates and hosting teacher trainings nationwide has afforded me the opportunity to share my love and passion for Pilates on a broader scale where I can help guide people towards a new career in helping others.

Let’s start with a basic definition so that we are all on the same page. What exactly is Pilates?

Pilates is a system of exercise that was created by Joseph Pilates. It focuses on specific movement principles, such as centering, balance, and control. It integrates core strengthening and spinal mobilization to help the body move better.

How is Pilates different from other movement modalities that you have practiced?

Pilates can be performed with many different types of apparatus or on a mat. The apparatus can help you strengthen your practice by giving you the assistance or resistance you may be lacking on the mat.

On a personal level, what are the biggest benefits that you have gained from regular Pilates practice?

My regular Pilates practice has helped me to increase my range of motion in certain activities, maintain better posture and stay pain free in most daily movements. It also provides me with much needed stress relief and helps me sleep better at night.

Who do you think can most benefit from Pilates?

Pilates is for everybody! No matter your age or ailments, Pilates can add more mobility and strength to your life.

Pilates can sometimes be expensive. Can you share with our readers your perspectives on why Pilates is worth its costs?

Pilates instructors who are passionate about their craft never stop learning. A knowledgeable instructor who can look at a person’s body and listen to their story, then create a program designed to help them move and feel better is invaluable. Finding an instructor who can do that is worth its weight in gold when considering how great your body is going to feel as a result of their education.

Based on your research or experience, can you please share your “5 Ways That Pilates Can Improve Your Health and Wellbeing”?

1. Better Sleep: Pilates helps you sleep better at night. Research shows that people who engage in regular exercise fall asleep faster and sleep for longer.
2. Improved Core Strength: Pilates helps you maintain good posture and move in a pain free manner. Pilates improves your core strength, which helps support your spine to stand taller and helps your body move more efficiently. A stronger core also helps with correcting compensation patterns, an alternative movement pattern employed by the body when the normal movement becomes unviable.
3. Improved Mental Strength: Pilates improves your mind body connection as it requires the brain to think through slow controlled movements. This leads to improved coordination and balance.
4. Stress Reducer: Pilates reduces stress on the body and mind. The practice of Pilates focuses on the syncopation of breath and movement, and this practice helps to calm the mind and fuel the body.
5. Improved Flexibility: Pilates helps to improve your range of motion and flexibility over time. Specifically, it focuses on moving in your muscles and staying out of the joints, which increases tone and lengthening of the muscles to help the body stay agile.

In my own Pilates practice, I stress the importance of precision in Pilates. Based on your experiences and research, what are your thoughts about why precision is important in Pilates?

Precision is important in Pilates because you want to adapt the movements to your own body to avoid any injury or compensation patterns in your body. Knowing where the movement should be coming from and where it should be felt is important to maintaining the mind/body connection as well.

You are a person of enormous influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)

I would love to help make physical fitness and mindfulness practices more attainable for everyone. I think bringing yoga and Pilates into schools and wellness programs is a great way for everyone to be exposed to them.

What is the best way for our readers to continue to follow your work online?

• Website: https://ebbandflowyogapilates.com
• Instagram: @ebbandflowyogapilates
• YouTube: www.youtube.com/@ebbandflowyogaandpilates9720

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for the time you spent on this. We wish you only continued success.

About The Interviewer: Maria Angelova, MBA is a disruptor, author, motivational speaker, body-mind expert, Pilates teacher and founder and CEO of Rebellious Intl. As a disruptor, Maria is on a mission to change the face of the wellness industry by shifting the self-care mindset for consumers and providers alike. As a mind-body coach, Maria’s superpower is alignment which helps clients create a strong body and a calm mind so they can live a life of freedom, happiness and fulfillment. Prior to founding Rebellious Intl, Maria was a Finance Director and a professional with 17+ years of progressive corporate experience in the Telecommunications, Finance, and Insurance industries. Born in Bulgaria, Maria moved to the United States in 1992. She graduated summa cum laude from both Georgia State University (MBA, Finance) and the University of Georgia (BBA, Finance). Maria’s favorite job is being a mom. Maria enjoys learning, coaching, creating authentic connections, working out, Latin dancing, traveling, and spending time with her tribe. To contact Maria, email her at angelova@rebellious-intl.com. To schedule a free consultation, click here.