My Life in Motion
I have more than 50 years of trained movement experience. Beginning in my native Texas, I started my education in movement with dance at age five. As a teen, I added competitive swimming and diving. I went on to study the performing arts and movement education at the University of Texas at Austin, earning a BS in Physical Education with a minor in Health Education .
New York was next where I successfully pursued a 40-year professional theater career, performing with various dance companies and in Broadway and Off-Broadway musicals, national and international tours, regional productions, television, and film. While on tour, I met my husband and joined him in the San Francisco Bay Area to raise our daughter while also coaching performers and teaching swimming, water fitness, and dance.
I received my original Pilates certification from Body Kinetics in San Francisco, taught by Master Teacher Carol Appel who was personally trained by Romana Kryzanowska, a protégé of Joseph Pilates. Upon certification, I began working for Carol at the newly opened Mill Valley Health Club & Spa. During this time, I also assisted with her highly regarded teacher training program, teaching Pilates classes and workshops, and mentoring student teachers. Since 2005, I have been teaching private lessons in my home studio and classes at Pilates of Marin.
I hold additional Pilates certifications from Power Pilates in New York and BASI Pilates in California. I continue to study Pilates privately and at national conferences where I have had the privilege of learning from Pilates “elders” and many senior teachers. I am a current member of the Pilates Method Alliance. I also hold certification in GYROTONIC®, GYROKINESIS®, Franklin Method®, and MELT.
My extensive movement training and teaching experience enables me to work with students of all ages and abilities as well as individuals with special considerations such as spinal injuries, scoliosis, osteoporosis, hip replacements, shoulder and knee surgeries, and more.
As a performer, I often used Pilates to heal my body from the rigors of dance and began my education in this powerful movement system. When I began to perform less, I began teaching more. Ironically, in the process of helping others I injured myself, leading to an even deeper dive into proper body mechanics. I used what I was learning and teaching to heal myself, slowly, methodically, mindfully.
I learned beyond a doubt that mindful movement - movement grounded in the conscious use of proper body mechanics - is life-changing and exhilarating. Movement heals.
“Training with Pamela is like having a Pilates instructor and PT wrapped together in one.”
— Client name tk
Every body can be helped
I have chosen this collection of movement methods from experience. The Franklin Method® is a fantastic foundation for everything I teach. It equips you with the ability to visualize and use proper body mechanics in every action you take. The MELT Method of self-care is also invaluable for reducing pain and tension and maintaining healthy movement. Pilates gives you the core strength for a strong and flexible spine and overall stability. Complementary to all of these, I use GYROKINESIS® and GYROTONIC® methods to enhance rotational motion and joint fluidity.
My passion for creating and having a life in motion has not faded. I live it and feel it and welcome sharing it with you. I have a gift for being able to identify physical imbalances, targeting your individual needs for optimum results.
Decades of clients attest to the combination of movement methods that I offer and the transformation they experience. (Read it in their own words.) I invite you to join me for a workshop, class, or private training to experience the joyous power of movement - done right.