Studio Director
Carol Conway
(985)855-2219
carolcon@bellsouth.net

   Carol didn’t begin her career in fitness until she was in her early 30’s.  Until then, she was a stay-at-home mom.  When her youngest child entered school, she decided it was time to do something for herself.  Exercise was it.  She began to play tennis and workout at a local fitness center.  This interest led her to become a certified personal trainer and group exercise instructor with AFAA.  She went on to obtain a degree from Nicholls State University and taught physical education in Terrebonne Parish to 7th and 8th graders.  Her love of fitness and working with senior citizens has led her to pursue a Masters of Education in Gerontology from the University of New Orleans.

   Six years ago, Carol began to have swelling and pain in her knees.  She was diagnosed with osteoarthritis.  She was forced to stop playing tennis and teaching aerobics.  A short time after, Carol attended an AFAA continuing education workshop where she was introduced to Pilates.  She liked it enough to want to learn more.  This led her to Uncle Joe’s Pilates Studio.  She learned the mat essentials, and Larry became her private instructor.  “I fell in love with the Pilates Method right away.  It made my body feel great.”  Through the training with Larry and other instructors, Carol has been able to rehabilitate her knee.  She can now play tennis and enjoy other exercise free of pain.

  This passion for the Pilates Method led Carol to the instructor certification program in New York with Romana Kryzanowska.  “I want to teach others the proper way to perform the traditional Pilates exercises.  With this certification, I want to help clients to have and maintain a healthy body, free from injury and pain.”  Carol believes that learning  is a life-long process and plans to continue to use Pilates to rehabilitate her knee and strengthen her mind and body as well.

   
The central element of Pilates beyond slimming and strengthening, is to create a fusion of mind and body so that without thinking about it, you will move with economy, grace, and balance; you will use your body to the greatest advantage, making the most of its strength, and correcting its imbalances.

Authentic Pilates dramatically transforms the way your body looks, feels and performs.  It builds strength without excess bulk, creating a sleek, toned body with slender thighs and a flat abdomen.

Pilates requires that you constantly pay attention to your body while you are doing the movements.  This attention to the exercises takes a specific form known as the six basic principles:

Concentration is the key element to connecting your mind and body.  It is your mind that wills your body into action.  When you focus on an area working.

Center of the body is that abdomen, lower back, hips, and buttocks - all muscles begging for attention.  Pilates called this center the "powerhouse."  All energy for the Pilates exercises initiates from the powerhouse and flows outward to the extremities.

Fluidity deals with the absence of static and isolated movements - our bodies do not naturally function that way.  A focus on grace of motion is emphasized over speed and ultimately the movements should feel as fluid as a long stride/waltz.

Precision is the success of the Pilates exercise method.  Every instruction is vitally important.  To leave out any detail is to forsake the value of the exercise.  Choose to focus on doing one precise and perfect movement instead of many half hearted one's.

Breathing properly is imperative.  Proper breathing will help to control your movements both during the exercises and in daily life.

Joseph Pilates was born in 1880 in Dussledorf, Germany.  As a child, he suffers from a range of debilitating conditions.  Determined to overcome his poor physical health, he devoted himself to becoming as fit and strong as humanly possible.

Out to reach his goal, young Joseph was in such good shape by the time he was 14, he was able to work as a model for anatomical charts.  Throughout the rest of his life, Joseph would make his living from jobs that required him to be in top physical condition - boxer, circus performer, self defense trainer...even a physician to other men inside a WWI camp where he was held because of his nationality.  It was at these camps that Pilates invented fitness machines to be used by patients ho were confined to beds - he felt they could exercise lying down!

Pilates would eventually move to New York and set up his own exercise studio.  By the 1940s, he had achieved a certain amount of notoriety amongst the city's dance community, and soon after "Pilates" was known outside the Big Apple.

When Joseph passed away in 1967, he was 87.  He left no will and had designated no successor to carry out the Pilates exercise work.  Nevertheless, due to the popularity and effectiveness of the technique, his work was destined to continue.  His wife continued the studio and former student Romana Kryzanowska (1940s), became its director in the 1970s.

See Aerobics Schedule for times!

New BEGINNER MAT ESSENTIALS SERIES starts September 14, 2009!

Contact Carol for details.