Stephanie joins our team after a long run in the hospitality industry.

Over the years she has realized she needed a lifestyle change.  On her journey, she’s found that the more she works on herself, the more she wants to serve her community. Stephanie likes to write, blog and draw spiritual doodles that make people smile. Recently, she printed her work onto shirts to spread even more joy.

Favorite thing to eat for breakfast

Oatmeal with a whole peach chopped in. It’s the poor man’s peach cobbler.

I don’t leave home without???

My 2006 iPod nano. I refuse to upgrade my little vintage buddy.

If Joseph Pilates were alive today what would you ask him or have him teach you?

I’d ask him how he managed to persevere in getting his theory and method out to the world.

What qualities do you admire in a teacher?

I love a teacher that reminds me that what I bring to a session is the same...

As a physical therapist, two of the most common questions I get are “how did I get like this?” and “why am I not getting better faster?” 

My answer to both involves some series of questioning about posture outside of the PT clinic and a gentle reminder that coming 1-3x/week for an hour session is only 1-3 hours of a 168-hour week.  While coming to PT consistently, making sure one’s body is aligned with myofascial release or some other manual technique, and stabilizing said alignment is immensely important, what’s even more important is what the patient does outside of the clinic.  If a patient leaves “aligned”, but then sits with legs crossed, carries that insanely heavy bottomless bag, slouches while driving or sitting at work, etc, etc… guess what… alignment kind of goes out the window.  Fortunately, there are some little things we can do throughout the day to keep us as “in check” as...

Taking care of our bodies through exercise is important at any age, but as we get older, being active becomes all the more critical.

Aside from trimming down or adding muscle, working out has some serious health benefits for the parts of the body we can’t see. If you need more convincing to get moving, here are 10 reasons why hitting the gym, taking a yoga class or simply going for a walk is beneficial for anyone, especially as the years creep up.

1. Regular exercise can prevent or delay illness or disability. But if you’ve already been diagnosed with a disease or disability, regular exercise can often improve health conditions/complications.

2. Not exercising could kill you. A study showed that 10 percent of premature deaths were caused by inactivity.

3. If you’re dealing with high blood pressure (as many older adults are) or diabetes, getting a move on can help with your symptoms. Exercise makes your heart muscle...

School is back in session and everyone is getting back into their usual diet and exercise routine. 

There is a great desire to shed all those added “summer pounds” .  I  have overheard clients talking about their dieting habits and how they are planning on losing  weight.  While most are healthy, I would like to discourage the idea of skipping meals.

Going too long without food denies your body glucose, the sugar that supplies your brain with energy. Skipping lunch also slows down your metabolism, leads to overeating and makes it difficult to meet your nutrient needs for the day.   Listed below are a few good reasons to not skip meals:

• You will likely get less work done and will be slower to make decisions if you have an empty stomach.

• After four to six hours, the glucose stored in your liver will run out, and you will be likely to eat too much when you finally do eat again. Fasting activates a fear response that...

Many of you know I am mostly vegan and always encouraging others to make the switch.

Since I’ve changed my diet I feel so much better, lost some weight, have more energy, sleep better, and have less skin breakouts.

I recently watched a TED talk where the speaker worked for an environmental preservation company and was explaining the strong urge he felt to become vegan because of all the environment benefits to the planet. Yet, year after year he couldn’t quite get himself to make the switch. He realized he couldn’t go from the standard american diet (SAD) with lots of meat and cheese to a vegan diet with no animal products whatsoever. He couldn’t bear the thought of never having a burger again so he continued his diet as normal. Then one day he had a revelation, that he didn’t have to go from one extreme to the other, from the standard american diet to veganism, but instead he could go part way. He started by incorporating “Meatless...

Lauren Santos is a born and raised Miami native who has continuously engaged in sports rehabilitation, and health fitness studies from a young age.

Such as her parents, Lauren has chosen to pursue a career in the realm of medicine to ultimately become a licensed Physical Therapist specializing in sport rehabilitation. Lauren is an active member of the Sports Science Organization where she participates in various events involving exercise sciences and fitness studies throughout the academic school year at Florida International University (FIU). Lauren is as adventurous as she sounds, always creating a comfortable, and welcoming environment no matter where she is. In Lauren’s free time you can almost always catch her working out getting her fitness on or just simply enjoying the outdoors. As a part of the Pilates in the Grove team, Lauren is always willing and able to assist clients whilst on their fitness journey!

Favorite thing to eat for breakfast

Brown sugar oatmeal,...

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard “Can I do Pilates when I’m pregnant?” YES! And furthermore– YOU SHOULD!

 Here are my top 3 reasons why:

1. Improved core strength, especially of your transverse abdominis, can help prevent a diastasis recti.  

This condition is when the rectus abdominal muscle or “6-pack” muscle separates along the lines alba. In all pregnancies there is a thinning and widening of this fascia as the uterus pushes up against the abdominal wall- but in many women this separation widens greater than the normal 2 finger width and becomes problematic from both a function and aesthetic standpoint. The stronger the deepest layer of abdominal musculature is (the transverse abdominis), the more the rectus will be supported and less likely to separate. Pilates focuses on this deep abdominal layer and can help teach you how to engage your TA more effectively while minimizing...

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve heard “Can I do Pilates when I’m pregnant?” YES! And furthermore– YOU SHOULD!

 Here are my top 3 reasons why:

1. Improved core strength, especially of your transverse abdominis, can help prevent a diastasis recti.  

This condition is when the rectus abdominal muscle or “6-pack” muscle separates along the lines alba. In all pregnancies there is a thinning and widening of this fascia as the uterus pushes up against the abdominal wall- but in many women this separation widens greater than the normal 2 finger width and becomes problematic from both a function and aesthetic standpoint. The stronger the deepest layer of abdominal musculature is (the transverse abdominis), the more the rectus will be supported and less likely to separate. Pilates focuses on this deep abdominal layer and can help teach you how to engage your TA more effectively while minimizing...

If you are at all familiar with the history of Pilates you may have heard some of Joseph Pilates’ famous quotes from “Physical Fitness is the first requisite of happiness” to “ The Mind when housed within a healthful body possesses a glorious sense of power”.

Mr. Pilates also firmly believed in the health of our children and held true to his belief in “First Educate the Child”.

Both good and bad habits begin to be formed in early childhood. Joseph Pilates believed that if we could introduce his form of exercise into a child’s routine it would help them create good physical habits early on in life. It was his dream to have children learn his exercise so they would grow up knowing how to properly take care of their bodies. Pilates can help establish a correct foundation of movement that children will use for their entire lives. It will also create a balanced musculature that can reduce pain and minimize the potential risk for...

One thing I have learned over the last 10 years in business is that there are always going to be people who take shots at you to either knock you down or build themselves up…

People that speak negatively of you or your business, those that try to sabotage you, competitors that copy and steal from you.  In the words of T-Swift “Haters gonna hate”. Period.

In the fitness profession, and specifically in the Pilates industry, individuals are quick to point out everything their competitors are not…”They do not teach Authentic Pilates”…”They do not train any professional athletes”…”Their location is not as nice as mine”…”They do not have the amount of training that I have” etc.

The truth is that if you are making an impact on people’s lives, you will  (not might), attract haters.  So my advice would be that if you don’t want people speaking ill of...