Great teachers never stop learning.
Meet Amy
Meet Amy
My name is Amelia, but everyone calls me Amy.
I discovered Pilates in 2009 while dealing with debilitating low back pain after years working as a software engineer.
At the time, I was searching for a way to move without fear, build strength, and get back to living my life. Pilates gave me that and more. It helped me move out of pain, build confidence in my body, and ultimately inspired a complete career change.
What started as a personal solution became a lifelong passion.
My Pilates Journey
Over the years, I trained extensively across Contemporary, Classical, and Clinical Pilates.
I completed my Comprehensive Pilates training with Power Pilates and later studied with Lolita San Miguel, a first-generation teacher trained directly by Joseph Pilates.
Through Lolita's mentorship, I became a second-generation teacher of the original Pilates method and eventually went on to train and mentor Pilates instructors myself.
For many years, I immersed myself in the Pilates world, teaching clients, mentoring instructors, and continuing to deepen my understanding of movement.
The Questions That Changed Everything
As my experience grew, so did my curiosity.
I noticed that some of the explanations, rules, and assumptions I had learned throughout my training didn't always align with what emerging research was telling us about pain, movement, strength, and the human body.
The more I read, the more questions I had.
How should we think about pain?
What role does strength training play in Pilates?
Which traditional concepts are supported by evidence, and which deserve to be re-examined?
How can we help clients become stronger, more capable, and more confident?
Those questions led me to further study Clinical Pilates and evidence-based practice through the Breathe Education Clinical Pilates Diploma.
That experience transformed the way I teach.
Today, my work combines the best of Pilates tradition with modern understanding from exercise science, pain science, strength training, and rehabilitation.
Why Pilates Extended Exists
Along the way, I noticed something else.
Many Pilates teachers were experiencing the same uncertainty I once had.
They completed certification, started teaching, and quickly realized that real clients don't always fit neatly into what was covered during training.
Questions about pain, injuries, osteoporosis, hypermobility, pregnancy, programming, and strength training often arise long after certification ends.
Yet many teachers are left trying to navigate those challenges on their own.
Pilates Extended was created to help bridge that gap.
It's a place where Pilates teachers can continue learning, ask questions, challenge assumptions, and build confidence through evidence-based education, mentorship, and community.
Today
Today, I help Pilates teachers develop stronger clinical reasoning, improve their cueing, and work more confidently with pain, injuries, and special populations.
Through mentorship, workshops, research reviews, and weekly workouts, my goal is not to tell teachers exactly what to think.
It's to help them develop the knowledge, confidence, and practical skills needed to make informed decisions for the clients in front of them.
Because great teaching doesn't come from memorizing rules.
It comes from understanding principles, staying curious, and never stopping the learning process.
My Vision
I believe Pilates teachers deserve ongoing support long after certification ends.
Too often, instructors are left to navigate complex questions about pain, injuries, programming, and client outcomes on their own.
My vision is to create a place where teachers can continue learning, ask questions openly, think critically, and build confidence through evidence-based education and mentorship.
I want to help bridge the gap between certification and confident teaching by making high-quality continuing education accessible, practical, and immediately applicable.
Ultimately, my goal is simple: to help Pilates teachers feel more capable in their work, so they can help more people move, feel stronger, and live better.
Qualifications
Pilates & Professional Training
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Breathe Education Clinical Pilates Diploma (2022–2023)
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Lolita San Miguel Pilates Master Mentor Program (2015–2016)
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Power Pilates Comprehensive Training (2012–2013)
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Polestar Pilates Mat Teacher Training (2009)
Academic Background
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Bachelor of Computer Science & Engineering, University of Costa Rica (2002–2006)
