About me
I discovered the Pilates Method in search for a movement that would help me rehabilitate my body from a severe car crash in 1995.
I fell in love with the method and decided in 2010 to start my journey in becoming a Pilates teacher.
I had been teaching Pilates with more of a contemporary perspective, and with extensive knowledge in other forms of movement I would also bring this into my teaching. With over 12 years in the industry I was burning out and feeling that I had lost the love for Pilates.
In 2020, right in the peak of COVID, I had time to reassess what I was missing. It was then I discovered the true method of Pilates, as Joseph Pilates developed it, Contrology.
Since 2021, I have been training under and mentored by 2nd Generation Pilates leader, Wade Edwell from Proper Pilates. Wade is the only leader working in Australasia to have graduated from The Work, a Contrology mastery program led by Pilates Elder, Jay Grimes.
In 2022 and 2023, I deepened my understanding of the classical/original and the traditional method of Contrology through completion of an Intense Immersion Program with Wade. I have gained more experience and an understanding about the Pilates Method and am very excited to see this translate in my work practised throughout Personal Pilates.
I am still a student at heart and in practice of mastery of the Method.
Outside the Pilates Studio, I have established a community movement that is open to any and everyone that has a love of the ocean and enjoys a good brew. We meet up twice a week where we enjoy a sunrise dip at our local beach in Golden Bay, chat about anything and everything whilst we splash around, get ourselves salty, and reap the stress reducing, immune boosting benefits of cold water exposure. This is followed by post dip sips where we connect and chat more over a warm brew from the best local, Bru’s Cafe. My intention with the group is to promote wellbeing so that we may all live a happy and healthy life.
Laura Taylor
Pilates Teacher and Movement Specialist
Training & Qualifications
Laura is committed to ongoing training to learn new and exciting programmes that she can use with her clients. She is trained in:
-
CONTROLOGY Intense Immersion Program with Wade Edwell from Proper Pilates
- STOTT PILATES® Comprehensive Matwork, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair and Barrels
- Studio Pilates Matwork and Reformer
- Xtend Barre
- Power Plate
- BASI Mentoring Program
- Massage Therapy
She is also a Certified Pre & Post Natal Coaching Specialist and Certified FRC Mobility Specialist.
Contact Laura today to see how she can help you achieve your goals.
About Joseph Pilates
Joseph Pilates was born near Dusseldorf, Germany in 1883. He was a frail child, suffering from rickets, asthma, and rheumatic fever. His determination to overcome these childhood ailments led him to the practice and excel at bodybuilding, gymnastics, diving, and other physical pursuits. He studied eastern and western forms of exercise and philosophies and was greatly influenced by ancient Grecian and Roman regimens.
In 1912 Joseph lived in England working in martial arts and as a circus performer. During the First World War, he was interned with other German nationals. During this time he developed his technique of physical fitness further by teaching his fellow internees.
In the later part of the war, Joseph served his time as an orderly in a hospital on the Isle of Man. It was here where he developed his famous piece of equipment known at the “Cadillac” when he started to attach bed springs to the hospital beds to help support patients limbs.
In the early 1920s Joseph emigrated to the USA with his wife Clara, who also became a teacher of the method. They opened a gym in New York in 1926 teaching in their “body conditioning gym.”
Over the course of his career, Joseph Pilates developed more then 600 exercises for the mat as well as the Reformer, Cadillac, Wunda Chair and the Spine Corrector. He called his technique “Contrology”, a way of life, rather than merely a series of exercises.
In explaining Contrology’s guiding principle, Joseph liked to quote Schiller: “It is the mind itself which builds the body.”
Joseph Pilates continued to advocate for and teach his method well into his old age, even once he was no longer capable of performing the exercises himself. In New York City, in 1967, Joseph Pilates died of emphysema at the age of 83.
Testimonials
What people say about Laura
Thank you Laura!”
You are a very special woman, so natural, so talented, so at ease and so invaluable to all of us. Your classes are simply amazing. My body has slowly returned from hibernation.”