The very first time I tried Pilates it was 2005 and I was 22. I had hit an all-time low in life and gained a bunch of weight. I met a woman who owned a Pilates studio in Minneapolis who offered me a work for trade position to get started. I cleaned her studio and in trade took her mat class once a week. It was so challenging, but I fell in love because you spent a lot of time laying on the mat. I had never been a worker outer, so I had no stamina and no desire to stay upright. She let me try a couple reformer classes and it was so much more fun with the springs. I was hooked. She told me that I had picked it up so fast that she thought I should become a teacher. She introduced me to another woman who was running a fully comprehensive classical Pilates Teacher Training Program. I signed up in 2008, and was hired by the same school in 2009. In my first year of teaching I found out the studio I was working for hosted a retreat in Nosara, CR every year. I was offered a deal on the price and I decided to see what all the fuss was about. When we arrived in San José, Costa Rica we boarded a puddle jumper bound for Nosara. It was the first time I had traveled since i could remember and my very first time on a puddle jumper. When we landed in Nosara, I was in awe of the airport, the people, the pilot and all. I spent 1 week and never wanted to leave. Over the next 6 years I came down on our retreats and even took a Pranassage training from NYI in 2011. Finally, 2014 it was clearly time for me to make a leap of faith and here I am!! All thanks to Pilates and a ton of amazing people along the way, I LOVE MY LIFE. I LOVE MY JOB. I LOVE PURA VIDA <3