About Me

Alex

I started practicing mat Pilates in 2010 to fulfill a college credit and was immediately captivated. I took my first Reformer Pilates class in 2014 at RTR studios (studios based in D.C., Maryland, and Virginia) and it felt like mat Pilates on steroids. I completed my training with RTR the same year and continued teaching there full-time until 2018, when I completed my Balanced Body certification. The following month, I moved to Nosara, where I received my 200-hour yoga teacher training certification from Yali McGregor, Danielle Radl, and Julian DeVoe, founders of the Yoga Collective Nosara.

Since 2018, I have taught mat Pilates, yoga, and yogalates all over Nosara, but all the while, I’ve longed for Reformer Pilates. So much so that I traveled back to RTR in the States twice a year to teach classes and train new instructors. But now that I’ve created Black Cat Studio, I’m thrilled to share my expertise and passion for Reformer Pilates with my own community here in Nosara!

In my years living here, I've found that to address all the different facets of maintaining well-rounded fitness, I have to mix and match several different class styles all over town at various times of day. Even with my flexible schedule, this has been difficult to manage. I recognize that for anyone with a regular job, family responsibilities, and without an infinite income, this kind of commitment is nearly (if not totally) impossible. 

I have created a one-stop-shop where you can get the strength benefits of weight training, the flexibility benefits of yoga, and the endurance benefits of cardio, all while avoiding (and even preventing) injury and without breaking the bank. I hope to extend to others the benefits and results that I have received from practicing Reformer Pilates. I want to empower and instill confidence in others by promoting their functional strength and capability, rehabilitating injuries/limitations, and helping them to recover lost mobility/strength and to achieve their fitness goals. 

This kind of practice also fosters community as surfing or running clubs do. There is a social aspect or fellowship that is a necessary byproduct of making such a commitment: other clients you see every week who commit, sweat, and achieve together—witnessing and encouraging each others’ growth.