About Mary Liz
Comprehensively trained and certified in Pilates, cardiovascular fitness conditioning, pre- and post natal movement practices, and strength training, Mary Liz' teaching experience in health club and Pilates settings in Colorado spans more than a decade.
A Master Pilates Instructor, Mary Liz' journey with Pilates began in 1997. In 2000 she started teaching group Pilates Reformer sessions. Mary Liz earned her Pilates certification status with Polestar Pilates in 2002. This internationally recognized rigorous Pilates training program included a written and practical exam, required lectures, and observation and practice hours. Her apparatus work includes and encompasses repertoire designed for the Studio Reformer, the Trapeze Table, the Combo Chair, the Reformer/Half Trapeze Table and the Ladder Barrel. She also incorporates Joseph Pilates' original mat exercises into her studio program.
In the fall of 2002, Mary Liz established "A Pilates Practice," teaching private and group apparatus sessions in Pilates studios located in Littleton and Highlands Ranch, Colorado. She settled into her new business location in Highlands Ranch, Colorado in August of 2003. Her business quickly grew, and she opened a full apparatus Pilates studio in Centennial, Colorado in December of 2004.
She augments her Pilates expertise by integrating philosophies shared in her practice with Pilates, Gyrotonics and Iyengar Yoga, while upholding dynamics and preserving old-world Pilates philosophies as taught by Joseph and Clara Pilates. With this collective movement approach, Mary Liz has an engaging teaching style. Her goal is to teach the Pilates repertoire with precision and clarity, and create a program that maximizes challenge and offers versatility to advance her clients through each level of their Pilates practice with seamless transition. Her cueing strategies are designed to ultimately encourage sustainable results that suit each of her clients' Pilates-based movement needs.
Mary Liz attends quality continuing education courses, conferences and weekend workshops in various cities taught by the top educators in the field of Pilates. She takes these unique opportunities to expand her knowledge, network with other Pilates professionals, and learn from the best of the best in this field. With an attendance that spans several years at conferences presented by such leaders in the field as Rael Isacowitz, Moira Merrithew, Elizabeth Larkam, Marie-Jose' Blom-Lawrence, Julian Littleford, and respected First Generation Teachers of the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA), Mary Liz' attention to detail is outstanding. Greatly influenced by Julian Littleford's work, Mary Liz has attended several workshops taught by Julian and has been to Del Mar, California to visit with Julian in his Southern California studio, taking private sessions with this premier educator and internationally known instructor.
For that New York point of view, Mary Liz joined Siri Dharma Galliano, one of the leading Pilates trainers in North America and Europe, via her Live Arts Pilates Studio in West Los Angeles, for a Classical Pilates intensive training weekend in Big Bear Lake, California, in September of 2007. Siri is a renowned "New York Pilates" instructor who specializes in working on location in featured films such as "The Matrix" and the "Kill Bill" films, and has sculpted bodies of celebrity clients such as Sting, Jessica Lange, and Madonna. Mary Liz was also among veteran instructors, all certified by Joseph Pilates' protege and Master Pilates teacher Romana Kryzanowska. Mary Liz also joined continuing education courses in Classical Pilates with Jay Grimes, Kathryn Ross-Nash, MeJo Wiggin and Dorothee Vandewalle. Connecting with some of the leading teacher trainers, Mary Liz was selected to partake in a grueling private session with Jay Grimes, who studied with Joseph Pilates for 2 years and then with Clara Pilates for another 10 years. She experienced Joseph Pilates' work as he meant it.
By way of the most respected educators in the world, Mary Liz is committed to introduce to her clientele the most creative approaches to teaching, learning and performing the full Pilates repertoire. Drawing clientele from Denver, Castle Rock, Cherry Hills Village, Greenwood Village, Highlands Ranch, Littleton, Lone Tree, & Parker, Colorado - Mary Liz' engaging teaching style, combined with her stellar attention to detail and pure delight for teaching, significantly contributes to teaching others how to create and maintain healthy, balanced bodies.