About The Pilates Filter
In my mid-forties, I started paying closer attention to what actually makes me feel aligned and happy. This is a very normal shift at this stage of life. What drives us changes. What motivates us evolves. This space exists because I stopped trying to stay connected to who I used to be and started listening to what feels right . . . right now.
The Pilates Filter grew out of that shift.
I am a comprehensively certified Pilates instructor. Pilates became the place where movement, focus, and intention consistently came together. It was not a reinvention, but a practice that made sense in real life.
I teach Pilates 1:1 and in small group classes. I also continue to take classes myself and maintain my own personal practice. Being in the work as a client as well as an instructor informs how I teach and how I approach strength, movement, and progress. I’m not just teaching Pilates - I’m living it, learning it, and refining it in real time.
Pilates has taught me to value consistency, balance, alignment, and body awareness to understand what is actually happening in the body. That perspective carries through everything I share here.
This space is about building strength, physically and mentally, in a way that is steady, realistic, and sustainable.
If you are balancing a full life, learning something new later on, or looking for a grounded approach to Pilates and movement, you are in the right place.
— Crystal
From my very first pilates reformer intro-class, I was hooked. I signed up for an unlimited package the same day and I haven’t looked back since.
Becoming a certified Pilates instructor wasn’t something I rushed into. I chose a comprehensive, 450-hour program that worked for me, but still required time, structure, and a lot of coordination to show up - mentally and physically.
The process wasn’t just about learning exercises. It was about learning how bodies respond differently, how cues land (or don’t), and how much patience it takes to truly understand what you’re seeing in front of you.
The program required a combination of classroom education, anatomy study, observation, practice teaching, and apprentice hours. It demanded planning, repetition, and consistency, especially while balancing a full-time job, family life, and everything that lives in between.
Learning this later in life shaped my experience in a good way. I wasn’t trying to memorize information and move on. I was integrating it, layer by layer, so it actually stuck. That slower, more deliberate approach carries directly into how I teach and how I share Pilates here.
Certification isn’t a finish line. It’s just the first step . . . it’s a responsibility.
This process reinforced the importance of meeting people where they are, communicating clearly, and respecting the work enough to keep learning.
That’s the lens behind The Pilates Filter: thoughtful movement, practical understanding, and progress that holds up over time . . . and encouragement when you feel like you might have gotten in over your head.
Becoming a Certified Pilates Instructor
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Learning something new over 40 can feel harder, not because anything is wrong, but because learning now requires a different approach. Understanding that shift can make the process far less frustrating.