Everyone has their own style, even when it comes to fitness and wellness. Few understand that Pilates is no exception to this better than people like Teya Lorts, owner of the private studio, Stance Pilates.
The full-body conditioning became a lifeline when a rare neurological disorder sidelined the competitive dancer’s dreams of taking her talent to the professional level. “That diagnosis ended the path I’d spent my whole life on, and for years afterward, I didn’t trust my own body,” Teya recalls. Paroxysmal Dyskinesia causes involuntary movement, and no exercise helped to manage the new day-to-day living she had to adjust to–until she discovered Pilates.
“Every form of exercise I tried either aggravated my condition or just didn’t stick,” and that’s when Pilates, she says, changed everything. As a first-time student looking for other ways to trust her body with this new challenge, Teya wasn’t sure what to expect. “Contemporary Pilates, which is actually where I got my start, adapts and modifies the original exercises and often blends in physical therapy principles.”
She was well through several years of classes at a group reformer studio when a shoulder injury tied to improper technique briefly threatened the belief she had in Pilates. “I asked for a private lesson to learn the mechanics properly and I was told to just take a beginner class,” Teya adds.
That was the catalyst for everything that would follow in her quest of regaining control. Now, as a private instructor, she knows that Pilates is not a one-size-fits-all model, offering something different for everyone and helps others find the method that best fits them.
Stance Pilates on South Tenaya Way provides a private space where those wanting to reap its benefits have the opportunity to take full advantage–a space that Teya would have loved to have early in her own journey.
“I wanted to build the studio I needed back then: one where nobody’s questions get waved off, where every session is built around the specific person in front of me, not a generic script.” Without this foundation, she says, Stance would cease to stand as it does today.
When a client leaves a session, Teya wants them to walk away with the confidence needed to trust their body’s unique strength and capability no matter what shape it is in. It is why Stance champions the Classical method, not because it is the best method, but because it helps people better understand the exercises and why they do them.
The private sessions Teya offers are designed to meet each client exactly where they are so they can master Pilates with their own style with special attention to what makes the biggest difference.
“One-on-one lets me watch for the small stuff–tension someone’s holding without realizing it, an exercise that looks fine but isn’t quite landing and adjust in real time instead of hoping it works itself out,” and clients are thankful for it. “[They] tell me the biggest shift wasn’t a new exercise, it was finally understanding how to engage their core correctly, something that’s easy to miss in a bigger class.”
Ultimately, the right way to do Pilates depends on the person. “It’s less about which method is “right” and more about noticing how your body responds and being willing and open to try a different door if the first one doesn’t fit.”
Dance is still a big passion for Teya, who teaches jazz classes just doors down from Stance and credits Pilates for giving her a newfound appreciation for it.
“To me, Pilates is proof that a body isn’t something to be fixed once and left alone, it’s something,” Teya says, “you keep learning how to work with.”