After recovering from my collarbone injury, the pain and discomfort in my rib didn’t go away. The sensation was often like being on a roller coaster, I would feel like my stomach was lifting, and I couldn’t take full breaths. I saw multiple specialists, but no one could explain what was going on. So I went on to college, kept performing, kept dancing, and kept pushing myself. But nearly four years after my car accident, my rib was getting worse. There was something so jarring about the fact that it was right in my midsection, in the center of my body, the area that was supposed to give me power and balance while performing. I was young, and I had trouble advocating for myself, even though deep down I knew something was wrong in my body. However, it was so hard to know what to do when specialists were telling me I was fine. That is, until the day I passed out onstage. My rib had shifted so it was pushing against my lung, and I couldn’t breathe. I went to the emergency room, where the doctors confirmed my rib was broken. They guessed that during my car accident, there was a slight break, and then it got worse and worse and worse until it was a full break. Again, they reassured me it would heal itself. But it hadn’t happened previously, so I was skeptical. At that point, I was at a pivotal moment: I thought I knew what my life was supposed to be, and I was determined to be onstage. But suddenly, I was forced to take a step back and be introspective about whether or not that was the right choice for my health. During this whole time, I kept assuring myself I’d be fine, and I was going to get better. Of course, I was lying to myself—I had no idea what was going to happen, and I was scared. But I needed to mentally get myself through this healing journey. Ultimately, I knew on the other side of this recovery, I would get back onstage. There’s something about the way the Pilates reformer worked with my body; I could feel my spine aligning and my core stabilizing. It was like my abdominals began to work like a corset, the deepest layer of my abs began wrapping around to hold my ribs in place. As a result, I started to feel better and better. I was shocked. All this time, doctors had told me the rib would get better and heal itself, but it wasn’t until Pilates that I truly felt a difference. The joy I got from relaying that knowledge was so much more than I could have ever expected. I wouldn’t have chosen to go to Pilates if I hadn’t been injured. But because I did, I discovered that working with other people gave me so much gratitude and fulfilled me in a way that I didn’t experience when I was just performing. While I didn’t initially expect to make Pilates my entire career, I soon experienced a light bulb moment: I realized I could fuse so many of the things I love (performing, moving my body, etc.) to help other people with their wellness and longevity. Since then, I started working with private clients and then opened my own studio. Ever since I dove into this path, my goal was to make Pilates more available to everybody. Recently, I joined Reform RX, a digitally connected Pilates reformer, as their head of content. My goal with our virtual classes and programs is to reach people all over the world and educate them with workouts from the best instructors. It truly feels like we’re on the precipice of the next stage of fitness.
