Heather Obleada is a pilates instructor at The After Cancer. She also owns a Pilates studio in Charlotte, North Carolina.
My mantra: Movement Heals
I am Heather Obleada, owner of Iron Butterfly Pilates, Charlotte NC, and I am thrilled to be on The After Cancer team. My journey of life has had many metamorphoses, including professional dancer, dance teacher, Pilates studio owner, wife, mother, and friend. Each of these roles has always brought me back to the same mantra – Movement Heals.
Movement is different at every stage of life
Movement is different at every stage of life, and sometimes that is one of the hardest things to wrap our minds around. I am no longer flying across a ballet stage doing grande jetes, but I am moving my body every day. Why? Because movement heals both mentally and physically, feeding our bodies and our souls.
We crawl, we walk, we run, both literally and figuratively, throughout every stage of life we are in. Especially when trying new things, we start things slowly, gain confidence, and then take off. In The After Cancer Pilates classes, I will help you start moving, meeting you where you are. We will discover the power of breathing and the effects it will have on your mind and body. We will then take your breath into stretches, seeking places to lengthen and find more space. Finally, we will add strength, strengthening you from the inside out. Breathing, stretching, strengthening, we will crawl, we will walk, we will run.
Through these stages you will gain the confidence you need to explore what types of movement works best for you. Maybe you’ll stick with Pilates, or maybe starting this movement will excite you to try strength training, cycling, or yoga. Most importantly, my gift to you is helping find ways to move your body every day, and exploring all of the ways movement heals.