Tara, Patty and Pilates

This morning, friend Patty Barrier and I attended our regular Friday morning Pilates semi-private session at PNB’s Francia Russell Center in Bellevue.  We drag ourselves to Pilates first thing in the morning kicking and screaming, but always feel much better after we have completed our session.  Plus, we reward ourselves for our efforts with a latte at the nearby Starbucks!  Our instructor, Tara Stepenberg, is an amazing Pilates instructor!  She is in amazing shape and though over 60 years old herself, has the body of a 35 year old.  She can immediately see what each of our bodies needs and can always tell when we are doing an exercise even just a bit wrong.  When I had a lower back strain last year, she knew exactly how to reduce pain and help re-build my strength.  Of course, it is always about the “core” and breathing correctly.  Now if I could just figure out a way to get her to skip the dratted “hundreds”!