Heather Smith
I grew up dancing. From the young age of two, I was wearing pink ballet shoes on my feet. Dancing was my outlet. I felt free as if everything on the outside had stopped. Moving into adolescence, my dance company traveled to New York City often. It was here I first learned Pilates or Contrology as it was taught to us. It is another way to “warm up” and build lean, long muscles. These core exercises became a staple for me in the coming years.
I had first my taste of teaching at fourteen when I was asked to become a "teacher's helper" for the younger kids at my dance company. For five years, I met with the Saturday morning students and I was the "body" they followed as the main teacher instructed. It was so much fun. My favorite memory was performing on stage wearing a Chip Pot costume from the Beauty and the Beast movie.
When I was nineteen, a co-worker recommended trying a yoga class to help relieve my stress levels. To be honest, that first yoga experience was not the most enlightening. I felt awkward and out-of-place. My “style” was much different, and I didn’t fit the “typical” stereotype. However, what I discovered was that my mind was relaxed. Instead of returning to that class, I purchased videos, practiced poses, and meditated at home. Not only has my practice evolved through the years, but the yoga persona has also. Yoga has taught me to “be myself because everyone else is already taken.” Although practicing yoga has never been segregated, it has guided me to realize that I belong anywhere I want to belong.
In my early twenties, I dedicated my practice to combining the modalities of Pilates and Yoga into one Pilates flow. I went on to earn three international certifications in the Pilates method. Awakened to realize, that teaching is my North Star, I enrolled in courses working towards a degree in Exercise Science in conjunction with earning several personal training certifications and additional exercise instructor certifications. I worked full-time with clients one-on-one and in a group setting throughout the Upper Valley until 2012 when my last child of four was born. Keeping one foot in the fitness field, I went back to school to earn my Masters in IT. Although my passion has always been teaching exercise, having four children led me to earn an income from home.
Throughout the years of practicing yoga and Pilates, I have checked all the boxes for reasons to continue. From relieving stress, increasing stamina both physically and mentally, seeking a prenatal community, and coping with parenting, to developing deep spiritual connections, and now my most rewarding reasoning is sharing the gift of yoga and Pilates as a teacher.