May 7

May 7 Amanda Blauer Will Teach You The Life-Changing Benefits of Pilates

You might know Amanda for her feel-good Pilates classes, but before she found Pilates, she was a professional dancer. With a BFA in dance from George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia, she moved to New York City to dance. In college, she took Pilates as part of the curriculum but, she did not love it immediately. “I did not like it at first [but then] we had a different teacher, and I realized that with a different approach, it felt a lot different, and it was working for my body,” she explains. “It was good cross-training for dance, so it felt natural that I would teach [Pilates] as well as practice it.” She taught while she was performing for a few years and then transitioned into teaching full time.

Now, you can take class with her on NEOU 24-7—and rest assured every single one will be great! “I probably put too much pressure on myself when I'm teaching because I genuinely want people to get the best possible experience,” she says. “Every time I teach, I get that jittery feeling of, ‘Okay, I have to do it, and I have to make it good.’” Read on for more on her approach to fitness and how Pilates has improved her life.

How would you best describe your approach to fitness and wellness?

My approach is all about feeling as good as I can possibly feel. As a dancer, I've had a lot of injuries to deal with, and it was really just based off of not having the strength that I needed to support what I was doing. So now, my approach to fitness and exercise is finding the things that feel right for my body and will keep me as strong as I can possibly be. I try not to work out for the aesthetic result. That will come more naturally when you find something that has you feeling strong and feeling good.

How has Pilates improved your life?

Pilates has gotten me to a place where I can live without pain. So many people, I think, struggle day-to-day with chronic back pain, hip pain, whatever, and just think, “Okay, well this is just my life now, I'm getting older.” Pilates is that thing that you do so that you can do all of the other things that you want to do in life. Golf, tennis, play with your kids—you do Pilates so that your body feels good enough to enjoy your life.

What is your goal going into every class you teach?

My main goal is to teach somebody something new. [I want them to] have that lightbulb moment where they feel something they've never felt or they nailed that one exercise they couldn't get before.