Teresa Shupe is certified by Pilates Inc. and is a member of The Pilates Method Alliance. She practices and teaches The Pilates Method according to the teachings of Joseph H. Pilates, and her training and testing was overseen and validated by his protegee Romana Kryzanowska.
Teresa served a 700 hour apprenticeship with Lori Coleman-Brown and Dorothee VandeWalle in Seattle WA, and Sari Mejia-Santo and Romana Kryzanowska in New York. In addition to completing annual continuing professional education, she regularly participates in the Romana’s Pilates conferences and Pilates Intensives.
For the last ten years Teresa has been an instructor in the Pilates teacher training center at the Pilates Seattle International. Through their renowned training and certification program, she’s been able to work and study with many the world’s best Authentic Pilates instructors, including “Pilates Elders” who were taught by Joe and Clara Pilates.
Working in a physical therapy center also gave her experience with clients in post-rehabilitation dealing with various injuries and surgeries, and the opportunity to learn directly from expert physical therapists.
A professional modern dancer, Teresa has performed with The Pat Graney Company and The Big Red Dance Company. She has a BFA in Dance from Ohio University, where she was introduced to the study of anatomy and kinesiology (the science of human movement).
Throughout her childhood, she studied at the Academy of Dance Arts in Middletown, OH. Decades of lifting other dancers has made her very conscious of alignment and posture, and has helped her to develop efficient and effective means of communicating precise corrections.
Since 1994, Teresa has studied martial arts, and she currently holds the rank of Black Belt in the Hawaiian street-fighting art of Kajukenbo. She is on the teaching staff at Seven Star Women’s Kung Fu, where she also dabbles in Tai-Chi and Ju-Jitsu. Her martial arts training helps Teresa remain calm under pressure, move from her core, direct energy (chi), and mentor others.
Pregnancy and post-partum fitness has interested Teresa since she had her own child. She’s guided several Pilates clients through pregnancy and childbirth and she’s developed several effective personalized Pilates fitness programs to help new mothers get back into great shape.
In 2007, after breaking her foot, Teresa started practicing Yoga at The Yoga Studio in Magnolia. It has taught her about breath control, and she has become more interested emphasizing this important aspect of Pilates.