Meet Colleen

COLLEEN CUMMINS

Studio Owner, Master Pilates Educator, Biomechanist, AND Travel Guru

I love to travel in all kinds of ways: slow, adventure, beach &/or mountains. As a movement life coach with a 30+ year career in the profession of exercise science, sport and therapeutic movement, I rely on Pilates to keep me strong, flexible, and resilient for the adventures that come my way.

My relationship with Pilates began in 1996. While holding a BS degree in Exercise Science (1986) and trained as a massage therapist (1989), I was trained and mentored in the Pilates method by Colleen Glen and Michele Larsson, and therefore my teaching is strongly influenced by Eve Gentry's rehabilitative work.

My approach uses therapeutic touch to help my students find more healthful alignment and movement. I specialize in and am deeply passionate about helping a diverse clientele repair their movement patterns toward one of efficiency, pain relief, and function through hands-on techniques and pilates-based movement. I have brought integrated and intelligent movement to bodies plagued by back issues such as herniated discs, scoliosis, stenosis and sciatica, as well as pervasive and insidious lower back pain. My approach to personalized care aids in the rehabilitation process for people with pre and post hip and knee replacements. Having had breast cancer myself, I have a unique take on methods that aid post breast surgeries, as well as instage and post cancer treatments. I have successfully introduced the Pilates method to clients struggling with various chronic conditions such as rheumatoid and osteoarthritis arthritis, fibromyalgia, Down’s Syndrome, incomplete spinal cord injuries (SCI), traumatic brain injuries (TBI), and Lyme Disease.

Prior to Pilates, I was in management in a large hospital-based fitness facility in Tulsa, OK working both in the fitness and therapeutic departments doing fitness testing and exercise prescriptions for the general population and competitive athletes, as well as cardiac phase IV and pulmonary rehab patients, water therapy for out-patient rehab and nutrition counseling for all groups.

Shortly after beginning my own personal training business in 1992, I discovered the Pilates Method. Having sustained my own overuse injuries as a semi-professional triathlete, cyclist, and runner, Pilates gave me a more functional, stronger and resilient body. After years as a student in the Pilates method, I began integrating these beneficial movement patterns into clients’ personal training sessions. Upon moving to New Mexico in 2001, I established CoreWorks Pilates.

My practice continues to evolve as the studio name implies: Coreworks Alchemy in Motion. I have studied many types of yoga (Hatha, Iyengar, Ashtanga, Anusara) and other movement disciplines (Feldenkrais, Gyrotonics/Gyrokenesis, dance, rock climbing, circus arts) as well as meditation and contemplative practices. My philosophy is rooted in integrated full body movement and mindfulness, because as we notice and befriend our emotional inner body, our physical body has a lot more room to play.

I teach seminars, workshops and concentrated experiential learning for students and teachers of not only the Pilates method, but also for those from other fields. My previous workshops include:

1) Pelvic floor health: Anatomy of and role in healthy movement

2) Integration of the psoas, quadratus lumborum, and the diaphragm for stability and range of motion

3) Advanced Pilates equipment workshops employing guided exploration focused on the five spinal shapes

4) Pilates off the mat and outside the studio

5) For Pilates teachers-Picking the Brain: Creating Awareness and Mindfulness in clients

6) Mindfulness in Motion: Mindfulness practices based in recent neuroscience and meditation techniques that root us in resilient physicality.