Nothing possible is impossible and nothing impossible is possible.

Following this logic, one can assume limitations only exist when we deny their impossibility to change what we are at our core.  We are an amalgamation of soft tissue, bones, liquid and gasses.  If one part of your body is out of balance, your whole self suffers.  Some imbalances have greater impact than others, but all create a sense of missing something or of feeling incomplete.  Pilates can help bridge this gap.  With Pilates it is possible to do the impossible.  I have the privilege to observe filling the gap each and every day with my clients.  For some the gap is vast, perhaps they were in a serious car accident or recently had surgery. For others the gap is smaller. Maybe they use one leg more than the other or rotate one foot when standing.  Pilates may be used in all of these situations to reclaim balance within the body.

Recently one of my long-term clients shared with me that if she could recover from her massive back injury under my guidance, nothing was impossible anymore, everything was possible.  For the rest of the day her words resonated within my mind: Everything was possible with Pilates.  Pilates stays with you once a foundation is developed within the body, or in other words, Pilates is portable.  Whether you are lying supine on the Reformer or carrying groceries from your car, the principles of Pilates allow you to move freely, based on the concepts of core strength and balance.  Pilates affects the whole by focusing on integrating the individual parts of the body.  This is how the impossible becomes possible: systematically addressing imbalanced parts of the body leads to balance being reflected through the whole body. Honing in on the source rather than the symptoms helps to alleviate the symptoms without aggressive intervention. Every body has the possibility to have a personal relationship with Pilates thereby inviting balance into every aspect of their life.

- Caitlin A. Chatsworth, CA
02/15/2010
***** 5 Stars!

I’m not usually one for posting comments on yelp, but really feel the need to share how amazing Nancy and Balanced Place are. I’ve been working with Nancy weekly for about 6 months now and am just amazed by the results. I started sessions  after finishing almost a year of PT for chronic issues and getting minimal results. Nancy understood my issues immediately and has since brought speedy and continued improvement of my chronic issues as well as overall balance/health. I really felt a difference after the first session! And I always feel totally relaxed by Nancy’s warm demeanor and bright smile.

During our sessions Nancy is completely in tune with my body’s alignment and movements, often able to correct a subtle habit that will make a huge difference! She is very knowledgeable within her field and is able to change lesson plans on a whim, to address whatever is needed that day. Her stellar understanding of anatomy and biomechanics in addition to pilates really makes her an ideal instructor for post-rehab exercise/recovery as well as all strength training!

As a physician, I’m aware of the many different exercise regimens available. I truly believe that whether you are looking for a new exercise regimen, a compliment to a current one, or post-rehab exercise, Balanced Place will certainly help you excel.

We all get an aching back once in a while but then there’s that kind of back pain that is more excruciating. I believe Pilates can help a great deal.

Pilates assists individuals to recover from acute and chronic back pain and associated symptoms. It offers a gentle yet effective approach to improving overall strength, balance and flexibility. Pilates may be modified for any client’s individual needs. Many back pain clients have tight low backs as well as weak and imbalanced stabilizer muscle groups. By teaching clients to engage their core muscle group when lifting objects or even their own legs, the incidence of back pain may be lessened.

Many low back pain clients lack a general awareness of their body and therefore do not know how to move without causing more pain. Pilates instruction educates the client how to move slowly and precisely in deliberate and precise actions. Increasing general body awareness helps correct faulty muscle patterns and allows the client to participate in the process of identifying muscular imbalances and misalignments. As soon as the client gains a greater sense of body awareness pain may be managed by encouraging the client to stop any range of motion prior to pain occurring. Even if it takes instructing the client to only move in quarter-inch increments, (as has been done with fibromyalgia clients) it is possible to empower the client to feel he or she has some control over the pain felt and therefore enables the client to manage the occurrence of pain overall. Even if the origins of back pain appear idiopathic, addressing the cause of a client’s kinesiophobia by giving them tools to control spinal movement and the load of associated stabilizer muscle groups, allows the client to recover faster than telling them to ignore the seemingly irrational fear. The experience of pain is real to the individual and a way to help him or her navigate beyond and through the pain is to offer one a sense of control over it in the first place.

Overall, Pilates addresses back pain on both a mental and physical level. Clients will learn stabilize their spines through a series of core strengthening exercises and will also learn to understand their body’s response to perceived pain. Once a client develops a strong and stable trunk , it is also crucial to provide tools to enhance flexibility using the “core” as the foundation for all body movement and activity. Pilates offers clients the opportunity to apply the body awareness and core engagement techniques learned in their sessions to their every day lives. Stemming from the fact the client is actively involved in the process of recovery during the sessions, future likelihood of reinjury of the back lessens and compliance of practicing skills for spinal stability and core engagement increases.

Hello, everyone! My name is Nancy Besser. Ever since I can remember, I envisioned having a fulfilling career focused on helping and serving other people. This desire has led me to many different paths throughout my life: I studied managerial economics as an undergraduate, psychology as a graduate, and opened a Pilates studio that specialized in Post-rehabilitative Conditioning, post-graduate. Based on this wide range of training, one infer that I am self-directed and self-motivated, and that each of my life experiences helped create who I am today. My background reveals an ability to thrive in multiple learning environments, as well as a sense of empathy for those struggling with physical or psychological discomfort. I have dedicated my life to furthering my education and knowledge base in order to better assist others.

Nearly a decade ago, I went through a life changing experience when I was a passenger in a serious car accident that left me with a separated AC joint in my right shoulder. Searing. That is the only word fitting to use to describe the pain I felt in my right shoulder. It was as though someone took a spear and permanently affixed it to my body via weaving it through each layer of muscle and tissue surrounding my shoulder in order that no part of the joint feel unscathed by the sharp, jagged edge of the weapon. Simply lifting my arm became an arduous task. I sought help from a respected physical therapist and began a slow and painful rehabilitation process. In the midst of my ongoing recovery, I managed to pursue my interest in psychology by completing a graduate studies degree at Golden Gate University.

After nearly a year of physical therapy treatment, I experienced some improvement but still had pain every day. I felt discouraged and frustrated with the instability of my shoulder joint and with not being able to participate in the activities I had enjoyed in the past. A friend suggested I visit a rehab Pilates practitioner to see if relief was possible. After only one session the pain lessened. Following a month of rehab Pilates sessions, my shoulder only hurt roughly 25 percent of the time and after six months the pain had disappeared altogether. Impressed beyond words with the change in my body, I declined acceptance into a doctorate program in neuropsychology and instead enrolled in an intensive Pilates instructor certification program. I chose the program offered by Turning Point Studios in Walnut Creek California because it focused on using Pilates as a form of physical therapy and rehabilitation.

Shortly after completion of the training curriculum I opened my own Pilates studio. The general consensus among my clients was that I excelled in customizing sessions to each individual’s need for overall body alignment and balance. Within a year I saw ten to twelve private clients daily and benefitted from word-of-mouth referrals from satisfied clients and local medical professionals. In my spare time, I studied kinesiology, anatomy and psychology texts for my own development as a teacher and student. My background in life coaching and psychology was very helpful when dealing with clients suffering from injuries, recovering from surgery, or even simply facing everyday stress. I showed them that sometimes a gentle approach is the best way to go about treating an injury.

The purpose of sessions with my clients was to help them feel empowered in their daily lives and activities. Often we collaborated to create new strategies for their patterns of movement. I helped clients discover that it was possible to without pain, even if it meant only moving a little bit at a time. My approach allowed them to regain range of motion and trust in their bodies. By using my psychology background and my training to understand muscular imbalances I could help my clients on multiple levels. For some clients, who had tried various approaches with minimal results, my approach buoyed their confidence and greatly increased their willingness to try new methods of rehabilitation. Due to my own experience with a debilitating injury, it was clear to my clients that I was just like them in my own way: I demonstrated that one could overcome a horrible injury by looking beyond perceived limitations.

As a rehab Pilates practitioner, I continue to further develop and refine the traits and skills I have acquired in both psychology and Pilates: patience, creativity, enthusiasm, attention to detail, and empathy. I love what I do; it is my passion. I am eager to explore new ways to help others who are frustrated and discouraged by their own limitations. I want to show them that they can achieve success in ways unique to their individual goals and activities. A successful teacher is one who possesses the ability to identify why a particular activity is important to each person and one who is willing to not judge any particular student’s path or progress. At this point in my life I want to understand how movement and activity offer healing to individuals on a deeper level.

My journey towards my personal “Balanced Place” is dynamic, and though the curve and elevation of the roads taken may change and evolve, the final destination of living without pain in a body that is balanced on all levels is firmly set deep within my mind as my only choice.