Pilates through Life is based in Winchester and is run by Camilla Anderson, a Body Control Pilates Instructor.
Camilla’s classes are personal and focused on technique. She believes in offering high-quality teaching to ensure a deeper understanding of the Pilates technique to improve Strength, Control, Posture & Flexibility.
Camilla is a certified Active IQ Level 3 Body Control Pilates Instructor and has an Active IQ Level 3 qualification for teaching Pilates to clients with Osteopenia and Osteoporosis.
About me
Honestly…pain brought me to Pilates.
I had been a Sports Therapist for twelve years, spending many hours a week bent over a treatment couch. There I was, busy taking away everybody else’s pain and putting it straight back into my own body.
That combined with a lot of long distance running and not enough attention to my own back and posture, meant I had to give up my job (and the running!) and search for a solution. I was an otherwise fit and healthy 45-year-old and just could not accept that so much of what I enjoyed had come to a grinding halt.
There ensued numerous visits to Physios, Osteopaths etc, but I never got the pain relief I was searching for. I also attended Pilates regularly from 2015, but although I enjoyed the sessions, I always found them to have a ‘one size fits all’ approach, which often did not agree with my back on that day. What I did know, for sure, was that moving always helped and sitting for long periods aggravated everything.
I eventually had an MRI, was diagnosed with a bulging L4/L5 disc and was advised by a surgeon to have spinal surgery. I decided, out of desperation, to go for it but as the date for surgery loomed closer, I couldn’t ignore the creeping doubts any longer and at the eleventh hour, decided against the operation. Surgery should always be the last resort and I decided I needed to exhaust the Pilates route thoroughly, before surrendering to the knife.
It was only when I trained with a Body Control Pilates Instructor that things really began to shift though.
It didn’t happen overnight, but I made a commitment to myself and worked hard. Gradually I realised that I was more aware of my posture in everyday life - when I was walking the dog, cooking, and driving etc. Rather than slumping over a laptop, I sat properly with my head in line with my spine, as opposed to poking my head forwards towards the screen. As a result, muscles relaxed, and pain eased. It’s not rocket science, but we all get into poor postural and lifestyle habits that can result in challenging chronic pain conditions. If we can strive to correct our posture and alignment, our bodies will thank us for it well into old age.
This is where the Body Control Pilates Method is different.
In 2017, because of my own positive experience in managing back pain through Pilates, I investigated the possibility of training as a Body Control Pilates Instructor myself. I wanted to channel my Sports Therapy background (along with all the anatomy & physiology and exercise & rehabilitation techniques I had learnt over 12 years) into something positive and transformative for both myself and my clients. Seven years on, I am a Certified Body Control Pilates Teacher (Register of Exercise Professionals Level 3), I run 5 thriving weekly Pilates classes from my own studio, have many 1 to 1 clients, and I am loving my new career!
