Lisa van Gisbergen

This is a question I’ve gotten stuck on the more experienced I have become. I was really good at spouting off the ubiquitous but generic spiels about improving posture (it doesn’t) and creating a mind-body awareness (whatever that is…), and it being a “safe” method of working out (again, wtf?)

Pilates isn’t just a series of exercises. It’s a resistance training program. It’s a movement practice. It’s a space where you learn about how your body works. It’s where you regain confidence in an injured body and learn how resilient you are. It’s where you learned that “just getting old” isn’t the reason why you felt like shit. It was the first step to get you running again. It helped you get back out on the golf course. It got rid of that nagging lower back pain you’ve been dealing with for the past 5 years. It gave you confidence in your physical abilities. It made push-ups less agonizing. It got rid of your neck pain. It got rid of your shoulder pain. It got rid of your knee pain. It kept you moving when you were injured. It helped with your rehabilitation. It provides cross-training apart from your other activities. It kicked your ass. It helped you sleep better.

My inability to describe what I did led me outside the realm of my Pilates training (thankfully) in search of a broader perspective on teaching human movement and building strength. In that journey, I learned about optimizing joint health and creating movement options. I’ve learned to assess movements in various ways and critically apply concepts of efficiency of movement to help clients with varying injuries, abilities, ages and goals.

Since my certification in Pilates, I’ve become trained in Dr. Andreo Spina’s Functional Range Conditioning, Functional Gait assessment with Dr’s Courtney Conley and Jen Perez of Gait Happens, and lower body biomechanics with David Grey Rehab. I’ve taken workshops with Pilates practitioners that offer evidence-based applications of the Pilates method and unique approaches to teaching Pilates utilizing strength-training concepts. I’ve done workshops with movement practitioners that weren’t Pilates Instructors. I’ve freed myself of identifying with any brand of Pilates as my experience and application of knowledge is now more vast than my initial training.

I call myself a Pilates teacher as it’s a straightforward and simple term, but it’s misleading because I don’t just teach Pilates (don’t get me wrong, I love Pilates).

What I really do is get people moving.

To date Lisa has expanded her training in Dubai, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul, Copenhagen, Vienna, Milan, Toronto, Calgary, Rome, New York, Washington, Chicago, Montreal and online.