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Kim Parker, owner of Pleasing Pilates, has been teaching the methods of Joseph Pilates for 7 years. Trained at A Body of Work and certified by the Physical Mind Institute in 1998, Kim is dedicated to furthering her knowledge and has studied with Maria Leone of Bodyline fitness in 2001. As a Pilates teacher in Los Angeles, she encourages her students to stay attune to their bodies by taking notice of their strengths and weaknesses and to strive toward incorporating Pilates movements into their everyday lives.
Kim started studying Pilates after reading an article describing the theories of Joseph Pilates. Drawn to the total body-conditioning approach, Kim began mat classes at a local Los Angeles studio and quickly saw results. Along with noticeable body strength came a greater awareness of her movement and a newfound focus on her overall well-being. Having experienced the benefits firsthand, Kim decided to seek training as a certified Pilates instructor.
The Pilates workout results in greater core muscle strength, elongated muscles, improved body alignment and posture, corrected muscle imbalances, enhanced athletic performance and rejuvenates the entire body. Kim’s students also cite greater flexibility as well as weight loss and elimination of back pain.
Kim also has a degree in Associate of Arts from Santa Barbara City College and a Fashion Degree from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising.
The Pilates clothing category hasn’t had enough interesting items for me, speaking as a Pilates instructor. Since I went to fashion school and got a degree in fashion design I thought why not design some art or graphics with a Pilates theme that I can wear? I am always wearing t-shirts with graphics on them anyway, why not cute Pilates ones? So I sat down and started sketching out ideas. It became quite fun as I started to play with the possible double meanings of our Pilates terms and phrases I had made up while I was teaching. My first shirts were hand painted my me with fabric paint. I wore them when teaching Pilates and my clients liked them. Luckily it wasn’t just talk, they wanted to buy them as well. From there I used my background fashion experience to take the steps of having a screen printer screen a quantity of shirts. This meant I was actually pursuing a business selling Pilates t-shirts and why not? They are my 2 favorite things!
