Andrea M was walking to a Los Angeles coffee shop when a driver made an illegal left turn causing another car to swerve and hit her, leaving her left leg completely severed at mid-thigh, and her other leg fractured. A good Samaritan applied a tourniquet and attended to her until an ambulance arrived, but unfortunately her leg couldn’t be saved. As a long-time yoga and Pilates devotee, this new reality was especially difficult for her. She spent a month recuperating in the hospital and six months in a wheelchair until she was able to put weight on the fractured right leg.
When she woke up in the hospital, she was unnerved by seeing the loss of her leg but grateful that she had survived. But the pain of enduring five surgeries, being treated differently as an amputee and not being able to lead the active lifestyle she was accustomed to added stress.
“It’s been an emotional roller coaster,” Andrea says. “In the beginning I cried a lot. The drugs I was given helped but they had side effects. I just had to learn to live with this new reality.”
Now Andrea is rebuilding her life and regaining her confidence, and that journey started with a return to Pilates. Even though her left leg is fitted with an above-the-knee prosthesis and her right leg cannot completely bend, she has found a way to practice again. She has also been inspired to help others experiencing physical limitations find healing and strength through Pilates.
“I want people with disabilities to know that there are no limits, only adaptation. Our bodies may work differently, but our potential is the same. With the right support and creativity, there’s nothing we can’t learn to do in our own way,” says Andrea.
She recently enrolled in the Sheppard Method Pilates Certification Teacher Training Program in West Los Angeles where she found seasoned instructors who have experience working with special conditions and who were patient, enthusiastic, and willing to work with her.
Under the tutelage of Master Pilates instructor and studio owner Risa Sheppard and co-teacher Janine Venable-deZarn, Andrea is close to completing her 16-week course. Every Friday she and a handful of other women spend five hours training, studying, and practicing.
After 370 additional hours of observed Pilates studio sessions, and passing a written anatomy exam, a mat class exam, an equipment exam, and completing case studies, Andrea will have completed a 450-hour comprehensive Pilates Teacher Training program, the gold standard for Pilates training programs.
“Pilates is a very accessible form of exercise so particularly ideal for those with diverse movement abilities,” notes Sheppard. “It’s low intensity and can be modified in many ways. Some of the equipment is designed with springs that offer a lot of support and the straps and bars also provide important assistance.”
Bringing her knowledge of anatomy, especially the musculoskeletal system, from 16 years of working with a pain management doctor, co-teacher Venable-deZarn believes that one of the keys to Andrea overcoming balance issues is the symmetry of Pilates exercises.
“Much of the repertoire uses either both arms or both legs moving simultaneously in the same pattern, which can reveal where discrepancies are between the right and left sides. By isolating one leg or one arm in an exercise, weak muscles can be strengthened and tight ones stretched.”
German-born Joseph Pilates had his own physical challenges. Suffering from asthma, rickets, and rheumatic fever motivated him to transform his body through bodybuilding, gymnastics, and boxing. While he was interned on the Isle of Man during World War I as a detained civilian, he developed his own techniques and equipment to help injured soldiers.
“Taking on this new direction gives me a sense of empowerment,” notes Andrea. “I feared that I wouldn’t be able to do Pilates at all, but this has given me a real confidence boost.” As a future mentor, Andrea’s dedication to her own rehabilitation, coupled with Pilates certification, will no doubt inspire others facing physical challenges.
