Graduate Highlight : Laura Cappelletti

Meet Laura, an inspired Polestar Practitioner, Graduate and United Nations Foundation champion!

What do you love about teaching Pilates and owning a studio?

LC: Those are all very different questions requiring unique answers. What I love about teaching Pilates is that it enables and empowers people to live their best lives and to attend their daily tasks and activities with zest, pleasure and spontaneity, as spoken by my true hero, Joseph Pilates. I love that Pilates creates harmony in the body because of the unique equipment, well-designed exercises, and programming. It is deeply researched and educators are always evolving it. To me, there is no greater pleasure than my clients letting me know that they have never felt better, their pain is gone and/or minimized, or they are living life more fully! For instance, one of my clients that has a 41 degree scoliosis curve won first place in the Wynstone golf tournament.

I love being a studio owner because I get to build a team of fantastic trainers that share my values and reach many clients every week. I love the sense of community it creates between trainers and clients and the friendships that evolve.

What are your current inspirations and what do you love about them?

LC: Brent Anderson has always been an inspiration to my teaching. I quote him regularly. I always start with the image of balloons between the vertebrae to establish elongation. Let’s just say my clients are well aware that they don’t want to be a “sagittal beast.” I study his teachings and take his webinars. I adapted and relate to his layers of energy healing, movement as healing, and having clients own their thoughts- thoughts are energy! My entire career focuses on clients with pain and chronic physical issues.

Also, an inspiration is ActivMotion Bar. I just LOVE the ActivMotion Bar, which is a bar with moving steel weight ball bearings. Derek Mikulski, founder of the ActivMotion Bar, gave me the tool and programming to challenge my clients in so many versatile and effective ways. I use it in a variety of settings, including private and group classes, and for a variety of clients, from athletes to seniors. I was so excited about the bar after using it for three years that I am now a master trainer for ActivMotion Bar and happy to teach the PILATES foundation course if interested.

Why Pilates? How did you find the practice?

LC: I have worked in the fitness industry for over 35yrs. Fitness and movement has always been at the heart of me!

I learned about Pilates in 1991 when a small Pilates studio in Barrington opened. It immediately made sense to me, and I decided to go “all-in”  and become a Pilates professional. I became certified in classical Pilates and started teaching for a couple of years. One summer I attended a StottPilates Workshop and realized that I had so much more to learn. I became Stott Pilates certified and a Stott Pilates post-rehab specialist. Over a number of years I kept my eye on Polestar, because my clients were coming in with complex physical issues. I had an increasing number of clients with chronic pain, so I felt that Polestar could get me to the next level, and it did.

What do you hope to convey in your teaching?

LC: Joy. As your sessions progress so will the way you feel, not just in Pilates but also in your daily life. Pilates is a tremendous gift to yourself.

Where would you love to vacation?

LC: Colorado. I love the higher vibration, the mountains, the active life, healthy lifestyles, and like-minded people. I also look forward to traveling to India where my family and I have been working for over ten years to help liberate the Thurumbar community.

What is your favorite quote? How do you live, embody or apply this?

LC: “Change happens through movement and movement heals.” -Joseph Pilates. I work with clients’ aches and pains and love to see how Pilates heals all the time. I encourage my clients to move, play, and dance.

“Joy is a net of love by which you can catch souls.” -Mother Teresa

It is of utmost importance to me that I am constantly striving to ease suffering. I am a United Nation Foundation champion and ever since the days I opened my studio, we donate one bed net for EVERY pilates packaged purchased to fight malaria & save lives. We have donated over $12,000, resulting in over 3000 lives protected from malaria. We donate locally as well, $5 from every group fit package purchased goes towards helping local shelters.

I work to help liberate people from bonded slavery in the Thurumbar community in India, where basic needs are not met. Our studio has held a number of fundraisers, which contribute to the construction of a community center.

There has never been a time that I said no to an organization asking us to donate a basket. I believe the business is a tremendous platform to aid the community and anyone in our paths.

“The most important moment is now and it’s ever changing.” This quote reminds me to be in the moment always and especially when training.

How do you describe your movement style?

LC: I would describe my movement style as mindful, intuitive & playful. Mindful in movement, mindful in thought process.

What is your favorite apparatus or favorite way to move? What do you love about it?

LC: My favorite apparatus is the one I need at any given moment. I love the versatility of ALL the equipment and how the equipment can progress and/or assist an exercise.

What are you reading or learning about?

LC: Hands of Light by Barbara Brennan. The author is known as one of most spiritually influential people in the world. Her techniques are well-proven and applicable. The world of energy healing is inspiring and enlightening; it adds another layer onto my training.

Would you like to send a shout-out?

LC: I am the proud owner of Yin Yang Pilates & Yoga, a premier Pilates studio in the NW Suburbs of Chicago for over 11yrs. I am very proud of the extremely talented staff and the tremendous clients that have become what we call the Yin Yang Family!; activmotionbar.com; @kaisafit on Instagram: She’s not a Pilates trainer and more yang than yin, but she inspires me, and I love to see her craziness and passion for fitness.

Check out Laura’s Studio Yin Yang Pilates & Yoga

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