When a 50-year-old lawyer named David Freeman first tried Pilates 21 years ago, he had no idea it would heal a debilitating back injury, lead him to a new career and transform his life.
Pilates Style: I know you live in Fort Lauderdale now, but you grew up in New York, right?
David Freeman: Yes, I was born in the Bronx in 1945 and moved to Westchester County, NY. I attended Hobart College and Georgetown Law School, graduating in 1969. I moved back to Westchester and practiced law in New York for over 40 years, then moved to Florida in 2000.
PS: How did you discover Pilates?
David: I have always been athletic and eventually, I ended up injuring my back. By my late 40s, it had gotten really bad, and I was advised to have surgery. Pilates was my last shot before surgery. I went to a teacher named Carol Baker, whom I later found out had trained with Romana Kryzanowska.
PS: Did you see results immediately?
David: Not immediately. Carol had to modify the exercises because of my pain level, so the improvement was gradual. But as soon as the pain went down and I could start working harder, my body started changing. They told me when I first started that I’d feel better in 10 sessions, look better in 20 and have a new body in 30— and they were right. Twenty-one years later, I have no back problems and never had surgery.
PS: How did you end up going through Romana’s teacher-training program?
David: Carol saw that I was excited about what Pilates had done for me and that I wanted to make it a part of my life. She told me to see Romana at Drago’s in NYC. She explained that Romana had been trained by Joseph Pilates and taught with him.
Bu hikaye Pilates Style dergisinin September - October 2016 sayısından alınmıştır.
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Bu hikaye Pilates Style dergisinin September - October 2016 sayısından alınmıştır.
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