After a career as a defense attorney, Jill Nolan has traded the courtroom for the Pilates studio.
Nolan opened The Pointe Pilates in the Pittsburgh area in April, beginning a new chapter inspired, in part, by what she observed during her legal career. After seeing clients struggle with injuries and physical limitations, she became increasingly interested in functional fitness and body awareness.
“I saw that so many people could either have prevented their injuries or at least gotten a better result if they had better bodily function,” Nolan said.
Nolan had retired from practicing law to raise her children when she began Pilates as a student. After practicing Pilates for nearly 20 years, she decided to take her interest further and become a certified instructor.
“It just struck me how many people have so little bodily awareness and so little functional fitness, and how vital that is to keeping us healthy,” Nolan said. “Posture and alignment and all those things contribute to a healthy spine, and therefore a healthy body.”
After completing three years of training, Nolan became certified in classical Pilates and the BALLance Method. Nolan said she is the only certified BALLance Method instructor in the Pittsburgh area.
She eventually opened her own studio, giving her the freedom to tailor her instruction to the individual needs of each client.
“The one thing that I have learned the most about in teaching is that everybody is different,” Nolan said. “Everybody comes in with a different need that day, and it could change day to day. … The session flows according to the needs of the client.”
Although Pilates shares some characteristics with other forms of exercise and movement, Nolan said its emphasis on strength and the core distinguishes it from other practices.
“Yoga is great for flexibility and for a mind-body connection, but Pilates is more about strength,” Nolan said. “We teach you strength using your center, or your core, to guide every movement, and it really builds strength and functional fitness.”
Classical Pilates is built around six guiding principles: centering, concentration, control, precision, breath and flow. Nolan incorporates those principles into her instruction while adapting exercises to clients of different ages, abilities and fitness levels.
“Pilates is really for everybody, no matter your age, no matter your strength, no matter your level of fitness,” Nolan said. “We’re taught to teach the body in front of us, meaning I don’t follow a script or a rote method. I can modify and give each client exactly what they need on that day.”
Rather than group classes, Nolan offers individual and duet sessions, allowing her to provide more personalized instruction.
Of all the benefits she sees from teaching Pilates, Nolan said she finds the greatest satisfaction in watching clients recognize their own progress.
“Nothing makes me happier than seeing somebody come in and a month earlier they couldn’t do a roll-up, and now they can,” Nolan said. “Just to see the look on their face and see how proud they are of themselves. … And then you hear people say, ‘Wow, I can bend down and pick up my grandkids now.’”
Customers can contact Nolan for bookings and inquiries on her website www.thepointepilatespgh.com or email her at thepointepilates@gmail.com
