Hi everyone! I wanted to re-introduce myself to anyone who might be a new friend to the page and tell you a little bit about why I’m passionate about opening The Pilates Workshop. My name is Mary Stocker and I’m originally from Alabama, but I married a Tennessee boy, so we moved to Ooltewah from Huntsville a couple of years ago to be closer to family with our 4 year old daughter. I went to Physical Therapy school at the University of Florida (Go Gators!), and then continued on to get my Doctorate of Physical Therapy at UTC. I had an orthopedic fellowship at UF after graduating with my Master’s Degree, so I got to work with the athletes there, as well as the UF orthopedic surgeons. I had a great time and learned a lot about rehabilitation after sports injury, as well as how to train to prevent injury during season. While in PT school, I injured my own back and was treated with traditional physical therapy, and I did see improvement, but my symptoms never totally went away. I was told that I would just always have to manage my back pain, and probably one day just have surgery…and I was only 23 years old! One day, after I moved back to Alabama, my local Pilates studio was having a donation mat class for Breast Cancer Awareness, and I decided to try Pilates for the first time. I was hooked! I couldn’t believe that after one mat class, my back pain actually went away. I began to try and take every class that I could, and eventually got certified by the Pilates Method Alliance, and eventually went on to get further trained as a Rehab Certified Specialist by Polestar Pilates. I have now been a PT for 16 years and certified in Pilates for 12 years, and I can definitely tell you that it makes a difference to my patients and clients to follow the Pilates method for rehabilitation. When I have a client that walks into my studio and tells me that they’ve tried everything and they feel that the medical community has now given up on them, I know that they’re in the right place! I honestly believe that I can make a difference in quality of life for all of my clients, and I would love to share my passion for rehab with you all. I hope to see you soon!
