Anita Seiz Pilates

My experience with Anita was - without exaggeration - a life-changing experience! I am a woman of a certain age who also happens to be a right, below-knee amputee. I was referred by my prosthetist after experiencing another injury to my already amputated leg. While the injury itself had been rehabilitated through physiotherapy, my whole body was still weak. I was transformed physically by regaining my core strength through Anita's training and a more positive outlook overall that this strength naturally brings. I no longer require bi-weekly visits to the chiropractor, and best of all - I got my butt back! Needless to say I highly recommend Anita - who in her own right is well-respected in the Pilates community.

I had taken Pilates many times before, always with very competent teachers, however it never really clicked for me until I started working with Anita. She called her approach "Restorative Pilates" which I really liked and while I still really enjoy doing yoga and working out in the gym, I find Pilates to be the most comprehensive and effective movement system I've tried. Always makes me feel amazing.

Anita has been a game-changer for me, I've had so many huge improvements while working with her and my body continues to get better and better. I first came to her when looking to increase my movement while healing my chronic pain in my right knee and leg, as well as looking to find as much balance in my back as possible with my scoliosis. We made great strides very soon after starting, and I was able to get back to biking and skiing, which was quite exciting for me. For the first time after having pain, I felt safe to explore moving in different ways again as Anita was able to help me find different ways of using my body. Anita has helped me reshape how I move and has increased my level of body awareness, so that I can continue making changes to how I move even after a session. Her diverse knowledge really informs her work, and I feel incredibly grateful to have found her! Her new space at Westcoast Osteopathy and Wellness is beautiful as well. Thanks so much for all of your help Anita, your approach is really quite different from most and it's really made a big difference for me.

While Pilates classes, studios, and certified instructors are easy to find, much less easy is finding an instructor who is deeply knowledgeable about the body mechanics underlying these movement practices. Anita’s uncanny ability to understand exactly what my body is doing (usually before I do, myself!) speaks to her extensive knowledge in movement analysis. She strives to raise her client’s awareness of their body and movement by helping them “feel” what she sees happening in their bodies instead of just correcting them. (In contrast, every other Pilates instructor I’ve ever worked with—well over a dozen different instructors--has just manually shifted my arms/legs/hips/shoulders/etc. into position for me and we move on.) Throughout each session, Anita will ask me to think about what muscles are activating with each movement and talks me through the shifting of my body into the correct positions and alignments so I can experience the differences in muscle engagement. Helping me to understand for myself how the slightest adjustments of my hands, feet, arch of back, etc. can fundamentally (de-)activate completely different muscle groups has been eye-opening and has helped develop my own body and movement awareness that I now am able transfer into my daily life (e.g., improving overall body posture, gait awareness, etc.). Regardless of how my body is feeling walking into a Pilates session with Anita, I always (yes, always!) leave with a noticeable increase in range of movement/motion and walk away feeling stronger, taller, and more body-aware. I can say, without a doubt, that I’ve benefited more fully from Pilates under Anita’s expert guidance than with any other instructor I have ever worked with. Thank you, Anita!

I have seen Anita privately for over 10 years. I had a back problem in 2005/2006 after a knee injury. Pilates has become a regular part of my life - usually twice a week. Having had sciatic nerve pain, I consider it a prerequisite to maintaining good posture and good health. I am 50 years old and while I've been active, I have never been a particularly good athlete and I am in a profession where I ride a desk all day. I have super-tight hamstrings and I am very inflexible in general. To me Pilates is a integral part of a balanced workout regime. Anita is one of the top Pilates teachers in Vancouver. She understands movement (ie. the 'big picture') so well that she is able to tailor your session to what is possible for you (for now) rather than what is 'perfect'. However, the benefits of regular practice are still available, and arguably more important, for people like myself. I think I have made substantial progress over the years, but I still view it as a long term commitment. Like anything else, you generally get out of what you put in. In my view, not enough people like myself work on this kind of movement practice, though ironically we are typically the most in need of it ! Anita is a world class professional at what she does, and is a very interesting, wise and compassionate person to talk to as well. I really enjoy our sessions and I cannot recommend her highly enough.

I absolutely love? the videos that feature pilates with Anita on my Gaiam TV Exercise app. What an excellent program for strength and flexibility. She's extremely talented.?..