Maria Sison-Wright, Inner Core Wellness - Authentic Pilates Instructor and Physical Therapist in Merrifield near Tysons Corner

[DonRocks]

I've been working with Maria Sison-Wright for almost a year now, and she has made a huge, positive impact on my life.

Maria has recently opened Inner Core Wellness, just a few blocks down Gallows Road from Tysons Corner.

There are so many good things I have to say about Maria that I don't know where to begin, so let me begin here: she teaches only "Authentic Pilates." Unless you know something about Pilates, that means nothing to you, so I'll try to explain.

Joseph Pilates (1883-1967) invented the Pilates method, originally for people lying in hospital beds, so they could get some exercise, too. Even today, original Pilates equipment is designed and used as if the student were in a modified hospital bed, rigged up with levers, and pullies, and bands, and springs, and other accoutrements that can help immobile patients get vital exercise to improve the basic quality of their lives. Over 500 exercises - some of them enormously strenuous - can be done in one of these modified hospital beds, affectionately known as a "Cadillac," (note the mention of Detroit below) to help these patients take their lives back, all without even putting their feet on the floor.

Pilates was born in Germany, and moved to the United States in 1925. After the death of Pilates' wife, Clara, in 1970, Romana Kryzanowska was tasked with carrying on the legacy of the "Original Pilates Studio." Kryzanowska, who was born in Detroit in 1923 (the same year as my parents!), was a ballet student who studied in the George Balanchine school, and ultimately became heir to Pilates' legacy.

A dwindling number of instructors in the United States have had a chance to apprentice under Kryzanowska (although she is alive and well), but Maria is one of the lucky few to be carrying on the unvarnished method. When you study Pilates under Maria, you're studying the exact same Pilates that Joseph Pilates pioneered. No other "type" of Pilates class being taught (there are various types) can claim this authenticity.

Maria is not only a master of Authentic Pilates, she's also an expert at working with people of all abilities - from advanced athletes and dancers, to people with terrible injuries who need multiple years of recovery - Authentic Pilates focuses on lengthening the spine, and strengthening the "core," and everything flows from there. It's a discipline of millimeters, and anyone who thinks it's "easy" has simply never tried it before. It is very difficult at first, but also lends itself to extreme beauty when executed correctly. I've worked with it now for almost a year, and feel that I have an enormous amount to learn before I can claim to be even an intermediate student, much less a master - a distant target that I will continue to strive for because I plan to stay with Authentic Pilates for the rest of my life, and for as long as possible, under Master Maria.

There are two types of aging athletes: those who did this type of work when they were younger, and those who wish they did. If you have back pain, or are recovering from injury, or are just wishing to lengthen and strengthen, then tutelage under Maria Sison-Wright will quite likely benefit you. If you need PT, she takes CareFirst (thank goodness), and she is one of the kindest, most caring people I've come across in the world of physical therapy. She cares about me personally - she feels it when I'm not feeling well - and adjusts my sessions accordingly. I thank God I met Maria, and I think you will, too - I simply cannot imagine a more conscientious Pilates-based instructor.

info@innercorewellness.com will get you the 411, and if you have a 911, write her directly at maria@innercorewellness.com. After 10 visits you'll begin to notice a difference, after 20 visits you'll begin to see a difference, after 30 visits, your life will change. It's true. I put my name on this ...

Don Rockwell