March 20, 2017

Meet Susan Vishmid of Movement by Susy in West Los Angeles

Local Stories

Today we’d like to introduce you to Susan Vishmid.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I am a professional ballet dancer. I began studying ballet at age four at Westside School of Ballet in Santa Monica. I continued my professional training at the Pacific Northwest Ballet School, San Francisco Ballet School and The Rock School in Philadelphia and eventually began performing with the Pennsylvania Ballet by age 16. I have also danced with the Santa Fe Opera, San Diego Opera, Napoles Ballet Company, Chicago Festival Ballet, City of Angels Ballet, California Riverside Ballet, California Contemporary Ballet, and Coast City Ballet.

Upon my return to Los Angeles after dancing in Philadelphia I experienced what some might refer to as an existential crisis. In other words, I was burnt out from the grueling and unkind lifestyle of ballet by the ripe old age of 17, a common trend unfortunately. I had no idea what to identify as if not as a dancer. Being a ballet dancer is a dancer’s identity. After what I believed was my “early retirement” from ballet I attended the University of Southern California and received a B.A. in communication and philosophy, graduating cum laude. I was always active and worked out all the time during my time at USC. How could I not? I was a movement junkie! However, I did take about a five or six year hiatus from dance and it was not until 2008, when I really became hooked on yoga, that I decided to come out of retirement and re-nter the world of ballet. This time it would be on my terms and for me! Not for anyone else or for any other reason.

In 2008 I decided to pursue a yoga teacher certification through the Yoga Works 200-Hour Teacher Training and the Yoga Works 300-Hour Professional Teacher Training Programs. I had the privilege of studying with some of today’s most sought after yoga instructors including Annie Carpenter, Lisa Walford, Erich Schiffman and Heather Seiniger. Finding yoga was like rediscovering the dancer in me that I had locked away because that is what I thought I was “supposed” to do at that point in my life. However, I knew that there was something missing and that my soul would forever be filled with regret if I did not return to the beautiful, dark, lonely, strange and insular world of ballet. I was always told I had such “talent,” such “facility,” such a “ballet body” that I felt as though I owed it to ballet to make a gallant effort to return.

Most dancers cross train with Pilates or yoga or something of the sort and having practiced Pilates since age 15 I wanted to share its benefits with my students. I decided to expand my teaching repertoire from yoga and ballet to yoga, ballet and Pilates. I completed my Pilates certification through the Pilates Sports Center and teach on all forms of equipment including Mat, Reformer, Wunda Chair, Cadillac, and Barrel. My approach to movement is therapeutic and alignment based, which is ideal for clients interested in rehabilitation and/or injury prevention and for those who are interesred in strengthening and conditioning.

In the words of the man himself, Joseph Pilates…. “In 10 sessions you’ll feel the difference, in 20 sessions you’ll see the difference, and in 30 sessions you’ll have a whole new body”

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
When I first began teaching yoga I taught at gyms like LA Fitness, where I must say the pay was insulting. For someone coming from what I like to call a “pedestrian” background this might be fine. To someone who has literally been a movement professional her entire life it is insulting. It took me a long time to stop taking things like this personally and move past the frustration and open myself up to other opportunities that eventually did lead to greater successes.

Another struggle which brought a lot of unnecessary frustration was looking at some of these more “pedestrian” instructors getting jobs teaching at gyms or studios and wondering “how the heck is this person teaching others how to move?” Teaching movement is a big responsibility because you are literally molding people’s bodies either into anatomically correct or anatomically incorrect postures. There is no way someone who simply completed a yoga certification or a Pilates certification could possibly ascertain all the subtleties involved in the movement arts, much less the execution of movement with proper alignment compared to someone with a dance background. We are talking about a lifetime of dedicated training compared with a few months of training. There is a saying that “Dancers make the best Pilates instructors” and this is precisely why.

Please tell us about Movement by Susy.
Movement by Susy is just that… movement by me given to others. I teach ballet, yoga and Pilates and I incorporate elements of all three within whatever discipline I teach. My main focus is Pilates, yet there is so much crossover that labels almost become irrelevant.

I specialize in tailoring my workouts to the client’s needs. I love to work with beginners, especially in yoga because they do not have any preconceived ideas about how it is supposed to look or feel. I have a knack for getting people to “feel” and experience their bodies in a completely new way. Through a newfound awareness, this deeper understanding of movement extends into the client’s daily life. What we do in the studio translates into the client’s everyday world and informs them to make more intelligent choices, whether it relates to movement or nutrition. I always tell my clients “If you can feel it, then you can fix it.” I consider myself a “redirector of awareness.”

I think that literally reintroducing people to their bodies is what I am most proud of. Students feel empowered not only because they begin seeing results but because they are the ones ultimately in control of those positive results. Pilates is the “thinking person’s workout.” I provide information to students and bring their awareness back into their bodies through careful instruction, proper alignment and breathe techniques. This unique approach facilitates physical, mental, and spiritual wholeness.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
If I had the chance to do things differently, I would have pursued my Pilates certification sooner. Once I began teaching Pilates my teaching career really flourished.

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