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Meet Zonnie Bauer of Zonnie Bauer Pilates in Montrose

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Today we’d like to introduce you to Zonnie Bauer.

Zonnie, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I come from Portland, Oregon. I danced professionally in modern, jazz and theatrical styles, and was an acrobat/trapeze artist. I traveled a lot and taught in many places: Sydney, Australia, Salvador, Brazil, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and more. My Art is Choreography; I created dance concerts and pieces about my experiences; living and teaching in Brazil and training the Afro-Brazilian martial art/dance capoeira, my travels Brazil, Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador and Israel.

After that I moved to Los Angeles and worked mostly in stage, winning a Drama-Logue Award for a new musical, Blue Corridor. I worked a bit in film, TV and video.

One of my favorite experiences was working with Cirque du Soleil choreographer, Debra Brown and the Cirque Four Contortionists.

After about 25-years of choreography and teaching intensively, I began to have knee pain due my knee cap tracking incorrectly. A doctor recommended surgery to cut the ligament and realign the knee cap. That was extreme to me. However, a fellow dancer, turned Pilates instructor, told me she could help me. After 10 lessons, mostly on the reformer, my kneecap tracked just fine. This was a simple solution that made me ’cause’ over the problem, not create more problems by surgery. I realized that Pilates is the technology that rehabilitates the body – athletes or anyone. And prevents injuries. I wanted this for my dancers, for my friends, for my future.

I jumped in with both feet: I sold my Los Angeles based dance school and traveled to Toronto to the STOTT/Merrithew International Training Center. This is a program that blends classic Pilates with rehabilitation. This was a perfect match for me!

I had been involved in many movement forms to improve an old neck injury from trying to fly when I was 7 or 8 years old. (whoops!). I had done Alexander Technique, other ‘Release techniques’ and more recently The Egoscue Method for correcting alignment and creating more freedom of motion. But Pilates gave me a vehicle and well -rounded curriculum through which I could utilize all my skills and experiences to help myself and others with injuries or less than perfect motion.

I taught in several places (I love to travel): Sydney, Tampa Bay area, then back in LA. I established my first studio when I was married and living in W. New York.

However, I longed for the West Coast and eventually moved back, unmarried, to Los Angeles five years ago. I love living up near the San Gabriel mountains in upper Glendale (Montrose). It is more like my home town of Portland, Oregon.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Fairly smooth road with the usual amount of life obstacles to overcome!

I continue on my chosen path to help artists, athletes and highly productive folks to create a body completely under their control and that assists them to achieve their goals in life.

Alright – so let’s talk business. Tell us about Zonnie Bauer Pilates – what should we know?
My Pilates business is small and very personal. I work mostly one-on-one; with a few duos and small groups. The studio is a lovely, light space; intimate. We are professional, but fun. I work mostly in-studio, but do travel to some clients who prefer to remain anonymous or whose schedules won’t allow their travel.

I am known for ‘cracking the case on a client’. I find what has been ‘missed’ in the clients’ earlier training, whether Pilates or another earlier workout/sport and what needs to get corrected to get that person in great shape and able to do what they want. For example, correcting the athlete who has the nagging back issue that hasn’t fully resolved, or who just couldn’t build his power to get to the next level, or the client who never really understood the body mechanics and control so couldn’t achieve the grace or aesthetics in motion.

Each client starts with a full posture evaluation to assess any structural misalignment or muscle imbalance, Then we look at ideal posture charts and assess the differences between his alignment and the ideal alignment. Next, I show the key core muscles and he finds them and learns how to activate them. I find very few people know or understand these. Then, the client learns the basics or corrects their basics as needed. The program flows from there, training that person from the inside out, with special attention to form and proper breathing, building that ideal scene.

Knowledge is power. The more knowledge and understanding I can impart and assist my client to discover, the faster that client will reach his goals. Each client in front of me is unique and I address this uniqueness. It is all done with continual positive reinforcement. He is highly validated for his work, his focus, his improvements however small.

I am most proud of the range of experience and tools I bring to help each client achieve their goals. I am exhilarated to fix something on a client. Clients repeatedly tell me that they have never been trained like this before and never really understood the body like this or understood what they were trying to fix or how the core helps with this.

It is exhilarating to help another become a more effective, productive person in life!

Any shoutouts? Who else deserves credit in this story – who has played a meaningful role?
Jean Dale Glass – helped me relocate to Los Angeles and helps me immensely with marketing and promotion.

Barb Russell – who helps me keep focused on my targets and goals and keep the superfluous stuff off my production and personal lines.

Pricing:

  • Introductory session with full posture evaluation – $40

Contact Info:


Image Credit:
Jean Dale Glass

Getting in touch: VoyageLA is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you know someone who deserves recognition please let us know here.

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