Testimonials

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When I first started working with Deb I was a 52 year old formerly active and somewhat athletic male who had spent years dealing with steadily increasing hip and groin pain.  This steadily increasing hip and groin pain increased such that about three years ago I found myself nearly bedridden and began having to hobble about with a cane.

I had been hit by a car and suffered compound fractures of my left leg at age 12, and as a result my gait was always a bit off center, but that had never prevented me from being very active, playing football, broomball, volleyball, tennis, softball, distance running, working out etc.

At age 45 I first began experiencing discomfort while exercising on an elliptical machine and it slowly got worse and worse. When I consulted a general practitioner at my HMO, he ran some x-rays, said it looked like I had some inflammation, perhaps the onset of arthritis and wanted to prescribe industrial strength ibuprofen and inactivity until I was ready to go in for hip replacements.

I wasn’t interested in replacements, or in blocking pain with drugs, but I decided to try inactivity by keeping weight off my legs as much as possible (I became a couch potato-the absolute wrong thing to do).

I planned my activities to minimize any walking, and recovering from just going to the grocery store and back became like recovering from a marathon. I just kept getting stiffer and weaker.
My inactivity contributed to a hefty (nearly three digit) weight gain over the next year as well.

When I eventually went back to the health club months later I was unable to lift my legs enough to use any machines or cycles. Just standing for more than a few minutes caused excruciating pain and fatigue, necessitating me to sit for several minutes to rest and recover. I decided that I was under-whelmed with the traditional advice I had been given and set out on my own.

Over the course of the next few years, I fasted, tried many different supplements, underwent acupuncture, prolotherapy and chiropractic. All f these therapies helped in small increments, but I was still in constant pain, weak, overweight, discouraged and frustrated. I tried to do exercises on my own but had very limited range of motion and strength.

Then I read about Pete Egoscue on the internet. His story sounded like mine.  After running into a figurative wall in asking traditional allopathic doctors for help with his nagging hip injury/pain, Pete developed his own methodology to heal and retrain muscles and joints.  His proclamation that “bones and joints do what muscles tell them to do” made perfect sense to me.

Billed as "the world leader in non-medical pain relief" the Egoscue Method sounded like just what I needed- someone to help me re-educate my muscles to tell my bones and joints what to do.

That’s how I found Deb on the internet. Not just an approved Egoscue Posture Alignment Therapist, she also seemed very knowledgeable about Pilates and other exercise/therapy methods. She listens carefully, and is very straightforward.

I had deteriorated so much and I had such stiffness and weakness that I was not looking at any magic bullet solution, it would take months to correct, but she could help. I had an aggressive hip flexor disparity coupled with outwardly rotated thighs (femurs) which was only two of several other musculo-skeletal abnormalities. My posture was so out of alignment and I was in such pain and feeling so bad  that she didn’t take before photos, as she didn’t want them to discourage me! 

Three months later, after meeting twice a month and prescribing on average 45 minutes to an hour of daily exercise and stretching done at home, Deb has indeed helped me. My gait, while not quite normal, is getting very close. I’ve lost considerable weight. My strength and flexibility are greatly improved, and my chronic pain is gone-replaced with the normal amount of post exercise/stretching soreness that goes away as my conditioning improves and we move on to more advanced exercises. I can actually stand and move about in the kitchen long enough to prepare meals for the first time in years. My realistic and attainable goal now is to exhibit a normalized gait, and to become cane-free within two more months and to be normally active again in three to four months.

Three months ago I would have thought that sounded impossible-but now it’s an ironclad expectation. Deb is very positive and supportive while also being direct and realistic.

If we have taken months or years to get to a certain injured state-it cannot be healed overnight, but if it can be healed, I believe that Deb is the person to show you the way. She’s definitely been a blessing to me. The most impressive factor is that after listening carefully and conducting an initial analysis/diagnosis, she adjusts her prescription of posture alignment exercises/stretching therapy to the individual.  No computer program spits out a cookie cutter menu, each exercise is customized to my unique situation/requirements, and adjusted accordingly as I continue to improve and heal..

To me that makes the difference.

Tom K.

I have worked with Deb over the course of two summers, 2006 and 2009 and have gone from pretty debilitating lower back pain to virtually pain free.

I was referred to Deb when I was only 23 years old after years of back pain due to a high school gymnastics injury and a life of weak abdominals and generally poor posture. I was very frustrated as a former gymnast and runner as I feared any physical activity as the result was so often pain and back spasms.

The first summer I worked with Deb back in 2006 we did Pilates once a week, and after only 6-8 weeks my pain was virtually gone and I could feel myself standing much straighter. In fact, friends asked if I had lost weight but it was just that my posture was so much better and I stood so much taller!

Unfortunately, at that time I moved away from the Twin Cities and was no longer able to work with Deb. I searched and searched over the course of three years for a pilates/yoga instructor to ‘replace’ her and was consistently disappointed. Deb has more training, and more innate understanding of body mechanics, than any other Pilates instructor that I have met.

Luckily, I spent the summer of 2009 in Minneapolis and was once again able to work with Deb.

This time I went 1-2 times per week as I knew I had such a limited amount of time with her. Despite her vast knowledge of Pilates years before, the training in Egoscue that she received in the interim really advanced our work together. Not only were the 10 weeks with Deb able to get me ‘back on track’ but I now feel like I have many of the tools and exercises to use daily and/or whenever I need them to address back pain, and other alignment issues on my own. I am now back to running a couple of times a week, can go into yoga classes with the tools to know I will get something out of it and not hurt myself, and even recently learned how to snowboard. None of these things were possible in the few years before I worked with Deb.

Despite my progress, I would still choose to work with Deb weekly if I lived in the Twin Cities. I am now committed to striving for better (I don’t dare say perfect) body alignment and I know my progression with Deb would be so much faster and more fulfilling!

Thank you Deb!!

Johanna L.

As a fellow Egoscue affiliate, I have learned to have the highest regard for my colleague, Deb Preachuk.

During a telephone conversation one day, she suggested a short menu to get a better femur position. Her logic made such sense that I followed her line of thinking. After two passes, I sensed a tiny shift in my right thigh area and just kept doing the six e-cises for a few weeks.

Then I did a two-hour tower experience and realized the next morning that the stress in the groin, hip flexor and lateral hip area had almost entirely disappeared. Following her menu idea clearly provided my next step in preparing the muscles to move the femur into an even better position than I had ever achieved. I am so grateful for her intuitive and studied knowledge.

She is a healer and I have been touched by her gift.

With gratitude,
Barbara Baker, McKinney, Texas

This testimonial has been in my heart for quite some time now, yet it has taken me awhile to put it in written form. I don't know if words can adequately do justice to the impact Deb Preachuk has made in my life.

My journey with Deb began in May 2007 after my health had hit "rock bottom", and I felt as if I had nowhere else to turn. After the birth of my fourth child nearly five years ago, my health took a turn for the worse. I began experiencing severe back and neck pain that could only be relieved by frequent visits to the chiropractor. The relief was always short-lived, and often the pain would return within hours of an appointment. I kept telling myself that I had an unexplained injury that would just go away with time, but it never did. Nearly 1.5 years after the pain began, I was handed what felt like a death sentence -- the diagnosis of Fibromyalgia. I was told there were many things I could no longer and should no longer even try to do, including lifting weights, running, etc. -- many of the things that had been a part of my life and that I enjoyed doing. I suddenly started to feel like I was trapped in a body that was not mine, and I started to become afraid of doing anything that might cause more pain.

My diagnosis of Fibromyalgia was only the beginning of a long list of diagnoses that were handed to me by doctors in the next couple of years -- Degenerative Disc Disease, Scoliosis, Migraine Headaches, Adrenal Insufficiency, Osteopenia, Chostocondroitis, and Asthma. I was also told that I had already lost 1.5 inches of height by the age of 35 -- the amount of height that a woman in her 70s would expect to have lost. These diagnoses were not helpful to me because they were simply symptomatic descriptions of what I already knew. What I wanted to know was not what was wrong with me (I already knew that and was living it every day), but rather what I could do about it. And it was so frustrating to me that the only thing medical doctors could offer me was either a "we're sorry, there isn't much we can do for you" apology OR a host of painkillers and medications with their own list of health-compromising side effects.

For three years, I spent time treating myself through proper nutrition, walking, and significant lifestyle changes. I continued to visit my chiropractor on occasion, but I still hurt on a daily basis and needed something more. My pain had decreased significantly over those years to where I could at least function, but I realized that I wanted to do more than just "exist..." I wanted to live again! I wanted to be the mom my kids deserved; the wife my husband remembered; and the lively, active person I used to be. I was ready to get better.

It was then that I remembered my chiropractor telling me about an amazing woman named Deb Preachuk who had helped more of his patients than anyone else had ever been able to. I remember my first phone call with Deb so clearly, primarily because it was the first day I started to have hope that I wasn't doomed to a life of pain and misery. I had been an active person my entire life -- a ballet dancer at a young age; an active health club employee and member who loved cardio and weight-lifting exercises; a runner and long-distance walker; etc. I had always been slender and in shape, but suddenly I found myself with atrophied muscles and weight that I couldn't lose. My years of pain had resulted in a sedentary lifestyle, and I was no longer the person I had been. Deb, however, understood that I wanted to be that person again and break free from my tired, sore body.

I began weekly private sessions with Deb and immediately noticed a difference. Deb explained that my pain, limited mobility, and scoliosis were due to muscle imbalance and poor alignment of my spine, hips, and shoulders. After years of pain, it seemed hard to believe that it could really be so simple, but the reduced pain I experienced after doing my daily exercises was proof that it really was. Each week, Deb gave me a set of exercises that were designed to address my unique issues. The most remarkable thing for me was that I could actually do the exercises and not experience debilitating pain the next day. Up until going to Deb, any attempt I had made to strengthen my muscles resulted in horrible pain in the days following.

Since going to Deb, I was also able to cut my use of painkillers, as well as my dependence on nutrition and vitamin supplements that I was using just to be able to function. A host of other symptoms have improved or disappeared as well...I no longer suffer from insomnia despite struggling with it for years. My asthma is basically a non-issue, and most people cannot believe that the exercises Deb gave me are more effective in helping me breathe than any medication I had been prescribed. Additionally, I am less chemically sensitive and have fewer digestive problems, memory problems, and fatigue.

One thing that came out of my time with Deb is something that extended beyond the postural alignment realm and spilled over into other areas of my life. I distinctly remember telling Deb during one of my sessions how much I loved painting (as in walls and rooms) but that I no longer could due to my fibromyalgia pain. She very seriously looked at me and told me that if I wanted to paint, I should paint. She told me that in fact if there was anything I wanted to do, I should just do it. If it caused pain, she said, just stop doing it and try again another time. It may seem strange that someone giving me permission to pick up a paint roller could be such a life-changing moment, but it was. Suddenly, someone was telling me that I COULD do things, unlike doctors who told me that I couldn't do them because of some mysterious pain condition. It was at that moment I was able to come out of my curled-up corner of pain and become the person I used to be.

Thanks to Deb, I have regained strength that I had lost during my worst years of pain. In the process, I experienced the side benefit of losing weight. I have also done things I was previously afraid to or unable to do...I exercised my muscles again. I stained my deck. I repainted rooms by myself. I've gone on long drives without pain. I got pregnant again. I now play with my kids, do yard work, and plan social activities without the fear of pain. Sometimes my husband is more afraid for me than I am, but I always tell him, "Deb would tell me not to be afraid." For anyone who knows what it is like to live within chronic pain, being able to set aside the fear of pain is a huge step.

I would be remiss if I said that the road to recovery was always easy. There were difficult moments for me, and moments when I wanted to give up. There were times when my pain was still bad, and times when not listening to Deb resulted in setbacks. But I knew that Deb was my last chance at getting better...I knew that God had sent her into my life, and that I could not quit. I needed her to help me because no one else had been able to. Deb stood by me and got me through the toughest moments during my healing.

I recently moved out of state, so unfortunately I can no longer attend sessions with Deb. But the tools she gave me for living pain-free continue to bless my life daily. I still do my exercises because they really work, and the return of pain when I don't do them is a reminder of how effective they really are.

I will forever be grateful for the impact Deb has had -- and continues to have -- in my life.

Linda G

As an athletic person and a fitness instructor, you can imagine my disappointment in having the kind of low back pain I was experiencing just a year ago. After bearing 3 children I decided I better seek some therapy for myself.

I contacted Deb and began my Egoscue posture alignment therapy. My initial consultation revealed my alignment was much worse than I expected. One side of my pelvis tilting posterior, and the other side tilting anterior, my midsection was a twisted mess.

I visited Deb just once a week and did my perscription of exercises every day on my own. Every week I could feel some improvement, but my third and forth weeks were the most memorable. I went from unbearable pain to PAIN FREE. I have continued my practice with Deb for almost a year now, incorporating Pilates but keeping the egoscue focus.

I never would have believed my recovery could have been this easy. It has made me a stronger person, mentally and physically and I no longer have to modify the movement in my everyday life. Kudos to Deb and all her help. In my opinion she is a miracle worker and I tell everyone I know who deals with back pain that they don't know what they are missing by not visiting her.

Thank You, Deb!!!

Chris W.
I am a 53-year old woman and I began seeing Deb 9 months ago for private sessions in the Egoscue Method.

I have an athletic background as a gymnast, followed by running, group exercise classes, and weight training until age 45 or so. Increasing pain in my right hip and a bone scan that showed I had a minor scoliosis encouraged me to switch focus to Pilates, yoga, and walking. Over time, my hip and overall posture improved but I decided to try the Egoscue work with a trainer in South Minneapolis to see if I could keep progressing.

I met with her about once a month for a year, doing the prescribed exercises on my own. Again, I was gaining more insight into my body and moving with more ease. Then my trainer moved to Japan.

A while later I went online and found Deb's websites.

I was so impressed, but a little dismayed that she was located in Lakeville, as I live in Fridley, a 45-minute drive at least. My intuition told me it would be worth it, and it was so right! I was discouraged when she took pictures of my alignment - I still looked like a banana from the side, just like the ones my first trainer had taken of me. I had been aware of not letting my shoulders round forward, but had accomplished this pushing my hips and ribs forward of the plumb line.

I met with Deb once a week, and it was apparent that I had been unable to get the full potential benefits from my prior exercises as they exceeded my ability to execute well. I was pretty strong and tight in my compensations, with gravity and time making them more and more entrenched. She used her extensive technical training combined with intuition when creating my program. I am continually moved by how she watches and listens to me. She has a plan for the session when I walk in her door, but will often toss it out when she sees my body not getting the desired results and figures out a different angle/approach on the spot.

The next day she e-mails my new program with pictures and detailed explanations of the exercises and their purposes. I see she has thought about the session and often adds more revisions that she feels would be of benefit. It is fun to see changes and have "aha!" moments as I do the work on my own. While it takes discipline to keep at it, I can do it at my convenience in my own home, which helps greatly with the consistency and repetition that is essential to making deep, neurological changes.

The value of the exercises is that they are deceptively simple movements. There are guidelines that you can feel whether or not you are actually carrying through on - for example, standing against a wall with your heels, buttocks, upper back, and head against the wall. I can feel as I do an arm exercise that I'm pulling away from the w all, and adjust my approach to correct that impulse. Don't laugh, but just standing against the wall and tightening my buttocks takes all my concentration, but now I can feel I'm using those muscles as I walk. The program includes a balanced variety of positions and movements.

My latest side-view picture shows a more erect posture, objective proof Deb uses to check our work. Practicing diaphragmatic breathing is a keystone of this training and is a big help in sharpening one's focus and adds a meditative aspect to this practice that I appreciate. This is truly a mind-body-spirit program enhanced by a gifted guide and teacher.

In my view, other exercise methods may be more well-known and popular, but don't address the alignment issues as effectively, and this is the key to functional movement and less stress. It frees your energy to live a kinder and gentler life. Whether you are in pain now or seeking to prevent pain down the road, it is never too early or late to start training with Deb Preachuk. You will look back at it as the best investment in yourself you have ever made!

Renee M
I discovered The Egoscue Method through a friend in Los Angeles and, as I watched him heal his back through the realigning movements rather than accept major surgery, I decided I wanted the experience for myself.

I didn’t have anything ‘wrong’ with me, but I was convinced Egoscue offered me the opportunity to take care of myself in a most fundamental way. It was a preventive choice.

We moved to Saint Paul soon after I discovered Egoscue and I wondered if I would ever find someone as wonderful as the therapist I had witnessed.

In Deb, I found someone even better.

I’m thrilled with her gentle, encouraging, practical guidance. She is stunning in her capacity to describe the moves and make them personal. She is beautifully intuitive, well-trained, and experienced. I am convinced I’ve found the very best facilitator in this healing, empowering therapy.

And, within days of my starting my routines, my husband noticed the difference, not only in my movements, but how relaxed I had become. He is now as crazy, happily enthused as I am about this process that allows us to feel flexible, comfortable, and re-connected to our bodies.

Deb has been our guide and cheerleader. Our time with her was as much fun as it was challenging. In fact, we loved our experience so much, we have asked her to continue working with us… even though we have recently relocated back to the west coast. And Deb, in her open, delightful way has agreed.

If I could give my friends, family, and children any gift in the world, I would give them some sessions with Deb. In her spirit, enthusiasm, and expertise, she would change their world.

Jeanne M.

I can't say enough good things about Deb and the Egoscue Method of Therapy.

If you are struggling with pain and are at the end of your rope like I was, HAVE HOPE, because you can and will get better.

After years of struggling with pain from repetitive sports injuries and a car accident, I am feeling better than I have ever felt. I am pain free and doing activities that doctors told me I should never do.

Deb is a wonderful therapist and I assure you she will take you through the process with ease. Posture Alignment Therapy with Deb has transformed my body and has given me the ability to live my life to fullest PAIN FREE!"

Anne W.

I just wanted to say thank you for all you have done for me over the past years. Yesterday was an amazing session! When I arrived, it was with a swollen knee, a right foot that I couldn't place flat on the floor when I walked and a right leg that felt as if it would crumble if I placed my full weight upon it. As always, you were calm and confident that we would be able to make everything alright. So down on the floor I went into static back, followed by supine groin with towels and other egoscue exercises. By the time the hour was over, the swelling in the knee was practically gone, my foot was back on the floor and the weakness in the leg had left! This morning there is no more swollen knee and I went down the stairs with a skip in my step without holding on to the railing for support.

I came to you over three years ago with a bad back that had plagued me for years. I had seen scores of doctors and therapists with little success. I will never forget our first session when you asked me to describe the exercises that had been given to me to help strengthen my back. As I described what I was doing, you asked me something that I had never been asked before: "When I did the stretches where did I feel the stretch?" The answer was "I never felt a stretch." You explained to me that you didn't think it was a back problem but a posture problem. I was game to try anything, because nothing so far had worked, and so we started. It hasn't always been easy and there have been times I would have like to have given up, but you have always been so positive and supportive. What I can do now may seem insignificant to others but is miraculous to me. I can lie down on the floor with straight legs without pain, I can dig and plant in the garden pain free, I can feel my shoulder blades actually move and now I am never the one in a group who complains about my back hurting when traveling or shopping with friends and family. I haven't had to see a doctor for back pain since I started with you and that means I haven't had to take any medication for pain!

I am looking forward to continuing our work together because I know that I will be acquiring skills that will serve my well for the rest of my life.

Karen B

I first met Deb in January of 2008 when she taught a 30 minute intro to Pilates class at Life Time Fitness. During the session Deb mentioned that if your neck hurt while performing the moves you were not doing them correctly. Since my neck has very problematic over the years I talked to Deb after class and she told me about the Pilates/Posture work she does. I checked out her web-site and decided the private work was just not really affordable.

I had problems with aches and pains in my right arm for several years. In the spring of 2007 I realized that there was a bone protruding in my right elbow. I saw my family practitioner who ordered an X-ray to make sure there were no breaks. I was told there was a lot of arthritis in the joint and was sent to rehab. In rehab I was essentially told there was nothing that could be done.

By April of 2008 my right elbow was causing me considerable pain. I saw my family practitioner again who sent me to an orthopedist. The orthopedist had me see a neurologist for some testing. When I returned to the orthopedist he told me I needed surgery on my elbow as nerves were pinched and that I had carpel tunnel which would also need surgery. He said he would try a minor surgery on the elbow that would relieve the pain but that it might not work and I might need more extensive surgery. I can not tell you how disturbing this was for me. I'm a consultant and would not be able to work during the recovery. Additionally, my hobbies are quilting and knitting. What if something went wrong?

The surgery was scheduled for June 6th, 2008. The evening of June 1st, I went to a Yoga/Pilates Fusion class at Lifetime that I had never tried before. Deb was teaching the class. In her introduction Deb mentioned the posture work she does and that she works with women who have had surgery for breast cancer to get them fully functioning again.

In 1976 I had a lump removed in my right breast. This is back when they used the ice-cream scoop method of lump removal. My sister, an occupational therapist, is trained in Myofascial Release and when she has worked on the area between my right breast and right shoulder has commented on how much scare tissue there is. During the class I started putting two and two together. After class I told Deb about the biopsy and the impending elbow surgery, Deb suggested I get the book Pain Free by Pete Egoscue and said to make sure to read the first three chapters. I explained that my surgery was scheduled for the coming Friday. Deb said to do want I needed to do but suggested I get the book and said to make sure to read the first three chapters.

I purchased the book the next day, read the first two chapters, cancelled the surgery and made an appointment with Deb. When I arrived for my appointment Deb told me that today we would get me out of pain. When I left that day my elbow, and I realized, shoulder pain were 90% gone. I've continued to see Deb not only is my shoulder and elbow pain gone but I now have no low back pain due to the work we've done in my hip and pelvis area. We are currently working to eliminate my knock knees and strengthen and my ankles which have been weak most of my life. After each time I see Deb she e-mails a set of exercises to me and I work on them at my leisure.

I truly feel like a new woman and would strongly recommend that anyone having joint problems give her work a try. I feel blessed to have met her and benefit from her work. I actually carry her cards about and pass them out to friends who are having problems.

Susan U

I have a long history of osteoarthritis. The first symptoms appeared in the feet, but seemed to show up in other joints, lower back discs, shoulders, hips, and knees. I would often comment how bent out of shape I felt. I experienced sensations like my femurs were being bent and twisted almost to the point like the bones would snap with the pressure. I began to favor one side of my body and developed a limp, and gradually lost a great deal of strength in my left side. The pain slowly became a daily ordeal and finally in 1999 at the 49 years of age I had a complete hip replacement.

The pain seemed to be dealt with but I slowly began to favor the right knee and developed hammer toes on the right foot. My knee became stiff to move and pain settled into that joint. I had a knee surgery in 2001 and again in 2004. I was unable to stand or walk for any length of time and the only way I could control the pain was to do as little as possible. In February 2007 while trying to start exercising I experienced a herniated discs in my lower back. Once again I was completely riddled with pain in my back, sciatic, hip joint groin, and legs. Moving even in bed was almost more than I could bear.

By May 2007 after many physiotherapy treatments the pain was finally under control when I experience a spontaneous left hip dislocation. Fortunately the surgical team opted for a closed hip reduction. A nerve in my lower back was affected and I had spontaneous episodes of falling when I lost feeling in my legs. This would happen when I least expected it and was fearful of walking, going up and down stairs and even of being left alone.

In September 2007 I began my first Egoscue exercises with Deb. She gave me a few basic ones to start and then in October of 2007 Deb showed me a few exercises designed for a complete postural alignment. December of 2007 Deb once again updated my exercise routine.

I am now totally pain free! I have increased my mobility, and can now walk for about 30 minutes at a time, and am able to do aquatic exercises 3 times a week as well. The most amazing thing is to feel my body is aligned as I am walking.

The doctor I have been seeing regarding the herniated discs is satisfied with my recovery. I tried to bring up the issue of PAT (postural alignment therapy) and how this had helped in my recovery he had no comments. I know my recovery had very little to do with medication, physiotherapy, or rest that produced such an amazing improvement to my health. I am fully convinced the Egoscue exercise program has produced structural alignment for my body. I no longer fear hip dislocation, or the thought of using the cane, walker or wheel chair. Whenever I begin to feel any twinges in my joints I simply do the static back and this seems to break the impending muscle spasms I have been plagued with for so many years.

My many thanks to you Deb, your insight and God given talents to help someone like me has enabled me to enjoy my retirement years. You have seen me struggle for so many years. Thank you for being patient and lovingly persistent in your pursuit to bring healing to my body.

Heather G.

Deb has been a positive and patient guide for me on my journey as a pilates and posture alignment student. Her knowledge and skills as a teacher have been invaluable for me.

Karen O

 It is difficult to say how much Deb has helped me. A lot of doctors look at me disbelievingly when I tell them my scoliosis has all but disappeared because of pilates. When I was little, I had to wear corrective shoes. Even as a two-year old I was abnormally clumsy. My mom enrolled me in gymnastics and dance to try and help me gain a sense of balance, but it didn't really help. I almost died laughing watching an old gymnastics video--- I did everything blatantly wrong, then would run over to my mom wanting a hug because I thought I did it so well. This lack of awareness carried me all the way through high school. Starting in the third grade, I landed in the hospital every year for some kind of freak injury. The doctors just said I was unlucky. On a supposedly unrelated topic, every year at my well check I was told that I had scoliosis, and that if it got bad enough all they could do was put me in a brace. Every year my mom asked if there was something else they could do, and every year I got a few degrees closer to that brace.

      My freshman year of high school, the year I was 2 degrees away from that brace, my freak accident of the year would spin me on a life-changing journey. To make a long story short, a several hundred pound lunch table fell on my foot, I was in a cast for 3 months and on crutches, and I tried every kind of therapy under the sun (everything from physical therapy to acupuncture having electric currents put through my leg). Nothing worked, and as a dancer I was infuriated--- I was out for the entire year. When my ordeal was close to over (my foot still hurt but I had quit therapy), a friend and I decided to try pilates. She just wanted to try it, and I wanted to get back in shape for the next dance season. Not only had I lost a whole year of intense training, my back hurt more than ever and I was going to a chiropractor twice a week. Not to mention I walked like Igore (I didn't believe my mom when she was always driving me crazy to walk normally). We took mat lessons with Deb, and after two lessons she pulled me aside and said, “Meghan, I usually don't do this, but you really need to do private lessons with me". My mom and I discussed it and decided to give it a try.

      After only two lessons, Deb had figured out what countless doctors had failed to see--- my scoliosis was muscular, not skeletal. It was due to a muscle imbalance I had, my right side was much tighter than my left, and over time that had led my back to twist itself into two 13 degree curves. Deb explained that common symptoms of muscular scoliosis include clumsiness and--- she didn't even have to finish, my mom and I knew she was right. I continued my lessons with Deb, and my sophomore year my "falling down the stairs tally" (yes, my friends and I actually counted) dropped to 11… all the way from 57 the previous year. My spine began to straighten almost right away. After four months, Deb had me roll down to show my mom the progress I had made, and my mom started crying in the middle of Deb's kitchen. About a year after I started lessons, I got a back x-ray and saw that my curve had dropped from two 13 degree curves to one 4 degree curve. 4 degrees. I couldn't believe it, nor could the doctors.

      By then it was my junior year, and I went out on a huge, huge limb. I wore high heels for the first time to homecoming. The last time I tried on heels it was because my mom's feet were getting cut so I switched shoes with her. The "heels" were very chunky and about 1.5" high. I took two steps and fell face flat on the pavement. At homecoming I only tripped a couple of times… my friends even noticed. Not only could I wear heels now, but my dance coaches actually pulled me aside and said they had never seen so much improvement in anyone so quickly. They asked what happened and I told them exactly what--- Deb. I wore heels to my Junior prom that year, and by the end of the year my "falling down the stairs tally" was (drumroll please) ZERO! I didn't fall once, not even in heels.

      It really is amazing what a straight back can do for you. If it wasn't for Deb, I think I would have ended up going to college this year in a wheelchair. I can't believe how Deb was able to figure things out, it was like she had a sixth sense and knew exactly how to fix me. She not only fixed my back, but my hypermobility (I had dislocating shoulders and hips) has all but disappeared. I used to not even notice when my shoulders dislocated because it happened so often. I would reach out to grab something and out flew the shoulder. Now, it has happened maybe once or twice this year.

      I can't thank Deb enough. I am so much healthier because of her. My mom doesn't have to rub my back every night, and I have been off painkillers for a very long time. I haven't been to the hospital since my junior year, and that wasn't even because of a freak injury. I can walk without wondering which piece of nothing I will trip on now, and I know it sounds silly, but I have been a lot more social since I have gained so much confidence in myself. I walked all over New York City in heels, and even when my heel got caught in a hole I didn't fall. I can wear flip-flops in the summer instead of having to wear tennis shoes for the support. I have a normal life now, and I owe a lot of it to Deb.

      PS~ The one thing I will always remember about my graduation is not the speeches or getting handed my diploma. It is that I wore heels and walked across that stage without the thought of falling even crossing my mind. Not only that but I raced up the slippery plastic stands to give my mom a hug--- again without even worrying about falling. Those are the silly little things that can really change someone's life.

Meghan W

When I started working with Deb nearly a year ago, I was very frustrated. My body was struggling with a nasty little trifecta:

  • joint pain due to Crohn's Disease
  • muscle and connective tissue pain due to fibromyalgia
  • the residual nagging injuries and alignment problems resulting from years of competitive gymnastics

In most part due to daily fibromyalgia pain, I hadn't exercised in seven years. I had no muscle tone left. My clothes didn't fit. I was tired, sore, and unhappy with what I saw when I looked in the mirror. It was demoralizing remembering what by body USED to be capable of, and realizing just how deteriorated that body had become.

I reached a point in time where my fibromyalgia pain decreased a bit. I realized this was a window of opportunity to take control, to start to find a solution. My childhood ballet instructor raved about what Pilates did for her body after a knee injury. I researched local Pilates instructors, visited a few studios, and ultimately chose Deb at Pilates Integration. I knew I needed personalized instruction. I knew I needed someone with rehab experience and extensive anatomical knowledge who was willing to adapt exercises to my needs and progress. I knew her experience with competitive athletes and their unique motivational and body issues would be beneficial to me, especially at the beginning when progress would be slow. Deb and I spent most of my first session talking - about my health history, athletic experiences and my expectations - and then set reasonable yet challenging short-term goals in context with my body's reality.

In the ten months Deb and I have been working together, amazing things have happened. I require less daily prescription pain medication to manage my fibromyalgia. My energy level is higher, and much more predictable. We are slowly correcting alignment problems caused by decades of pounding and hyper-flexibility, especially in my arches, ankles and knees. I'm toning up. And though weight loss was not my primary goal, I have lost 15 pounds and am wearing (kinda)-skinny jeans. ;-)

I'm not a competitive athlete anymore, and never will be. I'm on the backside of 40, and pain remains with me every day. But I have found a form of exercise that I am already somewhat competent at, but will continue to challenge me. And a trainer who knows just how hard to push me. It is so satisfying to know I have improved my body's condition, control and performance through my own hard work.

As someone who has lived much of the last decade limited by my body's deficiencies, I can't express how great that feels. And I don't take it for granted.

Tammy H

Deb is a wonderful instructor. She has taught me proper techniques of poses that I had been doing incorrectly prior to taking her class. She is encouraging but tough. You leave her class feeling that you have really accomplished something. I have recommended her to so many people.

I can't say enough good things about Deb.

Jackie U.


Deb P's Fluid Strength is the best class, hands down! She is so energetic and fun and class is so integrated that I feel like I'm getting a really complete workout, yoga, strength, cardio, stretching and pilates all rolled into sixty minutes. By the end, I feel energized and the next day, I'm feeling it everywhere!

Melissa L.


My high school daughter Meghan is a dancer who has always been involved in many competitive sports despite having scoliosis. We had her condition closely monitored by her pediatricians and were told the only intervention for it would be a back brace if the curvature reached 19 degrees. Annual X-rays showed the curvature in her back stopped at 13 degrees and she had visibly turned and sloped shoulders by the time she was done growing.

Meghan had a serious foot injury for which we had seen several top specialists who tried every procedure, treatment and therapy they knew of and each then referred her to someone else to try to resolve her constant chronic pain. We were basically told after a year-and-a-half she would have to live with it and take medication to control the pain. For the first time in our lives we turned to "alternative" therapies.

She had significant reduction in the pain in her foot through chiropractors with acupuncture, chiropractic treatment, and myofacial release massage. She still had pain aggravated by bones which slipped out of place in her back and foot, and was having to receive chiropractic adjustments every couple of weeks.

We came to Pilates Integration, because we had heard Pilates was a great way for dancers to support their bodies, and become stronger, less injury prone athletes. Since Meghan was determined to dance despite it aggravating her condition, we wanted to do whatever we could to help her do this in the most healthy way possible. We decided to give Pilates a try.

After a couple of sessions with Deb she told us she was not positive, but after evaluating Meghan she felt she could help her straighten her back. She asked if Meghan's scoliosis was muscular or skeletal. I replied I had never heard of different kinds, I was told by her doctors that scoliosis was growth related and would stabilize when Meghan stopped growing. Deb explained she thought Meghan had a condition called hypermobility which could cause muscular scoliosis. I really was unsure of what to think, but my daughter was coming away from her sessions with Deb feeling great and with a big smile. It was not why we started Pilates, but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try...

I cannot say enough about how Deb has used her remarkable understanding of how the body works and Pilates to change my child's life. She has gone from having constant back pain from scoliosis to having a healthy straight back. She has gone from going to the chiropractor every two weeks to adjust her back and foot, to not going at all in almost a year. I cried when Deb had Meghan demonstrate her new ability to level off her shoulders after just three weeks of helping her to train through the arduous intricate process of learning how to use and sequence the correct muscles to support her back, foot and the rest of her body.

We had Meghan's back X-rayed after a Summer of Pilates and now she has only a 4 degree curve in her back, which does not fall in the range of a scoliosis diagnosis!

Thanks to Deb and Pilates my daughter has a healthy pain free body, something we never dreamed possible. Now if I give my daughter a back rub before she goes to bed it's just for fun and relaxation, not to help her through pain so she can fall asleep. What a strange chain of events led us to this blessing of a pain free body, something which many take for granted. Words simply cannot express the gratitude we feel for Debs caring support and guidance.

Jeannie W

I'm a 76 year old Grandmother who firmly believes in the benefits of Pilates.

I took Pilates twice a week for several months prior to having total knee replacement surgery. Therapists told me that my recovery was quick because of the strengthening of the muscle surrounding the knee that I did in Pilates. I'm now back at it and loving it.

Sylvia K

STOTT Pilates has taught me that practice and patience do make perfect. I have done various forms of exercise my whole life, but have never really stuck with any of them because of discouragement from my immediate lack of skill and lack of self-confidence. I had always assumed that people who were good at an exercise or sport (e.g., tennis, swimming, golf, etc) were just naturally talented, i.e., they were immediately good when they began the sport. Because of this belief, and because I have never been perfect when I began a new exercise, I would always drop the exercise after a few attempts.

I began doing STOTT Pilates about 1.5 years ago. I was very discouraged in the beginning because I could not immediately do all of the moves. I was very fortunate to begin my lessons with a STOTT trained Pilates instructor named Deb Preachuk. Deb was a very patient instructor and encouraged my progress and was able to manage my discouragement. With Deb's instruction, I have continued with Pilates for over 1.5 years. Through the 1.5 years, I have progressed from being barely able to do ab prep, to being able to do some of more advanced moves. Beyond the sense of accomplishment I have achieved from Pilates, I have learned that practice does make perfect. I stuck with Pilates despite my discouragement, and to my amazement I have seen improvements every week. I learned that it does take time and effort to move from the beginning moves to the advanced moves.

I have carried this insight into other areas of my life. I recently started a new job and was able to fall back on what I learned in Pilates to help me through the job. I remembered that I felt uncoordinated and awkward when I learned new Pilates moves, but as I practiced the moves, they became natural and more refined. With the insight from Pilates, I was able to reframe how I looked at my new job and accept that I would be uncomfortable with my new responsibilities, but with practice, the new responsibilities would become natural and more refined.

Pilates has taught me to accept that I am a beginner when I attempt anything new but with practice, I can become skilled. It has allowed me to try new things and accept the awkwardness and discomfort that comes with anything new.

Ann C

 

 


"We don't stop playing because we grow old;
we grow old because we stop playing."

~ Unknown