Shelly at Pilates Fit Studio in Louisville, KY
Meet the Owner
Shelly Ruggiano first experienced Pilates in early 2000. After years of teaching group fitness classes at gyms in Austin, Texas and San Diego, California, and personally participating in aerobics, weightlifting, and gym-oriented work outs, she was looking for something different, challenging and sustainable.
At her first Pilates mat class in Atlanta, GA, she knew she had found the answer. It only took a few months for her to realize the intelligence and magic of the Pilates method and begin her first teacher training program. Her initial training program was Power Pilates, an international Classical comprehensive teacher training program, offered at Studio Lotus in Atlanta. She then started immediately working for CORE Buckhead, where she continued to teach for thirteen years.
At CORE, Shelly was introduced to the Gyrotonic method of exercise, and to Redcord, a neuromuscular suspension system. Over the course of several years, she took a major training a year, including graduating from the renowned advanced bridge program through The Pilates Center in Boulder, CO and becoming certified in the Gyrotonic Tower, Jumping Stretching Board and Archway.
She loves the way Pilates and Gyrotonic exercises dovetail together in a lovely marriage of movement --there is truly a way to meet every individual need, no matter how complicated or compromised, with these two brilliant systems.
Pilates and Gyrotonic exercises are perfect for advancing the fitness and wellbeing of healthy and active/athletic individuals as well as improving the health and quality of life for individuals challenged with issues. Every individual has a story, a desire, a goal perhaps, to address and change. Back pain is the main complaint that orthopedists address on a daily basis. Many people are now being diagnosed with osteoporosis. Our population is aging; menopause, lack of energy/vitality, joint pain, postural problems – all can be addressed with Pilates and Gyrotonic exercises. On the other hand, athletes looking for a competitive edge, marathoners and dancers, can also gain great benefits from an exercise system that targets strength, stamina and uniform development of the body. The uses for both are limitless. One of the things Shelly loves most about teaching is that no two people are alike.
Shelly’s personal history includes numerous knee surgeries spanning four decades. She ultimately underwent a total knee replacement in 2012 and has worked with various clients addressing knee and hip issues. Shelly’s teaching style draws upon her own personal experience with chronic pain, endless physical therapy, thousands of hours of teaching and training, and the sheer life-changing transformation that a movement practice can facilitate. She believes she is a synergistic partner with the client and that synergy brings a level of intuition, care and presence unique to her.
She believes that our emotional, physical and spiritual lives are inextricably intertwined and that lack in one area leads to lack in others. Likewise, health and wellness in one area can lead to robust and radiant health and wellness in all! Our bodies are meant to MOVE and movement can bring a sense of joy, freedom, accomplishment, confidence and fun to our daily lives. She chose the name QUANTUM because quantum physics describes nature at its most fundamental levels, and how tiny subatomic happenings can have huge effects…cascading into a whole new state of being.
Formal Training
Pilates – 2005 to Current
Real Pilates Teacher Training, New York, NY
Power Pilates Comprehensive Certification, Atlanta, GA
The Pilates Center Advanced Bridge, Boulder, CO
Host Advisor, The Pilates Center, Boulder, CO
Pre-Natal and Post-Partum Specialty Training with Carolyne Anthony, Atlanta, GA
The Advanced Syllabus, MeJo Wiggin, Boca Raton, FL
Pilates Method Alliance (PMA) Certification
Host Studio for the Real Pilates Teacher Training Program
GYROTONIC Expansion System – 2010 to Current
GYROTONIC Foundation, Level 1, Kathy Van Patten and Lisa Marie Goodwin-Rice, Atlanta, GA/Miami, FL
Applications for Scoliosis, Paul Horvath, Atlanta, GA
Applications for Osteoporosis, Justine Bernard, Washington, DC
Jumping Stretching Board, Juergen Bamberger, Atlanta, GA
Archway, Kathy Van Patten, Atlanta, GA
GYROKINESIS Foundation, Level 1, Justine Bernard and Chantal Deeble, Washington, DC
Applications for Healing and Rejuvenating the Hands and Feet, Emma Kingston, Boulder, CO