Hi, My name is Karen Cernicchi, I teach pilates in Umina Beach NSW.
I’m a Level 4 Pilates Practitioner and have been teaching Studio pilates for over 17 years. As a teenager I was an avid cyclist, at the age of 18 I cycled across America. When I returned I took up Martial Arts for over 12 years, achieving a 2nd Dan Black Belt.
A spinal injury lead me to my first encounters with a Pilates teacher who worked with an Osteopath. The Osteopath treated my spine at first, and then introduced me to his partner Penelope Latey who taught the Pilates Method.
I have personally benefited from the combination of Studio Pilates and Osteopathic treatment, without which, it is likely I would have ended up with spinal surgery.
The Pilates method and my background
The Pilates Method of exercise has taught me to be proactive in managing chronic, degenerative conditions of the spine. Without the careful guidance and deep knowledge of anatomy that was passed on to me I would have never become so inspired to become a teacher myself. I started training under Penelope Latey in 1996 with her partner Dr. Philip Latey, an Osteopath, who taught us detailed functional anatomy. I was one of the first students in the beginning of accredited pilates courses in Australia, and an original member of the Australian Pilates Method Association developed by Penelope Latey.
I worked in Penelope’s Sydney based studio for a couple of years until we opened our clinic and pilates studio in Umina Beach. I started getting many patients from the Chiropractors in the local area which motivated me to get more training in rehabilitation pilates. I acquired a qualification in rehabilitation pilates with Polestar Pilates, allowing me to deal with some of the intricacies of post injury exercise programming.
I have followed the background influences of Joseph Pilates, learning the techniques of Moshe Feldenkrais
and the work of Fredrick Alexander’s Alexander Technique which I have incorporated into my style of teaching. In 2017 I received a teaching qualification in Medical Qigong, a Chinese art of energy regeneration.
