Vive Pilates + Motion

October 2017

Each year I enjoy taking a trip to North Carolina. This year, this trip, I had to venture to Raleigh, NC for one reason.

If you’re on Instagram and following people in the pilates community, chances are you may know this studio owner. She is the creator or #wundachairwednesday, and her name is Lori Shipp. You will see her rooting for people each week while working on their chair exercises. Lori is a big supporter of teachers and practitioners alike.

There’s a very funny story about this trip and I am going share it, even though it may be embarrassing for me. Let’s be real, I have no problem laughing at myself…so here you go..

I drove to Raleigh on a Friday night and I needed something to do in the city that evening. I ordered a car, went into the downtown area, grabbed dinner and chatted up some locals. While eating I noticed a lot of things happening outside..music! Music was happening! I didn’t know there was a Bluegrass festival all weekend. Since I’m a sucker for festivals and music, I decided to roam around.

At one point I turned to my right to start shopping at the vendor booths on the street and low and behold I saw a familiar face. Lori’s husband was standing on the sidewalk and then BAM! I saw Lori. My mouth dropped and at the same time her husband turned around and saw me. Now, he doesn’t know me. He only sees a random stranger get all excited over seeing them both. I start walking very fast towards them all while I begin to mouth, “Please don’t freak out”, to Lori’s husband. As I got closer Lori turned around and saw me. And then it was nothing but happiness! She recognized me and I ran up and gave her such a big hug. The rest of the night was a blast, enjoying it with new friends.

The lesson

The next morning I walked into Vive Pilates + Motion for my private lesson with Lori. We flowed through the hour using various pieces of equipment. Baby chair, reformer, cadillac, tower, foot corrector. She helped me with some weaknesses I have, allowing me to record some of the tips so that I could practice them at home. Her enthusiasm and spirit for movement is infectious when you learn from her. She is also a hands on teacher in the best of ways. I walked away from that lesson feeling overjoyed. I drove back to my rental, journaled all the things I learned.

Any time I’m in North Carolina I will do my best to meet with her. Even if it’s for coffee, I want to absorb as much as I can from her in and out of the studio because she is a wonderful human.