Lori Coleman-Brown
Lori has over 30 years’ experience as a Classical Pilates Instructor, and is the Director of the Education and Teacher Training Programs at Atlas Pilates in Seattle, WA. An experienced teacher, lecturer and workshop leader, she teaches in two local Seattle area studios (Atlas Pilates and Pilates in the Village) and in studios, clinics and conventions nationally and internationally.
In her teaching, she balances tuning the parts with coordinating the whole and sees the Pilates Powerhouse as a shape shifting support system. She uses Classical Pilates to develop clients’ abilities with a mind for healthy ranges of joint motion, proportion and the daily activities these abilities will enhance. She is grateful for the wonderful students whose hard work transforms them before her very eyes. She has been thanked for her demonstrations in workshops for real body solutions to the common answer “it depends on the body”.
Lori began studying Pilates with Romana in New York in 1983, and was teaching by 1986. Under Romana’s tutelage, Lori learned not only the exercise forms and rhythms, but how to give people what they need. Lori was taught by Romana that “each person is like a painting and no two are alike”. In 1999, Lori was deeply honored to be personally invited by Romana to be one of her Teacher Trainers. Romana forged a wide path and touched many people with her dynamic method of teaching, and being, and Lori is very grateful for her connection with her mentor.
Lori holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from the State University of New York at Purchase and a Master of Physical Therapy from Temple University. Prior to pursuing her degree in physical therapy, Lori worked as a professional dancer. As a physical therapist she worked with professional dancers backstage on Broadway shows in New York and in Seattle. In 1992, Lori moved to the west coast to open the first Pilates Teacher Certification Center in the Pacific Northwest which she co-directed for 16 years, successfully training over a hundred highly accomplished instructors. She realized that her true passion is with exploring the full body of Joe Pilates’ work and with its detailed application to the individual. She decided to step away from studio ownership in order to focus on her teaching. She learns something new every day while helping her clients and herself get stronger, more flexible and happier by using the Pilates Method.
