Gretchen Fues Bio

I am an educator by training, having taught English as a Second Language to refugees, immigrants, and international college students for over 25 years.  I have taught in Washington State, Texas, and Spain, and I speak Spanish as a Second Language. 

As I got older, I had more frequent muscle and postural alignment problems.  My knees, lower back, and hips had been giving me intermittent pain throughout my life due to childhood rheumatoid arthritis and then having kids (and holding them while cooking, and rough housing with them, and stooping to pick up a thousand toys).   

I discovered Pilates in my late 40s, attending a class on a whim after nothing else seemed to make a lasting impact on my body.  After consistently taking Pilates classes, I experienced relief in my knees, back, and hips and was getting much stronger throughout my body, especially my core.  Over continued practice, I had learned through Pilates how to do all the activities I loved with better balance and proper use of my muscles to avoid injury and pain.  And Pilates was so much fun!  I decided I wanted to help others enjoy the benefits of Pilates:  in 2019  I earned my STOTT PILATES® certification in Mat, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair, and Barrels.   I began teaching at Bodycenter Studios in July, 2019. 

In my free time I love to run, bike, cook, read, hike, and hang out with my family.  Through continued practice of Pilates, I am building awareness of how to do the sports and I love as well as the everyday tasks of life such as loading groceries into the back of my car, doing yardwork, going up and down stairs, and generally moving through the day correctly and with better alignment and balance.  I plan to stay active for the rest of my life and fight against age-related muscle loss.  Pilates helps me do these activities that  I love safely and with more strength .  I feel stronger and in my body and have less pain now in my 50s than I ever have before in my life.