For Alexandria Carter, fitness has always been about more than simply breaking a sweat. A lifelong athlete and performer, the Memphis native has built a career around helping people move and feel stronger, inside and out.
“I’ve always been into fitness,” says Carter, a Central High School graduate and University of Memphis Honors graduate with a degree in communication. Growing up, she played soccer, ran track, cheered, and played tennis before discovering strength training in college. After college, life became more stressful, and Carter began navigating anxiety and depression. She turned to yoga, initially practicing on her own, and quickly discovered that the practice offered something beyond physical movement.
“Yoga really helped me with my anxiety,” she says. “The mindset became a big part of it for me.”
She eventually moved to Los Angeles, where she became certified through CorePower Yoga. After taking a break during the pandemic, she returned home to Memphis and began teaching Pilates. Today, she is a 500-hour certified Pilates instructor who can teach across the full range of apparatus and techniques.
She serves as a lead instructor at Core VIII in Millington, where she teaches Pilates and yoga and helps with everything from class planning to social media and marketing. She also teaches at Club Pilates locations in East Memphis and Southaven.
One of Alexandria’s favorite parts of teaching Pilates has been working with what she calls “seasoned bodies,” or clients who may have undergone major surgeries or spent years dealing with injuries. “It’s so inspiring to see a group of seasoned people still caring about fitness,” she says. “I really enjoy helping them get stronger.”
For Carter, teaching is just as rewarding personally as it is physically. “You might not wake up feeling your best every day,” she says. “But by the time you leave class, you feel so good. I get energized by connecting with my clients.”
Her approach emphasizes strength, flexibility, and the connection between breath and movement. She encourages students to challenge themselves while also respecting where their bodies are that day. “You’re only as strong as you are flexible,” Alexandria says as her personal fitness belief.
And Pilates and yoga are only part of Carter’s fitness repertoire. A self-taught contortionist, she began performing in 2012 after winning a college pageant talent competition with her flexibility. Her performance career has taken her from Memphis festivals and private events to Los Angeles, where she appeared in commercials and even a SZA music video. She has also performed on tour with Chef Bean’s live cooking show and is currently adding aerial and acrobatics to her skill set.
With yoga, Pilates, and contortion all under her belt, Carter jokingly describes herself as a fitness “triple threat.” But beneath all of the movement and performance, her mission will always be to support her clients and show up for her community.
Follow along with Alexandria on Instagram: @shedoyoga and @yogandmimosas!
Photo by Tindall Stephens
