In her professional life as a medical doctor, Caitlin Hurley’s work often requires her to expend lots of mental and physical energy. She has found Pilates at Ballet Memphis to be her personal medicine to feel her best inside and out. Caitlin took dance classes for as long as she can remember, starting ballet as a child. In her 20s and throughout medical school, Caitlin began practicing Barre, yoga, and Pilates sporadically. As her schedule became more flexible, she was thrilled to be able to incorporate regular fitness classes into her routine. She began at the Pilates and Wellness Center at Ballet Memphis in 2018, initially through a search for adult recreational ballet classes.
Caitlin is a pediatric intensivist at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. She cares for children in the intensive care unit, oversees the Continued Medical Education (CME), and serves as program director for fellowship trainees. She has a passion for education and wellness and is even embarking on a professional coach certification course! While she enjoyed recreational adult ballet classes, recent injuries have caused Caitlin to move from practicing herself to instead enjoying the art of ballet as a viewer, and she now focuses her fitness on her Pilates practice.
From a physical perspective, Caitlin loves that Pilates works the whole body — engaging and building core strength and stability, flexibility, strengthening the upper and lower body, increasing bone density, and even some cardiovascular conditioning. It has improved her posture, relieved lower back pain from long days on her feet, and has helped her recover from a recent knee surgery. ”Pilates is an invaluable piece of my wellness routine, a time for calming recharge of the mind with a physical release of tension. I walk out lighter, smiling, more joyful and patient,” Caitlin says.
Caitlin finds Ballet Memphis Pilates Center to be a hidden gem in Memphis, due in part to the advanced mastery of her instructors. “The instructors’ foundational knowledge of anatomy, the principles of Pilates, exercise physiology, and the equipment are unparalleled, as is their commitment to continued education and professional development. The small class size allows instructors to focus on each student, offering corrections and prompts in real-time, and fosters a wonderful community,” Caitlin says. Along with the excellent instruction and workout, Caitlin has found the Ballet Memphis Pilates Center classes to be full of fun and laughs, bringing her to a community of friends.
By Zoe Harrison
Photo by Tindall Stephens
