My friends, it is that time of year where the universe is going to tell you you are not doing enough - you aren’t working out enough, you aren’t skinny enough, you aren’t doing enough for your hair, your nails, your skin, your health. You aren’t eating right, reading enough, self-caring enough, vacationing enough, taking enough weighted-vest walks, not taking supplements or using all the processed powders. You aren’t doing enough for your kids, your pets, your family, your friends.


Well, I am here to tell you that you are enough, exactly as you are. There is no one else like you in the world. And the world would be so, so empty if you weren’t in it. So, please do me a favor - don’t buy into the chaos of information the universe is throwing at you since it’s the start of a new year. Just allow yourself the pleasure of loving you as much as the rest of those around you love you.


What does it really mean to love yourself? I hope 2026 is the year you find out. If that’s building new habits, awesome. If that’s working out more, fantastic. If that’s going outside and getting reacquainted with your five sense, how lovely. If it’s reading a book, outstanding.


May you find your inner peace, your inner joy and your inner love for yourself this year.

This month, 20% of our proceeds will go to The Aphasia Project out of Cary, North Carolina.

I was introduced to this incredible organization by my lifelong friend Kristine Strobbia.


Their mission: empower individuals with aphasia, their families and the broader community by providing lifelong support, education, and resources to strengthen communication, build confidence, and foster meaningful connections for fully integrated lives.

Their vision: a world where people with aphasia are no longer isolated, but empowered through connection, understanding and support, so they can confidently reconnect with their communities, rebuild their lives and thrive with dignity.

TAP’s story started in 2003 when a small group of people gathered in a living room to discuss how to address the long-term needs of individuals with aphasia. Maura Silverman, a speech-language pathologist and TAP’s founder, sought to begin an aphasia-specific program based on a Life Participation Model (LPAA, ASHA 2001). The program would not be center based, rather would reach individuals and their families in their own community. Interest in this small 501(c)(3) organization was incredible, and support was expressed generously by donors, rehabilitation programs, and universities in the area.

Since 2003, TAP Has been the only community-based program in North Carolina offering lifelong, affordable support for individuals with aphasia. At present, we provide 30+ weekly conversation groups, both in-person and virtual, where participants can practice communication skills, build confidence, and connect with others in a small, supportive setting. These groups are led by licensed speech-language pathologists and foster ongoing peer support.

TAP also supports families through our virtual monthly training program, “Learning to Speak Aphasia,” and virtual support groups. Beyond this, TAP raises awareness of aphasia by educating healthcare professionals and community members to better serve affected individuals.

AT TAP, they are dedicated to empowering individuals with aphasia and their families, one conversation at a time.

In 2025, TAP officially rebranded as The Aphasia Project, reflecting their growth beyond the original name Triangle Aphasia Project. They have now outgrown the triangle of in NC and serve individuals now all over the state of North Carolina.
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To learn more about their incredible work, please visit their website: https://www.aphasiaproject.org/

The holidays are always such a special time to go inward - reflect on your year, the highs, the lows, list out what you are grateful for, gather with family, friends, loved ones to celebrate. The holidays can also be a reminder of loss, pain, grief, anger, hurt, sadness, what didn’t happen, couldn’t happen, the desires and wishes and wants that are still with you. It’s an easy time of year to go insular with the good and the bad. But what I hope and challenge for all of us is that we keep our full community at the forefront of our minds - those not in our immediate circle who may need food, shelter, a warm winter coat, a simple smile. When my anxiety peaks, what always helps me is to open my eyes to others around me. You are never alone. As you get swept up in the hustle and bustle of the holidays, please do something for someone outside your inner circle.

An extra big THANK YOU for sticking with me all these years - whether it’s reading my newsletters, subscribing to my On Demand library, taking private Pilates sessions with me or becoming a student in our Mat and Comprehensive programs at Equinox, I am so grateful to each and every one of you. May this holiday season be healthy and full of moments that make you feel good from the inside out.


And please shop small this holiday season!

This month, 20% of our proceeds will go to World Central Kitchen.


Food is essential to life every single day, all over the world—and it is more important than ever in a crisis. Not only is a thoughtful, freshly prepared meal one less thing someone has to worry about in the wake of a disaster, it is a reminder that you are not alone, someone is thinking about you, and someone cares. Food has the power to be the nourishment and hope we need to pick ourselves back up in the darkest times.
In 2010, Chef José Andrés, ready to use his culinary knowledge and talent to help, headed to Haiti following a devastating earthquake. Cooking alongside displaced families in a camp, he was guided on the proper way to cook black beans the way Haitians like to eat them: mashed and sieved into a creamy sauce. It wasn’t just about feeding people in need—it was about listening, learning, and cooking side by side with the people impacted by the crisis. This is the real meaning of comfort food, and it’s the core value that José, along with his wife Patricia, used at the center of founding World Central Kitchen.

For seven years after José founded World Central Kitchen, the organization would focus on resilience programs, investing in longer-term solutions around food in the Caribbean and Central America. With roots in Haiti, WCK began a Clean Cooking program to support communities’ transition away from cooking over dangerous open wood- and coal-fueled fires. After several years, José and WCK built and opened École des Chefs, a culinary school in Port-au-Prince under the direction of Mi-Sol Chevallier—one of Haiti’s most respected chefs.

While the organization focused on sustainable programming over the years, José never forgot about those early days cooking in the camp in Haiti. In 2017, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston, and José, with several chefs from his team, decided it was time to act. The group got on the ground and began helping to prepare meals. José continued learning, observing how food relief was handled following a crisis—he immediately saw gaps and ways that it could be done better. Then, just a month later, Hurricane María hit Puerto Rico—the storm brought catastrophic devastation, and millions of Americans were in need, immediately. Boarding the first commercial flight to San Juan, José started in one kitchen, cooking sancocho at a friend’s restaurant in the Santurce neighborhood. Building fast, chefs, food trucks, volunteers joined the team and #ChefsForPuertoRico was born. WCK would go on to serve nearly 4 million fresh meals in the aftermath of María.

Since preparing the first few hundred meals in Puerto Rico, WCK teams have served meals to people recovering from crisis every single day. Hurricanes, wildfires, tsunamis, and volcano eruptions took the team across the world, growing in knowledge and capacity with each crisis. Initially responding to just natural disasters, WCK quickly expanded the definition of disasters to which we respond—providing nourishing meals for refugees arriving at the US border after fleeing violence and extreme poverty, Venezuelan families lacking access to food in their own neighborhoods, heroic hospital staff working nonstop in the uncertainty of a global pandemic, and Ukrainian families living through an unthinkable invasion and the constant threat of attack. All of this work is made possible by working with communities wherever WCK teams go—over and over again, WCK sees the best of humanity show up in the worst of times.
Over the years, José and WCK teams have continued to learn, adapt, and build responses unique to each situation and community. They have, at times, made long-term commitments in food systems following disasters. Their Food Producer Network ran for five years supporting small food producers in Puerto Rico, The Bahamas, Guatemala, and the USVIs. While cooking hot meals with locally sourced ingredients from Field Kitchens has traditionally been our goal and focus in times of crisis, sometimes fresh produce boxes or meal kits for families to cook themselves are a better fit. Partnering with local restaurants looking to help their neighbors allows us to get meals ready immediately. During their response to the Covid-19 pandemic, meals that were cooked, cooled, and could be reheated by families safely at home met the unique need of the time. The WCK approach is that we should always work with urgency, listen to communities, and adapt—all virtues that guide their work.
World Central Kitchen teams across the world remain deeply committed to serving delicious, chef-prepared meals to people with the dignity they deserve. As the climate-crisis worsens and disasters become not only larger, but more frequent, they’ll continue to be there—and they hope you’ll join them. As José likes to say, “everyone is a part of World Central Kitchen, they may just not know it yet!”.


To learn more about this incredible organization, visit their website: https://wck.org/

I understand you may not feel the most patriotic. You may feel angry, frustrated, unheard, numb, anxious, nervous, scared. Those in power want us to feel helpless. But there is so much we can do - the easiest step is vote. Your vote, your voice matters. PLEASE vote. Voting is an important time to reflect on your values. Is your vote matching your values? For me, my biggest value is community. I cannot succeed if my community does not succeed. I am not ok if my community is not ok.

Once you vote, find your local food pantry and support them. Contribute funds, donate dry goods. Is ICE in your community? Purchase a whistle and be prepared to use it. Look up the slogan SALUTE to be prepared to help your neighbors. Check out your local community center and see what their current needs are. How can you volunteer and support their needs? Give financially, give your time, give your physical abilities. It all counts.

We may not be able to solve all the big world problems, but start small. I will never stop believing that change is possible, but it certainly isn’t if you never try. Small steps over time creates the ripple effect. So what are you waiting for? Get moving, my friends. It’s never too late.

This month, 20% of our proceeds will go to City Harvest.

City Harvest exists to end hunger in communities throughout New York City. They do this through food rescue and distribution, education, and other practical, innovative solutions.​

More than 40 years ago, City Harvest helped to start the food rescue movement. Today, in response to the persistently high need for food assistance in New York City and their commitment to sustainability, City Harvest continues to provide fresh, nutritious food to our neighbors experiencing food insecurity.
This year, they will rescue more than 86 million pounds of high-quality food from local and national sources that would otherwise go to waste and deliver it, free of charge, to hundreds of food pantries and soup kitchens across the five boroughs so that New Yorkers have the food they need to thrive. By rescuing this perfectly good food—more than 70% of which is fresh produce—they are preventing more than 25 million kilograms of CO2 from entering the atmosphere this year alone.
But that’s not all they do. With deep connections to the communities where they work and with a focus on localized investment, City Harvest is dedicated to strengthening their network of agency partners and the local food system through capacity building, advocacy, volunteering, and nutrition and culinary education.
Together, they are feeding our city—one day, one meal, one New Yorker at a time.
To learn more about their incredible work, please visit their website: https://www.cityharvest.org/

I had the great pleasure of welcoming our NYC cohort for the Fall 2025 Comprehensive Pilates Training Program at Equinox last Friday. We have 34 students in NYC, 149 total in all of our markets! Pilates has never lost its magic for me - in my own personal body and practice, in sharing it with my clients and through my classes and most of all, in sharing with our students who will go onto have successful careers of their own sharing the joy and magic of Pilates.


Why is Pilates so magical? Because the method works! You will feel stronger, longer, taller, more flexible, more mobile. You will move through your daily life and other workouts with more ease. It also forces you to breath and allows time to connect your mind to body and give thanks for all your body is capable of.


What are you waiting for? Give yourself the gift of Pilates! And if you are ever interested in deepening your Pilates practice through our Mat or Comprehensive course at Equinox, please don’t hesitate to reach out. I would love nothing more than to be an even deeper part of your Pilates journey.


Wishing you well as we enter my favorite time of the year - autumn!

This month, 20% of our proceeds will go to Adversity into Adventure.


Their mission: create life-enhancing opportunities for a “diverse-abled world.” They believe in diverse-abled rather than disabled - all individuals of varied abilities taking control of life and living it to the fullest.


Their goal is 1) rehabilitation - quality of life begins with mental, physical and emotional wellbeing. They enhance the most comprehensive programs and endorse individuals throughout their process, 2) recreation - the valiant expression of triumph over tragedy is the reintegration of a passionate life back into the world, and 3) research - they fund the leading edge of neurological science and research today for a brighter tomorrow.


The founder, Aaron Baker, lives with challenges of a spinal cord injury that nearly took his life. Doctors told him he’d never feed himself again. Until he did. Aaron has been bringing neurological research, rehabilitation and recreation together in how own life and work for decades. He knows firsthand how transformative the 3R-ethos is when uniquely combined together to improve the quality of life.


Their current campaign is the Impact Campaign. The goal is to inspire, educate and fundraise with a message-in-motion, aiming to connect with organizations and individuals to share their stories, engage in adventurous activities and raise awareness of their mission and values.


To follow along their ride and see when their team will be visiting your community, please visit their website: https://www.adversityintoadventure.org/

I can’t believe it but Pilates On Demand has been running for three years. Thank you so much for being part of this journey. My mission still remains the same - provide Pilates classes you can take with you anywhere that will help you reset while we contribute to organizations that are making a difference in our communities. It might not be fancy, but your workouts don’t need to be. Working out should make you feel good, so I hope you keep taking small steps to do what makes you feel good and  surround yourself with people who make you feel good.


Wishing you all the good now and always.

This month, 20% of our proceeds goes to Every Cure.


In 2010, Every Cure’s founder Dr. David Fajgenbaum was a third-year medical student when he became critically ill with Castleman disease. He spent months hospitalized in critical condition and nearly died five times. David was told there were no more options for his disease and waiting for a new treatment - requiring billions of research dollars and 10-15 years - was not a possibility. Repurposing an existing drug was his only hope. David launched an initiative to find treatments to save his life and the lives of others with CD. He and his team discovered an overactive pathway in his blood and tested a 25-year old drug called sirolimus that was approved as an immunosuppressant after kidney transplants but had never been used for CD, to block that pathway. As a result, David has been in remission for more than 11 years.


In the last 10 years, Dr. Fajgenbaum’s team has advanced 14 repurposed drugs for multiple diseases and they are scaling this work through Every Cure. Every cure was founded to ensure that patients don’t suffer while potential treatments hid in plain sight. For the first time, AI can leapfrog over repurposing barriers, unlocking cures at a fraction of cost and time. Their AI approach enables rapid and systematic analysis of the world’s biomedical knowledge. While traditional research would take years to investigate all diseases, their approach looks across all 18k diseases and 4k drugs, quantifying the strength of 75M drug-disease matches within days. Their team assesses the highest possible matches, generates evidence about effectiveness through research and validation and disseminates successes in partnership with patient organizations, democratizing medical insights and and reducing health inequities worldwide.


Together, with partners in medicine, pharma, tech and philanthropy, they are building out a comprehensive, open-source database of drug-repurposing opportunities. They are deeply passionate about uncovering repurposed drugs for patients who are suffering while there is a drug sitting at their neighborhood pharmacy, and want to scale drug repurposing to help each and every patient who may benefit by using an already existing drug.


To learn more about their work, visit their website: https://everycure.org/

I have a couple of tools that have been helping my mental state: 1) deleted social media off my phone and 2) speaking aloud mantras to myself. They say that we no longer sit in our boredom anymore because we have our phones to distract us. I’ve become so aware of how scrolling increases my anxiety. So, I have been embracing stillness, quiet, my thoughts. My nervous system feels more at ease, and I feel so much more present.


Mantras are helping me stay in the present. My current mantra is “it’s not about you.” In our current state of chaos in the world, all of us just want to feel seen and heard. This is why social media feels so loud to me when I scroll, everyone is fighting for space to feel seen and heard, to validate that they matter. In daily life, it’s so easy to check out, to not listen to others in a conversation, to not see how others are experiencing the world, to not be patient with those around you, to ignore a stranger in need, to stay stuck in your own challenges, needs, wants. So, I am working on purposefully listening, purposefully taking in everyone around me and focusing my attention on helping others. I’m not always perfect at it, but it really does help keep my anxiety away and hold myself accountable when I notice I am falling into a negative space.


Summer always goes so quickly, so I hope you can find some tools that help bring you to the present. Take in the sunshine and enjoy time with yourself and those you love.

This month, 20% of our proceeds goes to Exodus Refugee.


Exodus began in 1981 with the mission to serve the legal needs of immigrants and Cuban refugees, who had arrived as part of the Mariel boatlift in 1980. Since that time, Exodus has helped thousands of refugees from more than 50 different countries establish new lives in Indiana.


In 2025, they welcomed 884 new refugees representing 18 different countries, while providing ongoing services to refugees who already call Indiana home. 


According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, a refugee is a person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality, and is unable to or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.


According to the United Nations, there are at least 108.4 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, the highest level since World War II. Of these, 29.4 million are refugees – meaning not only have they been forced to leave their homes, but often friends and family, education, and career – the result of having to leave their home country.
More than half of refugees are children, fleeing violence and worse – while still at risk of exploitation, abuse, and more. Many refugee children have been separated from their family or are otherwise unsupported.


In addition to serving refugees, Exodus serves many other types of humanitarian immigrants, including Haitian and Cuban Entrants, those with Humanitarian Parole, those with Temporary Protected Status, those with Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), and those seeking asylum.


Refugee Resettlement is a humanitarian program that provides protection and opportunity to refugees fleeing persecution and war. Agencies such as Exodus provide services to refugee newcomers from the point of arrival to self-sufficiency. The United States has a long history of welcoming immigrants and refugees. The U.S. refugee resettlement program reflects the United States’ highest values and aspirations of compassion, generosity and leadership. Since 1975, Americans have welcomed over 3 million refugees from all over the world. Refugees have built new lives, homes and communities in towns and cities in all 50 states.


Once refugees arrive, they may experience disorientation, a sense of being overwhelmed, feelings of insecurity, sadness at leaving familiar things behind, grief, culture shock, identity and meaning loss, and fear of the unknown. However, despite the adversity they have experienced, most refugees who make their home in the U.S. are eager to engage the challenges and opportunities that the U.S. offers in order to make a better life for themselves and their families.
By having their basic needs met during the core resettlement period and beyond, combined with a full array of social and medical services, English language training, cultural orientation, and employment services, Exodus clients are able to establish new lives in the United States in freedom and safety.


To learn more about their incredible work, visit their website: https://www.exodusrefugee.org/

The tough news - no one is going to do the work for you. No one can show up for you and eat your vegetables, drink your water, get your solid sleep, get your steps and the movement that’s good for you. You’ve got to show up and do it for yourself. Motivation may not be there, but if you build the ritual, if you just take the first step and show up, I promise you it gets easier to put in the work.


You also have to love yourself. We only get one you. So, my wish for you this month is that you will love yourself as much as everyone around you does and show up for you.

This month, 20% of our proceeds will be contributed to Freedom For Immigrants.


Freedom for Immigrants is an immigrant-led, abolitionist organization committed to ending immigration incarceration. They organize alongside leaders directly impacted by immigration detention, their families, and communities across the country to advance their liberatory vision of abolition. Their work is guided by the wisdom of those who have experienced detention firsthand. They believe these leaders are the heart of their movement and the true experts in their fight for collective liberation.


Through organizing, strategic communications and storytelling, and other forms of advocacy, they fight to free people from detention and shut down deadly detention centers while also working long-term to structurally realign our societal priorities away from criminalization, detention, and deportation and toward non-punitive, humane, and welcoming policies.


Informed by Black abolitionist visionaries who have paved the way before us, they understand immigration detention as one thread in the broader web of mass incarceration and the criminalization of Black and brown people. They fight for everyone - regardless of prior contact with the legal system or criminal record - as they practice community care and build popular support among the public for their vision.


To learn more about their impact, please visit their website: https://www.freedomforimmigrants.org/

In honor of Juneteenth, this month, 20% of our proceeds will be contributed to the Southern Poverty Law Center.

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"APATHY IS NOT AN OPTION."

They fight racial justice issues such as strengthening democracy and voting rights, dismantling white supremacy, ending unjust imprisonment, and eliminating poverty and economic inequality.

They started the movement in the South hoping to inspire change nationwide. Throughout history, the South has been a place of resilience, strength and transformation. Their mission begins there. When they empower communities, they lay the groundwork for a national movement that uplifts all people and drives meaningful progress for future generations.

They have had landmark cases by offering legal advocacy that protects vulnerable communities and promotes equality across the nation. They have inspired by hope by pursuing every person's opportunity to live with dignity, free from discrimination and oppression. They track hate by monitoring over 1,500 active extremist groups and dismantling their influence while also promoting safety and justice nationwide. 

Join them as they create a future where justice, equality and opportunity are available to all. To learn more about their incredible work, visit their website: https://www.splcenter.org/

It is International Pilates Day and what better way to celebrate than to get down on your Mat and do some Pilates!

I am consistently so grateful for the gift of the Pilates method. It has given me a lifelong practice that has helped my body in times of grief and joy, pain and empowerment, and it continually teaches me all that the body is capable of. It allows me to live life to the fullest and do all the activities and challenges I never thought possible (such as climbing Angels Landing at Zion National Park!). And best of all, it has given me a community of fellow instructors, Educators, clients, enthusiasts who not only nerd out with me but also deeply care about the real, heartfelt definition of health and wellness on a deep, equitable, communal level. I always wonder if Joseph and Clara Pilates ever dreamed that this is what Contrology would really turn out to be. But what a gift Pilates is to so many people on a daily basis.

Thank you all for being part of my Pilates journey and community. I am so grateful to be part of your self-care. And as a reminder, Pilates is a practice and with any practice, you only feel progress if you practice repetitively. So, keep going - tomorrow is always a new day to start fresh and build new habits that will impact your life in the best of ways!

In honor of Mental Health Awareness month, we will contribute 20% of our proceeds in May to National Alliance on Mental Health.
NAMI is the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness.

What started as a small group of families gathered around a kitchen table in 1979 has blossomed into the nation's leading voice on mental health. Today, they are an alliance of more than 600 local affiliates who work in your community to raise awareness and provide support and education that was not previously available to those in need.

NAMI envisions a world where all people affected by mental illness live healthy, fulfilling lives supported by a community that cares.


NAMI provides advocacy, education, support and public awareness so that all individuals and families affected by mental illness can build better lives.


Their Values

• Hope: They believe in the possibility of recovery, wellness and the potential in all of us.
• Inclusion: They embrace diverse backgrounds, cultures and perspectives.
• Empowerment: They promote confidence, self-efficacy and service to their mission.
• Compassion: They practice respect, kindness and empathy.
• Fairness: They fight for equity and justice.

They educate. Offered in thousands of communities across the United States through NAMI State Organizations and NAMI Affiliates, their education programs ensure hundreds of thousands of families, individuals and educators get the support and information they need.
They support. Throughout the country, their NAMI State Organizations and Affiliates host support groups, for both those with mental illness and caregivers, so that no one feels alone in their mental health journey.
They advocate. NAMI shapes national public policy for people with mental illness and their families and provides volunteer leaders with the tools, resources and skills necessary to save mental health in all states.
They listen. Their toll-free NAMI HelpLine allows them to respond personally to hundreds of thousands of requests each year, providing free information and support—a much-needed lifeline for many.
They lead. Public awareness events and activities, including year-round awareness initiatives and NAMIWalks, successfully fight stigma and encourage understanding. NAMI works with reporters on a daily basis to make sure our country understands how important mental health is.

To learn more about their incredible work, please visit their website: https://www.nami.org/

This month, 20% of our proceeds will go to DonorsChoose.

Their mission: to make it easy for anyone to help a teacher in need, moving us closer to a nation where students in every community have the tools and experiences they need for a great education. They are committed to combating racial and socioeconomic inequity in school funding. Their team works to inspire as much support as possible for teachers of color and for schools that serve low-income communities and Black, Latino, and Native American students.

In 2000, Charles Best, a teacher at a Bronx public high school, thought about all the money he and his colleagues were spending on books, art supplies, and other materials for their students. They weren't alone — today, teachers still spend an average of $500 out of pocket on their classrooms each year. Charles figured there were people who'd want to help if they could see where their money was going. He founded DonorsChoose, a website where teachers could post requests for classroom resources, and his colleagues posted the first 11 projects. Since then, teachers at most US public schools have requested resources through their platform. 
To ensure integrity, they're there through every step of every project. They vet all requests, purchase each item, and ship materials directly to verified teachers.
Step One - find a classroom project that inspires you and give as little as $1. They're a public charity, so your donation is tax-deductible. Step Two - when a project is fully funded, they purchase all the requested items and ship them directly to the teacher. Step Three - every donor gets a thank-you from the teacher and a report of how each dollar was spent.
Their team has vetted and fulfilled over 2 million classroom project requests that range from butterfly cocoons, to robotics kits, to books with diverse characters. Many of the team are former teachers, so their operation feels like a cross between a tech company and a classroom. Whether we're in their NYC office or working remotely across the country, they're digging into data, sharing their favorite projects, and Instagramming teacher and student joy.

To learn more about this incredible project, visit their website: https://www.donorschoose.org/