Julie, Pilates teacher at the Château de Maubreuil

This month, we are delighted to introduce you to Julie, our gentle and dynamic Pilates instructor. Every Sunday from 10 to 11:15 am, she will accompany you for a real moment of well-being.

After ten years in the banking industry as a branch manager, Julie decided to change her career path. "I really wanted to do something that was out of the ordinary. I wanted to have fun in my work" she explains. Very athletic and in charge of a Salsa association with friends for several years, she decided to blossom in this field: "I linked sports, fitness and salsa to start with, then came Pilates, yoga and massages." It's now been 5 years since Julie created her own dance and sports studio in Rezé: "Pas à pas, sport et danse".

She discovered Pilates during her training at the CREPS. A gym originally invented with a therapeutic objective by Joseph Pilates, "I found this practice gentle and soothing. It allows you to relieve in a remarkable way the pains in the back or the stress. You don't force yourself and yet you come to work on muscle strengthening, flexibility, coordination without looking for performance. The goal is really to listen to yourself and to synchronize your breathing with the movement” she describes.

Pilates is accessible to everyone, regardless of age or physical condition. We can vary and adapt the exercises according to the demands or constraints of each person. Julie always starts her sessions with a warm-up, then she proposes different types of exercises that will work on specific muscles, followed by stretching, before finishing with a moment of relaxation where you take the time to breathe and think about yourself.

"Even if it is a group class, my experience as a sports educator helps me a lot to adapt the class to the level of each participant. I am very attentive and I modulate the exercises so that people are more comfortable with a movement and that they really take ownership of the session. What is essential for me is that everyone has fun. I want people to leave feeling good" she enthuses.

Her favorite Pilates posture: the Shoulder Bridge. This exercise consists in raising the buttocks towards the ceiling while blowing and then lowering the pelvis very slowly while breathing in. It's a movement that, at first glance, seems simple but in reality, is very complex in its execution. This exercise mobilizes and relaxes the spine. It also strengthens the glutes, abdominals, back of the thighs and the back.

When Julie discovered the Chateau de Maubreuil, near Nantes, she immediately felt at ease and found that the location lent itself perfectly to the practice of Pilates. "The atmosphere of the castle attracted me a lot, I found that there was a very beautiful energy, we breathe, there is nature and space and for me it is very important” she concludes.