Kathryn Meany

contact: kathrynmeanybuckley@gmail.com

location: New York City and Brooklyn

Kathryn is an unlikely Pilates instructor who credits luck and the pursuit of happiness for her decade long career teaching in New York City. With no formal dance training and a BFA in film from NYU, she stumbled into her first Pilates mat class in 2000. It was not long before she found something every instructor hopes to pass along to their students- a deeper understanding of movement, a heightened awareness of her own body and its strengths, and a love of kinesthetic learning that has continued to propel her to share 14 years later.  Her approach is contemporary in style because the focus on the individual's needs will always trump the choreography of the classics. Her mat classes are challenging and diverse, always building on fundamentals but also keeping it fresh and engaging. Mat class is a special place for Kathryn because it was there that Pilates called to her professionally. She was lucky enough to be guided and certified by Kelly Kane at the former Kane School in 2003.  Her one-on-one work came later in 2005 and was deeply influenced by instructors she worked side-by-side with including Swan co-owner Eleanor Hullihan. Almost ten years later, there is still a strong desire to improve the quality of movement in her clients. Over the last five years pre & post natal Pilates has become a cornerstone of her work simply because so many of her clients got pregnant! It was incredibly rewarding to over see 12 women maintain their Pilates practice under her guidance and go on to have healthy and happy births. After having her own first child in August 2013, her wish to work with women during and especially after the experience of child birth only grew. The amount of change and transformation that takes place in pregnancy speaks to all work in Pilates. It is not simply about becoming stronger, instead it is a process of becoming more dynamic.