Conni Ponturo Conni Ponturo is the owner of The Absolute Yoga And Pilates Studio. She has been doing pilates since 1998, and has been at the Absolute since it opened in 2001. She is certified through the PhysicalMind Institute, as well as the Pilates Method Alliance. She is also a member of Idea Health and Fitness Association. No matter what you do during the day; working, shopping, running around picking up kids, or sitting at a computer all day, you are using your body. All of these activities can be enhanced by bringing Pilates into your life. The basic principles of Pilates; neutral spine, shoulder stability, using your abdominals to support your back and spine, will help you strengthen your body. At the same time you’ll be easing your aches and pain caused by under and overused muscles. Conni began her movement career in New York at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and performed with small dance companies in New York as well as performing as an actress in theater and commercials. Conni studied and worked under Maria Leone at Bodyline studio in Beverly Hills. While working there Conni developed her highly trained eye for movement and instinct for teaching. Her greatest joy is to keep clients moving, injury free, and challenged. She works to achieve the perfect mixture of physical fitness while energizing the spirit. What The Pilates Method Can Do For You... The Pilates Method simultaneously strengthens, stretches and tones the body, thereby improving posture, balance and poise. Coined "The Thinking Exercise", it requires concentration, control and precision to locate and strengthen the smaller core muscles while the larger muscles become increasingly toned and sleek. Developed in the 1920's by Joseph Pilates, a visionary in health and fitness, who believed our modern lifestyle, bad posture and inefficient breathing were the roots of poor health. The Pilates Method's combined focus on breath awareness, spinal alignment and the strengthening of the deep torso muscles also helps to alleviate and prevent back pain. Its growing popularity with physical therapists and other health practitioners is a testament to the validity of the Pilates Method principles. Get Healthy The Yoga Way... Yoga has the reputation of being the most popular training for health and well being in all human history. By practicing yoga, we strive to be in union with all aspects of self: mind, body and spirit. Rather than being goal-oriented, Yoga is a process oriented discipline. The idea is to focus awareness on exactly you are doing, in the moment. The benefits are endless, and include: stress reduction, toning of the body, internal organs, nervous and glandular systems, as well as improved circulation and breathing, and an enhanced sense of well-being.