Conversations with the Inspiring Nicole Field

Today we’d like to introduce you to Nicole Field.

Nicole, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I fell in love with movement through dance at a very young age, and as a result, I went on to pursue a Bachelor’s Degree in Dance at the University of California Santa Barbara. It was during my time at UCSB that I was first introduced to Pilates and became intrigued by the method.

A few years later, after the birth of my first son, I was struggling to reconnect to my body. I had gained a significant amount of weight and was wondering if I’d ever feel like myself again. A dear friend and mentor of mine invited me to her Pilates studio where I was able to try Pilates on the Reformer for the first time. I’ll never forget that first session with her. In just one hour, I was able to feel a connection to my center, and my abdominals, in a way I’d never felt before. Afterwards, I was so grounded and calm which also seemed to really help ease my anxiety.

It didn’t take long for me to realize that Pilates would become my new career path. In 2005, I pursued training to become a fully certified Classical Pilates Teacher. I loved every minute of the rigorous training, began teaching soon after, while also taking care of our three small boys at home.

In 2009, my husband received a job offer in Colorado Springs and we decided to move our family from California to Colorado. After the move, I continued to teach Pilates at a variety of large gyms and smaller Pilates studios. I truly loved helping my clients make the same connections I was finding and watching them grow stronger both in body and mind.

I faced a difficult health crisis in 2012 and stepped back from teaching full-time for a season. As a result, I found myself on a new path as I rebuilt my health and wellness on every level. I was no longer able to work as hard as I had in the past, instead, I knew I needed to learn slower rhythms of living and deeper practices of self-care. After finding healing, and a renewed sense of vision and direction, I felt called to open my own studio, Whole Living Pilates. I knew I wanted to approach everything with this new vision in mind. I developed a clear idea about the design of the studio space, what kind of clients I wanted to attract, and how I wanted to run this business. “Whole Living” became a part of my personal journey, as well as a brand for the studio. It was a journey of truly embracing a healthy mind, body, and spirit personally, while also sharing this with my clients and teachers.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road to starting and growing a business comes with many challenges and struggles, no matter what kind of business it is. About eight months into my first year with the studio, my husband decided to start his own small business and leave his high-level, executive job in corporate book publishing. So, in less than one year, our family became completely dependent on these two businesses succeeding. While we had some dark times, and we honestly wondered at times if we’d made the right decision, ultimately, this total dependence on these businesses was a blessing because we had no other option but to succeed. So, we worked incredibly hard, and laser-focused on business growth and eventually it started to pay off.

Here’s the deal: I believe that when you commit to doing something and keep at it every day, you will make progress. That doesn’t mean the path will be easy, but if you keep going, eventually, you will reach your goals. I also believe it’s important to approach things with a long-term mindset. If you’re in business for the long haul, you have to find a pace that you can maintain over many years, otherwise, burn out will hit you hard and fast. If you’re open to it, this process can also be a journey of immense personal growth. When you’re faced with challenges, fears, and self-doubt, and you still show up every day and do your thing—you will end up growing and maturing in ways that will change who you are on a deep level.

My advice for young women just starting their journeys is to stay true to yourself, follow your heart, don’t ever give up, and lastly find a community of others who can support you and help you through those hard times.

What should we know about Whole Living Pilates? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
At Whole Living Pilates we strive to bring the highest level of instruction to our clients to help them reach their physical goals. We are the only studio in town that is fully equipped with apparatus by Pilates Designs LLC a manufacturing company dedicated to creating high quality classical Pilates apparatus. In a fitness market that’s always focusing on bigger is better, we are dedicated to keeping our studio classes small, limited to 5 clients per class, so we can focus on giving our clients the attention to detail and care they deserve. We consider our boutique studio to be a place where our clients can come for an hour, focus completely on their own practice, and leave with a renewed sense of health and strength in body, mind and spirit.

Whether we are teaching classes, private sessions, or training Pilates teachers, we focus on teaching the classical Pilates method with a modern understanding of biomechanics and functional anatomy.  Over the last year I have become a Teacher Trainer for The Vertical Workshop founded by world renowned Pilates Educator, Shari Berkowitz. To bring consistency to our clients, every teacher in our studio is currently undergoing this same training. I’m thrilled to bring this incredible Teacher Training program to our studio at Whole Living Pilates, a program that recently received approval from the State Board of the Colorado Division of Private Occupational Schools. We are one of only a handful of approved schools in the entire state and launched our first training in August 2019 with 8 students participating. The Vertical Workshop method of teaching Pilates has led to amazing results for our clients and we are excited to continue to offer this unique approach to Pilates here in Colorado Springs.

What do you feel are the biggest barriers today to female leadership, in your industry or generally?
I think my definition and image of female leadership has changed drastically over the last few years and actually helped me to see a new way of overcoming existing barriers. My experience earlier in my career, running a Pilates studio within a large, corporate gym, completely changed my mind on how we should be living as working moms and women.

Somehow this idea of working harder and longer has crept in almost as a measure of our success. When I tried to live up to those false standards, I experienced a complete breakdown in my overall health both mentally and physically. When I opened my studio, I was determined to work and live in an entirely new way. I am not willing to work myself to death in order to grow my business. I set out to establish a rhythm that was both fruitful and sustainable. I am also adamant about finding this balance for our instructors. Only when we take care of ourselves first can we truly have what we need to teach to our clients well. I’m constantly checking in with them on their schedules, home life, and burn out level.

Personally, I’m determined to be the kind of leader that inspires women to do their best without sacrificing their own personal mental and physical health. I believe that when we strike the right balance and take care of our whole selves, only then are we armed to make the biggest impact on those around us.

Contact Info:

• Address: Whole Living Pilates
  1750 Telstar Dr. Suite 120
  Colorado Springs, CO 80920
• Website: wholelivingpilates.com
• Phone: 719-204-3104
• Email: nicole@wholelivingpilates.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wholelivingpilates/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/wholelivingpilates

Image Credit:
All photos by ´ELAN PHOTOGRAPHIE STUDIO

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