Meet Whitney Shea of Contrology Studio

Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Shea.

Hi Whitney, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I was first introduced to Pilates by my mom, who owned a private Physical Therapy practice in Sherman, TX (where I grew up). In her PT clinic, she used The Pilates Method as an exercise modality to help rehabilitate her patients. I then went to college at the University of Colorado at Boulder and received a B.A. in Integrative Physiology, and towards the end of my college career, my mom recommended I check out The Pilates Center (TPC) in Boulder. At the time, I enjoyed running and going to the gym for exercise. I found Pilates to be very challenging, but within a few sessions, I had already noticed the positive impact it was having on my overall fitness and mental well-being. I knew within a few months that I wanted to teach Pilates as a career. I began TPC’s Pilates teacher training program about 6 months later, but shortly after starting the program, I was in a roll-over car accident on I-70 coming home from Breckenridge. This accident caused me to have limited neck and shoulder mobility, as well as chronic neck and shoulder pain. The silver lining of this accident is that I was given the opportunity to experience Pilates as it was originally intended- as physical rehabilitation. Within about 6 months of Pilates and Physical Therapy, I was able to resume my teacher training program with minimal pain! I am very thankful I had had a consistent Pilates practice leading up to the accident, as I know that it contributed to my recovery.

After finishing my Pilates certification in 2009, I taught Pilates full-time in Boulder, Texas, and Chicago- and then ultimately landed back in the Boulder area, where I have continued teaching since 2011. In 2015, I decided to go back to school for my Physical Therapist Assistant (PTA) License, with the goal of teaching Pilates full-time in a rehab setting. After finishing school, I practiced as a PTA and Pilates teacher at PT of Boulder for 4 years. In June of 2020, I delivered my daughter, and due to Covid, I stayed home with her longer than originally planned, and ultimately it was best for our family for me to return to teaching Pilates only part-time, which I was able to do out of my house as well as rent space in a studio close by.

After teaching again part-time for about 6 months, I began thinking about the next steps and decided to open a studio, Contrology Studio, in my hometown of Louisville, CO. My mom generously gifted the Pilates equipment she had used at her PT clinic in Texas (she now lives in Boulder)- and I’ve been blessed with amazing teachers that have wanted to collaborate and teach alongside me at Contrology Studio!

The studio continues to organically grow with incredible teachers and clients, and I can’t wait for what the future holds!

Alright, 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?
Overall, it has been a smooth road, despite the uncertainty of opening up the studio during Covid. When I signed the lease in August 2021, the Delta variant was trending up.

Even though there was uncertainty about what would or would not have been allowed in a public wellness space, I knew it was more important than ever that we were connecting with each other, and moving our bodies in a safe, supportive environment that helps us feel better!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Contrology Studio (CS) is a Pilates studio built on community, and we have a few other key things that make us different! One is our wide range of Pilates teachers- all with various backgrounds and experience levels. We’ve grown from 1 to 7 teachers over the last year! Our teachers have backgrounds in Pilates for physical rehabilitation, cross-training for athletes, pre and post-natal, pelvic floor function, and nutrition, and even have led Pilates teacher trainings.

Our wonderful teachers meet our clients exactly where they are each day. We also all truly believe that Pilates is for everyone. To help keep this practice accessible, we offer lessons, small group classes, and workshops at various price points, as well as at various times of the day and week.

In order to give our clients the best Pilates experience, we keep our class sizes small and intimate. We see each client as an individual person with their own unique needs and goals, and meet each client where they are in their personal Pilates journey.

We believe people have the right to a pleasant, pain-free movement experience, and we strive to hold this true in every session. It’s very important to us that our clients feel safe and never judged. Trauma-informed and inclusivity training is standard practice at CS, and we will continue to work towards being our most informed selves with these issues, and beyond.

Another thing that makes CS different is our community-focused events. We host local events in our space, that include live music and food provided by some of our favorite local artists! We also teach classes and workshops at our studio, as well as out in the Boulder County community! Two exciting events we have coming up at our studio are a Breath Focused Workshop partnered with a beautiful pop-up plant store, as well as a Restorative Pilates Flow and Sound Meditation event. We also have a small retail store in the studio, where we sells local brands of candles, therapy eye masks, CBD muscles salve, bath bombs, and more!

Can you share something surprising about yourself?
I have years of experience in retail, as well as administrative work, and I have managed 2 Pilates studios in the past. Something people may not know about me is that I really enjoy the business side of running a studio-such as marketing, daily operations, scheduling, and managing the retail store at the studio.

Pricing:

• Free Introductory 30 min Private Pilates Lesson
• New Client Group Class 3-pack for $75
• New Client Private Pilates 3-pack for $225

Contact Info:

• Website:www.contrologystudioco.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/contrologystudio_louisville/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/contrologystudioco 

Image Credits
Kirsten Cohen