Meet Nanci Reed, a Pilates instructor with over 15 years of experience and an impressive track record of working with over 1000 clients globally. Nanci's expertise lies in using Pilates for post-rehabilitation of physical injuries, chronic imbalances, and misalignments. Her unique approach combines Pilates, practical spirituality, and meditation for self-healing, creating a mind-body-soul alchemy that is transformational.
Nanci's ultimate goal is to empower her clients to integrate all the different aspects of themselves into one effortlessly aligned mind and body. She believes that the practice of self-care is about living your happily ever now, not after you've checked off a bunch of meaningless boxes that society says you need before being "enough."
Nanci's journey began in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she grew up and earned a BS in Managerial Economics from the University of California, Davis. She pursued a career in public relations and business development before a curiosity for exploring human behavior led her to earn a graduate degree in Organizational Psychology. During her advanced studies, she focused her research on emotional intelligence and conflict resolution, drawing inspiration from notable figures such as Kenneth Wapnick, Viktor Frankl, and Paul Ekman.
A serious car accident and subsequent injuries prompted Nanci to defer her plans for obtaining a PhD and instead turn to journaling and meditation to cope with the physical pain during the rehabilitation process. After discovering the healing power of Pilates for post-rehabilitation, Nanci became a certified Pilates instructor from Turning Point Studios in Walnut Creek, CA. She later completed an additional certification in Movement Medicine.
With her unique blend of psychology, mindfulness, and Pilates, Nanci built a thriving private post-rehabilitative Pilates and spiritual life coaching practice in the San Francisco Bay Area. Today, Nanci offers private and group sessions, as well as an intensive program, all provided virtually via Zoom, making her expertise accessible to clients all over the world.
We had the pleasure of doing a Q & A with Nanci Reed, a Pilates Instructor. Nanci is also an Author, Intuitive Healer and Spiritual Life Coach. Nanci has a passion for aligning your Mind, Body, and Spirit with Love rather than limitations.
1. What motivated you to become a Pilates instructor?
Pilates found me as rehabilitation after a serious car accident that injured my shoulder and spine. Pain was my main motivation initially or really the desire to end my pain to be exact. The accident haunted me physically and emotionally. I tried everything and anything to heal. Nothing provided more than a temporary fix until I discovered Pilates. From my first session I felt hopeful and more connected to my body and mind than ever prior. After a year of diligently attending private sessions plus practicing my ‘homework’ at home, my shoulder pain lessened by about 99%. It was nothing short of a miracle. Blown away by own results plus fascinated by the process of healing via an approach that empowered a mind-body connection, guided me to become a teacher myself and to share this mindset and practice with others.
2. Why should someone work with a Pilates Instructor?
Pilates is a mindful practice. A client should come with an open and curious mind in addition to desiring to move their body. Pilates addresses the whole person: Body, Mind, and Spirit. It is a powerful approach to integrating mindful movement into daily life and activities. If you’re wanting to move more freely, strengthen your core and balance your body, Pilates will meet you wherever you are now and then join you on your journey to become the best you possible. It adapts to you and is accessible to anyone willing to connect with its core teachings and approach.
3. What makes you unique as a Pilates Instructor?
I’m also an Author, Intuitive Healer and Spiritual Life Coach, in addition to being a Pilates Instructor. Wearing so many ‘hats’ allows me to work with any client no matter their age, fitness level, pre-existing injuries or chronic conditions. I’ve worked with Hollywood A-listers, desiring a specific look for a television series, and also retirees wanting to carry groceries with greater ease, or business owners hoping to improve their postures so their daily commute is less taxing on their bodies. In all, I’ve worked with over 1000 private clients since beginning my business. Happily Ever Living is my signature process for empowering Self-Healing within each client via Pilates plus Practical Spirituality. There are no cookie cutters here though: I tailor each program to the specific client’s needs and personal goals. It’s a collaborative effort. My hope is to inspire each client to gently align their mind, body and spirit with Love, not limitations and to be a part of their Self-Healing Process, not apart from it.
4. How have your clients' lives improved as a result of working with you?
I’ve been so fortunate to connect with clients all around the world. One client that sticks out in my mind is a woman that had a chronic ankle injury and literally arrived to see me on crutches and after one session together, addressing the imbalances she’d overlooked, she actually left my studio walking on her own. I share many more examples of similar ‘impossible’ transformations in my new book, ‘Happily Ever NOW’ (Not AFTER everything else is perfect). It’s a gentle guide for overcoming the paralysis of perfectionism by embracing our innate guidance. So often the Pilates clients that find me are also lifelong perfectionists. Part of our work together involves them reframing ‘how’ they see their body and trying-on a new lens led by kindness and curiosity instead of preconceived judgments or comparisons. Helping my clients to embrace their body being perfectly imperfect invites Healing on every level. In my book I highlight several clients and share their specific story and transformation.
If you’re curious to learn more, visit https://happilyevernowbook.com
Here’s a brief excerpt from my book, detailing one of my client’s journey:
Jenna’s Story
“My goal isn’t to get rid of my pain but rather to learn how to be at peace while I’m in it.”
Jenna is another client of mine who challenged my preconceptions about the power of self-healing. I’d been running an advertisement in a local magazine where the tagline was. “I believe in the possibilities of the body.” Seeing that line prompted Jenna to set up her first session with me.
At the time, she was recently divorced, in her mid- forties, and ran a successful start-up in the Bay Area. On the surface, it looked like Jenna was “living the dream.” What she kept hidden, though, was a night-mare she’d been trapped in for over a decade: chronic knee pain. As soon as our eyes met during her initial session, my Inner Voice encouraged me to ask her, “What is your heart’s desire, really, to accomplish during our time together?” I put emphasis on the word “really” to let her know that it was safe to share her true intention and hopes with me.
An alchemical stillness filled the studio space as she considered her response. At last, she heard her Truth with succinct clarity and shared, “My goal isn’t to get rid of my pain but rather to learn how to be at peace while I’m in it.”
I was blown away by the underlying meaning in her statement. I nodded and said, “I understand. Let’s discover all of what’s possible for you to feel peaceful inside your mind no matter what your body is feeling at any given moment. What else should I know before we begin?”
Jenna shut her eyes, scanning through a lifetime of memories. “Well, you should know I’ve tried just about everything to solve this issue and to stop the pain,” she said. “Like, literally everything. I’ve thrown more money at ceasing my pain than I care to admit. I’m ashamed about my lack of progress. It seems like no matter what I try, the result is still the same: I’m miserable and exhausted from feeling miserable. I can’t even remember what it’s like to move my knee without agony. I know I have before, but my body can’t recall the feeling anymore. Maybe the pain will never go away. Maybe instead I need to learn to live with the pain without being miserable about it being there. After hearing about you from friends and seeing your ad, I’m hoping you can help me approach my pain differently. Can you?”
“Yes,” I told her. “I believe I can help you approach your pain differently, but ultimately, it’s going to come down to your decision to accept another way of interacting with your body or to keep feeling stuck by your pain…’
My book also is a part memoir where I share my own, nonlinear Self-Healing Journey with Pilates and Practical Spirituality as my guides. I also offer a one week mindset reset as well as a 12-week self-study course to further empower and inspire the reader’s Self-Healing Process.
My intention in writing my book and in sharing my journey with Pilates is that what’s possible for one of us is possible for all of us.
To Learn more about Nanci Reed and work with her, visit her website at https://nancireed.com/happily-ever-living/ - Follow her on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/happilyeverliving/
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