I met and began doing Pilates with Belkis Rutchland 5 years ago. I found her online and was quite impressed with her training! She studied with Joseph Pilates’ protege, Romana, and being a pilates instructor myself, the training was quite important to me. I had a young daughter and was not in great shape when I started with her. Belkis had compassion and also challenged me at just the right level. Within a year I was back in good shape and feeling wonderful. Belkis has always been consistent and reliable, and knows the perfect session for my needs on any particular day. She has always been professional, kind, respectful and a good communicator. I plan on always working with her as long as I can.

Brigitte Culhane

2022

I started working with Belkis after leaving a different local health coach whose methods were just too intense for me, and who I felt did not hear me or recognize my needs. I have had the opposite experience with Belkis. She is a great listener who is in it with me every step of the way. Each minute of our hour-long sessions feels dedicated to my improvement. Her advice and praise are always very specific, so I understand exactly what I need to focus on or where I've grown. What I like most about lessons with Belkis is how positive they are. She never uses phrases like "You're doing this wrong" or "You need to try harder." She corrects gently and encourages strongly, consciously choosing not to use words with negative associations. For example, I have a moderate head tilt that I'm working on fixing, and when Belkis notices that I need to hold myself differently, she prompts kindly, "Where's your head?" or simply says "Top of the head." I also struggle with some of the techniques that require using many parts of the body at once. Belkis is always patient with me when she sees I'm having trouble and will joke about how it's hard for everyone, keeping the tone light and energetic. Even though the atmosphere is fun, there's never any doubt that Belkis is very knowledgeable about pilates. When it's difficult for me to do something, she always seems to know exactly why: whether I'm focusing on the wrong muscles or I'm tense from running late, Belkis often recognizes it before I do myself and knows just what advice to supply. She's also great at noticing things that, to me, seem very small. She's sure to give praise when she sees I've remembered to keep my shoulders relaxed or my neck long, because she knows I'm working hard to make those things a habit. When I said Belkis was in it with me every step of the way, I meant it literally: every session, Belkis physically moves me into correct positions, pushes my body so that the right muscles are being used, touches the areas I need to focus on, and will even bear the brunt of my weight if she needs to. I'm only twenty-nine years old, but there are a lot of things I'm not used to doing, and this approach allows me to feel what postures and movements I need to make so that I can replicate them myself. Belkis is very communicative whenever she's helping me this way, so that I'm not in pain or being pushed too far. Sometimes I even come out of workouts feeling that Belkis must have exercised harder than I have - and that's no comment on the workout's level of intensity, but simply an observation about how far Belkis will go to ensure you're getting the most out of each session. Overall, my experience with Belkis has been nothing but positive. I have always loathed sports and exercise ever since I was little, so this is one of my few good experiences with working out. I can feel myself growing stronger, and I love that I'm gaining this familiarity with my body. Belkis's methods and attitude have no doubt contributed to this new, great relationship I have with exercise. Thank you for reading,

Adrienne Rocheack Nash, CEO & Founder, Example Company 11/10/21

Belkis has been my Pilates instructor for over 4 years. She helped me work out while I had my frozen shoulder, up to the point of recovery. Until I met her, I kept re-injuring my shoulder with different exercises and instructors. With her, I have never had issues with injuries as she is very careful with body alignment and corrections. She has taught me more than just Pilates. I've learned many life lessons from her and she has given me valuable advice. She has a gift and I am sure she has used it to help countless people.

Mika Michaels 11/21

This is about an extraordinary Professional Pilates instructor by the name of Belkis Rutchland. I have had over 10 Pilates instructors since Belkis moved to Oregon. And no one has been as dedicated to excellence as Belkis, not even close. Belkis was my Pilates Instructor on Maui. I went to her 3 hours per week for many years. To this day her and I communicate regarding Pilates, and asking her for professional advice. I have known her for 18 years. She was extremely professional, and her studio was impeccable, clean and well cared for. She had all the best equipment. I was in severe pain when I was suggested by several health professionals to go to her. Up to then I found little to no help medically, from any doctors or specialists. I had serious back and hip pain that had me totally incapacitated and bedridden. Belkis was extremely focused on me every second of the hour, physically supporting my body due to my weakness and pain. There was never any interruptions or distractions of any kind. She was focused on me 100% of the time while with her. She started me out very gently, gradually and carefully got me stronger and out of pain over a period of months, it was like a miracle! Belkis was not only the best on the island, she was well trained by the best in the industry. She also continued to stay up on the latest training, learning constantly , dedicated and devoted to her continuing education, profession and clients. Her work was focused on her clients getting well, She was willing to accommodate my financial challenges by charging me a fee that was affordable. This is a true testament that it was not about money with Belkis, her heart and soul genuinely wanted her clients well and functional, and did all she could to make that happen. She SAVED my life as I thought I would never be able to function again. If it was not for her I sincerely don't believe I would have ever been well. She was full of compassion, present, focused, and deeply empathetic. A true professional with heart. Anyone lucky enough to have Belkis as their Pilates instructor is blessed.

Rose Singerella 11/21