Testimonials
"My wife and I have been having weekly Pilates classes with Christina Blackburn for many years.
Christina has always been very supportive in every class and has consistently shown dedication and professionalism. During this time I have been so impressed with her expertise and knowledge and the positive impact she has had on our physical health and well-being.
She has tailored the sessions to meet our different needs, be they from incidents, accidents or just getting older!
We have seen significant improvements in strength, flexibility, and overall fitness. Her encouragement and expert guidance has played a very important role in keeping us fit and healthy and I am grateful for the positive impact she has had on our lives.
And best of all Christina makes the classes interesting and fun!" J and CR
"Christina is smart and fun with an eagle eye for detail. She has worked with me on my problematic back and neck and given me the tools to trouble shoot when I have flair ups, which are now far less severe and frequent. Christina loves language and has a knack of finding just the right imagery to get one doing the exercises correctly. I do a lot of travelling but as soon as I’m back in London a session or two with her gets me back into equilibrium again. I’m a huge fan! " MS
`'In 2016 I had been experiencing knee issues which were getting progressively worse. I had to give up playing tennis and had worked my way through three physios none of whom were able to help me. Christina was recommended to me by a friend. I was sceptical at first but shouldn’t have been. It took Christina about two months of two classes a week to identify the weaknesses that she thought might be a possible cause. She worked on my core strength, realigned me and has rid me of around 80% of my knee pain - it was simply remarkable. Through lockdowns we continued to do class over Zoom and I now see her once a week for general fitness and maintenance. I am back to playing tennis again. After all these years her classes remain fresh and stimulating and I always come away from her studio feeling energised and upbeat. I cannot recommend her highly enough." AK
"As I grow older my frame was becoming more and more bent, my posture more and more curved. Christina has basically re-aligned me! Straightened me up with exercises which are enjoyable and relatively easy. There are other less obvious benefits that good posture brings; better balance, greater lung capacity, less aching and a general feel-good attitude. Christina, enormous thanks to you for your patience, perseverance and good humour!" PH
"I am delighted to recommend Christina as a truly gifted Pilates teacher. I have been seeing her as a client for 5 years now and do 2 sessions with her every week. It has been an integral part of my life and I enjoy every minute. I have had various injuries and aches and pains but she always finds a way to sort me out." AV
"Christina is an exceptional Pilates teacher. Knowledgable, insightful and creative she makes classes enjoyable as well as impactful and brings precise focus and deep expertise to every session. I've worked with many teachers over the years - and she ranks top of my list!" EW
" I have known Christina for 30 years as a personal friend as well as a Pilates teacher. My first experience with her was in Notting Hill Gate in 1999 which is when Christina first launched as a Pilates teacher. Since the start of Lockdown I have seen Christina over Zoom twice a week. I have had back surgery for three trapped nerves and I also have Spinal Stenosis. On Zoom Christina helps me to stretch extensively in areas surrounding the back, but also generally and she responds immediately to any new complaint that I have. Christina is amazingly versatile in her approach, helping to strengthen all parts of the body and in my case paying particular attention to the lower back. I recommend Christina to everyone. I feel that she is not just a regular Pilates teacher but a truly remedial Pilates teacher. In my view she is a wonderful person, incredibly knowledgeable and brilliant at her job." KJ
" I was super lucky to meet Christina for my first Pilates lessons. Apart from her skill and knowledge of Pilates that spans 26 years, and her 13 years before as a dancer at the Royal Ballet; she has a delicious sense of humour, a voice that manages to convey both calm and authority and an ability to communicate so precisely the perfect metaphor or description to help you execute and finesse the finer points of the sometimes elusive exercise in hand. I have worked with her for several years now, from when I first came limping into the studio, insisting nothing hurt and she gently suggested I might get an X-ray of my hip, through the preparation for a hip operation, online classes during the epidemic, to post-op re-hab sessions online and in the studio after that." KH
" I was fortunate to come across the Pilates method quite early in my life, but even more fortunate to meet Christina Blackburn when she was running a Pilates studio a few years ago. Christina is not only a highly professional person but also a very good teacher with a deep knowledge of the Pilates technique and how to use it for the benefit of her clients. She has what seems to be an endless repertoire of exercises. She has helped me considerably in the recovery of issues caused by surgery. She would be a great help in the prevention and treatment of injuries. I would not hesitate to recommend her to anybody who is in need of assistance to keep their body in optimal condition." LB
"For the least three years my husband has had weekly exercise sessions with Christina Blackburn. It has been a very rewarding and happy experience, and I can thoroughly recommend Christina from many points of view as I shall detail below.
My husband was at first reticent about attending – he has Parkinson’s disease and Lewy Body Dementia and Christina was very patient about this. At first she attended at our house, as I felt that my husband did not want to commit to going to her. She consented graciously to coming to our house even though it meant that she had to pay for parking and bring her own equipment. After a while Christina gently suggested that we might like to come and try out her state-of-the-art Pilates equipment which we did. I realised that my husband would derive benefits from using the equipment and we came to the arrangement that I would take my husband to her house with his carer and that Christina would drive them to the nearest bus stop at the end of the session. This arrangement has persisted for a very long time and has been very successful. Recently it was raining at the end of the session and Christina even drove them home – quite beyond the call of duty!
I asked my husband what he liked about Christina’s sessions, and he told me that he prefers her sessions to other exercises “because she applies ballet tradition to exercise” and also understands how to tailor exercises to anatomy. There is a dance to music which was especially chosen for my husband as a warm-up and Christina uses music to communicate with my husband and he responds well to this. The exercises seem gentle, but they are very effective. My husband is quite mobile and is able to keep himself standing up straight despite his illness. We had a break of eight weeks this summer while we were abroad and it was noticeable that his flexibility and strength were diminished.
The way in which Christina has managed to build up a non- patronising, positive and effective relationship with my husband is remarkable and I am very grateful for her assistance. I would be very happy to answer any further questions which anyone might have on the subject." SM
