Given our recent feature in Women’s Health this month and winning two Welsh Enterprise awards for 2025,  I wanted to take a moment to reintroduce myself and explain why The Pilates Studio Swansea is a leader in Pilates in Wales and the broader Pilates community.

Fera: Wales’ Only Second Generation Pilates Teacher

Hi,  I’m Fera. I invite you to visit our website to learn more about the beginning of my Pilates journey as an athlete, resulting in my apprenticeship at one of the world’s original six training centres. I am currently the only second generation Pilates teacher in Wales.  What does “second generation” mean? It means I trained directly with Romana Kryzanowski,  the woman who was entrusted upon the death of Joseph Pilates to run his studio and then tasked with formalising the original method into a training manual and apprentice program.  While many wonderful teachers worked with Joseph Pilates and dedicated their lives to preserving their understanding of Pilates, Romana was uniquely compelled to try to preserve the complete method, as taught in his studio. I was incredibly fortunate to learn directly from Romana, under my mentor in Chicago, Juanita Lopez. I continue learning from other exceptional teachers such as Lori Coleman Brown, Janice Dulak, Marjorie Oron, Cynthia Shipley, Cynthia Lochard, Anthony Rabara, Sari Mejia Santo.

What Makes The Pilates Studio Swansea an Authentic and Fully Equipped Studio?

The Pilates Studio Swansea is one of a few fully equipped and comprehensively trained Pilates studios and training centres in Wales. It was the first second generation studio in Wales and currently the only studio offering a global teacher training program. 

What Does That Mean?

Fully Equipped

Our studio sessions utilise all the apparatus - not just the reformer-designed and regularly used by Joseph Pilates in his original Method. Our equipment is the highest quality commercial grade.  The Pilates Method is not just a bunch of exercises, it is a consciously created system of movement incorporating several apparatus to help the body move optimally.

Comprehensively Trained

Our teachers are trained in the complete method of Pilates, from basics to full advanced, across all apparatus-  not just Reformer or mat. We focus on the needs of all bodies,from those with disabilities to professional athletes. Learning the full system of exercises, how to develop that system, and how to move a body within that system takes years, not just a weekend course.  While mat classes at gyms and reformer studios that are popping up in homes and local gyms offer opportunities to move using machines similar to Joseph’s apparatus, they lack the depth required for truly effective movement that makes the system of Pilates unique and successful.  

Comprehensive Pilates Teacher Training and Method Education

By leveraging the extensive knowledge of The Pilates system and a fully equipped studio, The Pilates Studio Swansea firstly focuses on providing the highest quality pilates sessions with the goal for our clients being to experience the full benefits of the pilates system.  Our pricing, session structure, and timetable are designed to optimise client results rather than studio profit. 

Secondly, since the establishment of our London teacher training program in 2012, my focus has been on supporting the development of Romana’s Pilates International (RPI)  in the UK. I travel to our regional studios across the UK to support their development and growth.  I have worked with the apprentices at the London training centre and as a level IV teacher with RPI, I also offer teacher training in Wales.  The majority of Pilates training programs in the UK offer little or none of the original method.  The Pilates Studio Swansea offers the most comprehensive teacher training available, dedicated to developing the highest quality teachers, not simply issuing low-level certifications for profit. 

Finally, as the Pilates industry rapidly evolves- often transforming the concept of Pilates daily due to cheap apparatus and social media glamour -  I strive to continually educate clients and the public on the actual Methodology.  I want to help the growing Pilates community to understand the distinction between Pilates and the latest gym trends. Ninety-nine percent of what is marketed today as Pilates does not even include the original exercises,  let alone the fundamental concepts of utilising the entire body or moving well within the exercises. True, it is important for people to move - and moving is better than not moving at all -  but many people are promoting their versions of pilates with only a few providing the full methodology that actually delivers the benefits they tout.  As the Pilates market becomes increasingly diluted, I am committed to offering a deeper and more complete understanding of the method to clients and teachers passionate about Pilates.     

25 years on in my Pilates journey I am still passionate about both the transformative method of Pilates and the results in every client and teacher.