{"id":124,"date":"2026-04-20T21:58:28","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T21:58:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/slina019\/?page_id=124"},"modified":"2026-04-20T21:58:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T21:58:28","slug":"writing-sample","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/slina019\/articles\/writing-sample\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing Sample"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

One From the Heart: Learning Strength Through Pilates<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wellness did not enter my life as a trend. It entered as something I genuinely needed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a long time, I thought strength was supposed to look a certain way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought it had to be intense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought it had to be obvious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I thought it had to be something you could prove.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilates taught me something completely di\ufb00erent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilates taught me that strength can be quiet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That sometimes the smallest movement can be the hardest one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That control can be just as powerful as intensity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The First Time I Really Felt It<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The first time I ever took a Pilates class, I assumed it would be easy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I expected stretching.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maybe a little core work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something relaxing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Instead, I left shaking in a way I did not expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not because I was weak, but because I was finally paying attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilates forces you to slow down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It makes you notice things you normally ignore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your posture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The way you hold tension without realizing it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was one of the first times I felt fully present in my own body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wellness Is Not Perfection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somewhere along the way, wellness became something people perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It became routines that look perfect online.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matching sets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Matcha and co\ufb00ee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Morning schedules that feel impossible to keep up with.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But real wellness is not always aesthetic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Real wellness is choosing to show up even when you feel o\ufb00.It is learning how to listen instead of constantly pushing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilates helped me stop treating my body like something to fix.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And start treating it like something to take care of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Teaching Changed My Perspective<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I started teaching Pilates, I thought my job was mostly physical.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cue the moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Count the pulses.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Build the burn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But teaching quickly became something deeper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Because you are not just teaching exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You are teaching people how to trust themselves again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I watch clients walk into class stressed, distracted, and unsure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then slowly, over the course of 50 minutes, they come back to themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is the part of wellness that matters most to me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not perfection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not transformation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just reconnection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Strength Looks Di\ufb00erent Here<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilates strength is not loud.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is not about competing or showing o\ufb00.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is internal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is the kind of strength that comes from control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From holding yourself steady even when everything shakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From learning that balance is something you practice over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Progress in Pilates is not always obvious at first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes it is invisible until one day you realize you feel stronger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not just physically, but mentally too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Mind and Body Connection<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most surprising things Pilates gave me was mental clarity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you focus on your breath, you stop spiraling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you focus on alignment, you stop rushing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilates becomes a conversation between mind and body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of us spend so much time ignoring our bodies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Until they demand attention.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wellness is learning how to listen before that happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Movement as Self Respect<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I used to think movement was punishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something you did to earn rest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Something you did because you were not enough yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now I see it di\ufb00erently.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I see movement as self respect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I move because I deserve to feel strong.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I move because my body carries me through everything.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilates became one of the ways I stay connected to myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not to change who I am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But to support who I already am.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Version of Me I Am Becoming<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilates has become more than a workout.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It has become a reminder that growth happens slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through repetition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through small choices.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Through showing up again and again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even when you are tired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even when you feel messy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even when you are still figuring things out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilates reminds me that progress does not have to be dramatic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes progress is just holding steady.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One From the Heart<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is one from the heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wellness is not about becoming someone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is about returning to yourself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pilates brought me back to my breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to my body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back to a version of strength that does not perform.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It simply exists.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And I think that is what I want my writing to reflect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not wellness as an image.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But wellness as a practice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A way of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A way of coming home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

One From the Heart: Learning Strength Through Pilates Wellness did not enter my life as a trend. It entered as something I genuinely needed. For a long time, I thought strength was supposed to look a certain way. I thought… Continue Reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7387,"featured_media":0,"parent":104,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-124","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/slina019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/slina019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/slina019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/slina019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7387"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/slina019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/slina019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/124\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/slina019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/104"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/myweb.fiu.edu\/slina019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}