Meet Helene

1- Hey Hélène, can you introduce yourself?

Hélène (pronounced L N)

2- Can you take us through your journey to where you are now?

Hum! That could take some time to answer this question…Lots of events and life changing moments have brought me to where I am at today. Events such as : losing my father, then my mother, becoming a mother, living through their growth and changes, moving over 5 times in other countries before returning to Canada

3- What is a day in the life of you like? ALWAYS start with my daily medication (some of you know why) and COFFEE!

4- Can you highlight your 3 favourite Pilates exercises?

Ha! Mermaid on every apparatus.

Foot work on the reformer in all the options possible

Short spine

5- Can you tell us what areas you have struggled in professionally?  

My professional struggle is finding balance between giving hours to my clients, hours to my family and hours to myself.

6- What do you believe are the common misconceptions about Pilates?

That only dancers or gymnast can do Pilates. In the past decade, Pilates has had so much growth allowing the method to be used for pre-surgery to post-surgery to athletic improvements. Some of the elders like Cathy Grant Eve Gentry have allowed others to look at the original movements to be more inclusive and deconstructed to allow our bodies and every bodies to be able to move safely and create health movement patterns.

7- What is the best piece of business advice you have received to date?

Set your boundaries and keep them ( not easy I am still working on that) and your hourly rate is based on what you give yourself as worth based on how much you want to make as an annual salary (consider weeks of holidays in there so I always calculate $ in 47 weeks per year).

8- What is the number 1 critical lesson you have learned in your career so far?

You can not please everyone. Avoid burnout by making sure you keep time for yourself ( working on that – you know ;))

9- How do you create an evenly balanced work and personal life?

HUM! Work in progress – each month and each year I get better at it…My personal perpetual growth…

10- Which other leading entrepreneurs and pioneering game changers do you also admire and why? That’s a deep question ….I need to ponder on that one.

11- How do you define success?

I have been asked that same question from my performance coach years ago..It used to be all about monetary value forgetting me, my pattern (husband) my family (my kids, my siblings) the love of staying healthy and allowing rest periods. I now define success as 10 important points 2 each for each section of my life ( 2 monetary current and for retirement,  educational,  my husband,  my kids,  my sibling, social life and REST, I keep a few points floating between my family and myself )

12- What’s it like working at The Cornerstone Pilates?

Friendship and camaraderie.