The Pilates Lounge

On The Pilates Lounge Podcast, Katie Crane speaks with Kristin Windsor, a somatic healing practitioner who shares her extraordinary lived experience of fibromyalgia, complex trauma, nervous system dysregulation, and full recovery after years of chronic pain, mental illness, and medical dismissal. 
Kristin brings depth, courage, and fierce honesty to this conversation — weaving together neuroscience, polyvagal theory, trauma recovery, and movement as a pathway back to safety, embodiment, and self-trust. Her story is not about bypassing pain, but about meeting the body with precision, patience, and radical responsibility.
This episode is part of Katie's ongoing fibromyalgia series, created to help Pilates professionals expand beyond muscles and exercises — and truly understand the nervous system realities shaping chronic pain.
We Explore:
How childhood trauma and nervous system dysregulation can lay the groundwork for fibromyalgia

Why chronic pain, depression, anxiety, and fatigue often coexist

The role of the dorsal vagal "shutdown" response in weakness, exhaustion, and pain

Why fibromyalgia cannot be resolved through willpower or mindset alone

How neuroscience, neuroplasticity, and daily rituals supported Kristin's healing

The importance of movement as reconnection — not performance or intensity

Gentle movement, Pilates, yoga, breath, and presence as tools for safety

Why healing requires consistency, not motivation

What it actually takes to rebuild trust with the body after trauma

This Episode Is For:
Pilates teachers working with clients living with fibromyalgia or chronic pain

Movement professionals supporting trauma-informed, nervous-system-sensitive bodies

Teachers navigating pain, fatigue, mental health, and long-term recovery

Practitioners ready to integrate neuroscience, regulation, and compassion into practice

A Moment That Landed:
"I didn't heal by forcing my body to change. I healed by learning how to listen to it — and respond with consistency, safety, and respect."
Fibromyalgia cannot be understood through muscles, joints, or exercise prescription alone.
Kristin's story reminds us that chronic pain is often the voice of a nervous system shaped by years of survival — not weakness, laziness, or lack of effort.
This conversation reinforces why Pilates teachers must expand their scope to include nervous system regulation, trauma awareness, pacing, oxygenation, and emotional safety.
When movement is rushed, forced, or aesthetic-driven, we reinforce harm. When it is paced, relational, and intelligent, Pilates becomes a powerful ally in healing.
👉 Your Next Step:
If this episode resonated, consider this:
➡️ Reflect on one client whose pain or fatigue may be asking for safety, not progression ➡️ Reassess how your cueing, pacing, and expectations support regulation ➡️ Ask deeper questions — not to fix, but to understand
Continue the Conversation in The Pilates Muse
If you're craving deeper reflections, intelligent conversation, and writing that challenges how we think about Pilates, pain, and professional practice:
✨ Explore The Pilates Muse — a publication for Pilates teachers who want to think beyond cues and exercises ➡️ https://www.thepilatesprofessional.com.au/the-pilates-muse-publication
🎥 Prefer to watch?
This episode is also available on YouTube — experience the full conversation in a different way: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGs4C3-8NIw2BQZ1QTHZetg
This is where philosophy meets practice.
About The Pilates Lounge
The Pilates Lounge Podcast is where intelligent movement meets real-world practice. Hosted by Katie Crane, each episode supports Pilates teachers and movement professionals to think deeper, teach smarter, and build sustainable careers grounded in integrity, autonomy, and whole-person health.

On The Pilates Lounge Podcast, Katie Crane speaks with Lourdes, a Pilates teacher living with fibromyalgia, sharing her lived experience of chronic pain, fatigue, depression, and the long, often confusing road to understanding her body.
Speaking from El Salvador, Lourdes brings honesty, humility, and deep compassion to this conversation — weaving together motherhood, injury, nervous system awareness, and the power of Pilates as a practice of reconnection rather than performance.
This episode is part of Katie's ongoing fibromyalgia series, created to help Pilates professionals better understand the realities of this condition — so we can teach with more intelligence, empathy, and respect.
We Explore:
What fibromyalgia can feel like before diagnosis — and why it's often mistaken for depression or "just ageing"

The overlap between chronic pain, fatigue, and emotional health

Why pain often comes first — and depression follows

Living, parenting, and teaching Pilates while managing fibromyalgia

Why reconnection, not intensity, is the foundation of sustainable movement

How mat work, breath, and props support safety and self-trust

Why listening to the body matters more than loading it

The role of self-love, gentleness, and pacing in long-term health

This Episode Is For:
Pilates teachers working with clients living with fibromyalgia or chronic pain

Movement professionals supporting fatigue-prone, nervous-system-sensitive bodies

Teachers navigating pain, injury, motherhood, and long-term practice

Practitioners ready to prioritise awareness, regulation, and connection over intensity

A Moment That Landed:
"When we're in pain, we disconnect. My first goal is always to reconnect — through breath, awareness, and listening."
Fibromyalgia cannot be understood through muscles, joints, or exercise prescription alone.
Lourdes' story reminds us that pain, fatigue, and depression are not failures of motivation or discipline — they are signals from a nervous system under load.
This conversation reinforces why Pilates teachers must expand their lens to include nervous system regulation, emotional safety, fatigue management, and lived experience.
When movement is rushed or driven by aesthetics, we reinforce harm. When it's paced, intelligent, and compassionate, Pilates becomes a lifelong ally.
👉 Your Next Step:
If this episode resonated, consider this:
➡️ Reflect on one client whose pain or fatigue may be asking for listening, not progression ➡️ Review how your session pacing, language, and expectations support safety ➡️ Ask better questions — not to fix, but to understand
Continue the Conversation in The Pilates Muse
If you're craving deeper reflections, intelligent conversation, and writing that challenges how we think about Pilates, pain, and professional practice:
✨ Explore The Pilates Muse — a publication for Pilates teachers who want to think beyond cues and exercises ➡️ https://www.thepilatesprofessional.com.au/the-pilates-muse-publication
🎥 Prefer to watch?
This episode is also available on YouTube — experience the full conversation in a different way: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGs4C3-8NIw2BQZ1QTHZetg
This is where philosophy meets practice.
About The Pilates Lounge
The Pilates Lounge Podcast is where intelligent movement meets real-world practice. Hosted by Katie Crane, each episode supports Pilates teachers and movement professionals to think deeper, teach smarter, and build sustainable careers grounded in integrity, autonomy, and whole-person health.

On The Pilates Lounge Podcast, Katie Crane speaks with Carla Mullins, founder of Body Organics Education and a leading voice in working with complex conditions in movement practice.
Carla brings both clinical insight and lived understanding to a deeply honest conversation about fibromyalgia — a condition marked by chronic pain, fatigue, nervous system sensitivity, and years of medical dismissal.
We Explore:
What fibromyalgia actually is — and why diagnosis is often delayed for years

Medical gaslighting and the emotional cost of not being believed

Primary vs secondary fibromyalgia and common comorbidities

Why fatigue is not "just tiredness" — and why it must guide programming

How nervous system dysregulation drives pain, flare-ups, and overwhelm

Why listening is one of the most powerful tools a Pilates teacher has

This Episode Is For:
Pilates teachers working with fibromyalgia or chronic pain clients

Movement professionals supporting fatigue-prone, nervous-system-sensitive bodies

Teachers navigating pain, pacing, and long-term client relationships

Practitioners ready to move beyond load, reps, and repertoire

A Moment That Landed:
"Let's not worry about the why. Let's ask how this impacts your life — and what helps you function better."
Fibromyalgia cannot be understood through muscles, joints, or pathology alone. This conversation reinforces why Pilates teachers must expand their lens to include fatigue management, nervous system regulation, safety, trust, and lived experience.
When movement is rushed, over-prescribed, or poorly paced, we risk reinforcing fear and deconditioning. When it's intelligent, collaborative, and respectful, Pilates becomes a long-term ally — not another failed intervention.
👉 Your Next Step:
If this episode resonated, consider this:
➡️ Reflect on one client whose fatigue or pain may be asking for pacing, not progressions ➡️ Review how session length, environment, and sensory load show up in your studio ➡️ Ask better questions — not to fix, but to understand
Continue the Conversation in The Pilates Muse
If you're craving deeper reflections, intelligent conversation, and writing that challenges how we think about Pilates, pain, and professional practice:
✨ Explore The Pilates Muse — a publication for Pilates teachers who want to think beyond cues and exercises ➡️ https://www.thepilatesprofessional.com.au/the-pilates-muse-publication
🎥 Prefer to watch? This episode is also available on YouTube — experience the full conversation in a different way: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGs4C3-8NIw2BQZ1QTHZetg
This is where philosophy meets practice.
About The Pilates Lounge
The Pilates Lounge Podcast is where intelligent movement meets real-world practice. Hosted by Katie Crane, each episode supports Pilates teachers and movement professionals to think deeper, teach smarter, and build sustainable careers grounded in integrity, autonomy, and whole-person health.

On The Pilates Lounge, Katie Crane speaks with Reanne Murray, a mother, breathwork practitioner, and woman living with fibromyalgia.
Reanne shares her lived experience of chronic pain, invisible illness, and the long road to diagnosis — and how trauma, emotional suppression, and nervous system dysregulation shaped her symptoms.
We Explore:
What it's like to live with pain long before receiving a diagnosis
Why fibromyalgia is often misunderstood — even by healthcare professionals
How trauma, stress, and emotional suppression can manifest as physical pain
The role of the nervous system in chronic pain and flare-ups
Why pain can be information, not something to fear or fight
How self-care, boundaries, and self-responsibility changed everything
This episode is for:
Pilates teachers working with clients who have fibromyalgia or chronic pain
Movement professionals supporting nervous-system-sensitive bodies
Anyone living with an invisible illness who feels unseen or unheard
Teachers ready to move beyond purely structural explanations of pain
A Moment That Landed:
"Pain is always telling you a story. It's there as a protection mechanism."
Fibromyalgia — and chronic pain more broadly — cannot be understood through muscles, joints, or pathology alone. This conversation reinforces why Pilates teachers must expand their lens to include trauma, stress load, belief systems, and nervous system regulation.
When we only treat the body mechanically, we miss the deeper drivers of pain. This episode challenges practitioners to listen more closely, cue more intelligently, and create environments where clients feel safe enough to heal — not just move.
👉 Your Next Step:
If this episode resonated, your next step is simple:
➡️ Listen again with curiosity, not urgency.
➡️ Reflect on one client whose pain may be asking for something deeper.
➡️ Consider how safety, pacing, and nervous system support show up in your sessions.
Continue the Conversation in The Pilates Muse
If you're craving deeper reflections, intelligent conversation, and writing that challenges how we think about Pilates, pain, and professional practice:
✨ Explore The Pilates Muse — a publication for Pilates teachers who want to think beyond cues and exercises ➡️ https://www.thepilatesprofessional.com.au/the-pilates-muse-publication
🎥 Prefer to watch? This episode is also available on YouTube, where you can experience the full conversation in a different way.
This is where philosophy meets practice.
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGs4C3-8NIw2BQZ1QTHZetg
About The Pilates Lounge
The Pilates Lounge Podcast is where intelligent movement meets real-world practice. Hosted by Katie Crane, each episode supports Pilates teachers and movement professionals to think deeper, teach smarter, and build sustainable careers grounded in integrity, autonomy, and whole-person health.

Bursitis is one of those conditions that's often brushed aside with a cortisone shot and a pat on the back. But is that really healing—or just a quick way to silence symptoms? In this episode of The Pilates Lounge Podcast, Katie Crane takes a bold look at how the Pilates community can do better for clients by addressing the real root causes of bursitis: poor mechanics, lack of movement variability, and ignoring the body's natural signals.
Katie challenges the over-reliance on cortisone injections, unpacks the critical difference between natural and synthetic cortisol, and makes the case for fascia hydration, movement diversity, and listening to pain as valuable feedback. Beyond the physical, she digs into why community and emotional support are just as essential in the healing process.
This conversation is part education, part reality check—inviting Pilates professionals to step away from band-aid solutions and lean into the body's wisdom, resilience, and true capacity for recovery.
Key Takeaways
Healing doesn't come from quick fixes—it comes from addressing root causes.

Cortisone injections may shut you up, but they don't set you free.

Bursitis is less about "bad luck" and more about mechanics and movement.

Pilates offers a powerful path to restore function and resilience.

Pain is not the enemy—it's feedback the body needs us to hear.

Fascia health depends on hydration and varied movement.

Community and emotional support are non-negotiable in recovery.

Educated decisions—not shortcuts—lead to lasting change.

 
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