Barbara Bruni, owner, has been in the health, fitness and wellness field for 35 years. She started as a Licensed Massage Therapist and soon after felt as though corrective movement was a missing component in her own as well as in her clients’ lives. She earned certifications in personal and group fitness training as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Exercise Science. Still noticing a gap between standard fitness and the benefits of bodywork she discovered Pilates movement to be the missing link. Barbara began studying Pilates in 1999. She holds comprehensive Pilates certifications from Polestar Pilates Education, and Powerhouse Pilates. These Pilates-evolved programs apply current research and practice in biomechanics and movement science to the principles of Joseph Pilates. She has been certified through the Pilates Method Alliance since 2007. From 2004-2014 she was Adjunct Faculty at the University of West Florida, in Pensacola, FL. She created the curriculum for the three credit elective courses, Pilates I and Pilates II. She also wrote the textbook, Pilates Primer: Foundations in Movement. From 2002-2018 she created and filmed a TV show with UWF-TV Pilates Core Training. The show aired six times a week and many of the episodes can still be seen on her YouTube Channel.

She co-owned Pilates Training Institute, Inc., a Pilates Teacher School from 2005-2007 but then created her own school, Barbara Bruni’s Pilates and Beyond, Inc. in 2007. She created the curriculum and manuals for both the Mat and Comprehensive courses. Her Pilates instructor training school, Barbara Bruni’s Pilates and Beyond, is listed in the Pilates Method Alliance’s Registry of Schools and is currently working on the new regulations just created. She has written 2 manuals: Foundation in Movement, a Pilates Primer and Barbara Bruni’s and Beyond Comprehensive Training Manual.

She has furthered her education by taking continuing education courses with some of her favorite teachers including Brent Anderson, Rebecca Leone and Madeline Black. Some of these courses include:

• Joint Replacement of the Lower Extremity
• Pilates for Spine Surgeries and Fusions
• Pilates for Rheumatology
• Pilates for Chronic Pain
• Philosophy of Subtle Energy and Fascia with Carol Davis
• Geriatrics, Osteoporosis and Age-Related Dysfunction
• Pilates for Complex Spine Pathologies
• Rotational Sports
• Advanced Gait
• The Immune System: The Mind-Body Connection
• Training the Fascial System

She added the GYROTONIC® Expansion System Level 1 to her repertoire of physical training in 2006, GYROKENISIS® in 2008 and GYROTONIC® Level 2 in 2013. She maintains her continuing education and licensure biannually.

She returned to her roots in 2010 getting relicensed as a Massage Therapist. She specializes in the John Barnes Approach to Myofascial Release and is an Advanced Level Therapist. She graduated from Kevin Lucas’ Structural Innovations as a Structural Integration therapist in 2013. This school follows the methods and theories of Ida Rolf. Barbara’s interest in restructuring the body is her passion and she specializes in releasing fascial restrictions to relieve painful holding and movement patterns as well as emotional restrictions. This allows freedom of movement and a greater capacity to create new, more healthy movement patterns with increased strength and mobility. Her motto is “free the restrictions and create new patterns – this is how we heal!”