Natalie didn't originally set out to build a Pilates studio for women in her community.

She built one for dancers.

A competitive ballroom and country dancer, Natalie discovered Pilates when a female dance coach suggested it might help her execute faster turns. After more than a year of private lessons, she saw enough change in her own body that she entered teacher training and eventually opened Just Pilates STL in 2024, convinced her dance clients would come in droves.

They didn't.

Instead, women from Ballwin, Manchester, and the surrounding community began walking through the door—and bringing their friends.

Natalie recognized herself in them.

She knew what it felt like to join fitness facilities with good intentions, stop going, and have no one notice. So she began deliberately asking:

What would have helped me?

The answers shaped JPSTL: instructors who know your name, time between classes to connect, simple memberships without long-term lock-ins, a culture that celebrates returning after life gets busy, and evidence-based teaching designed to challenge people without making them feel judged.

Natalie holds a Master's degree in Teaching, is comprehensively certified through Breathe Education, and continues her education through Breathe's Teaching Mastery Program. As Director of Education, she leads instructor development and the JPSTL Student Teaching Practicum.

She loves helping beginners who aren't sure fitness spaces are meant for them, older adults building strength for independence, and athletes who discover just how challenging a reformer can be.

She wants clients to feel seen, safe, welcomed—and strong.

Today, the studio she built for other people has become her own happy place too.

As Natalie puts it, hanging out with women in the lobby before going to work out is like a balm for a busy heart.

Outside JPSTL, Natalie is a competitive dancer, gardener and chicken keeper, wife, mom and grandmother. You'll often find her next door at Just Dancing or working from her favorite “office”—the front porch.