Movement for Heroes in Motion®

"I am proud to be one of the 140 PMA®-CPT'S worldwide to participate in the training for Movement Strategies supporting Heroes in Motion®. I look forward to contributing to this collaboration and utilize our many tools to assist with comfort and mobility to support those who have served our country."     ~ Katherine Rice

Heroes in Motion® is an international initiative founded by the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA),  inspired by instructors who are dedicated to facilitating functional movement with comfort and ease for those who experience severe impediments to motor control.

The initiative supports the development of an international network of Pilates teachers to offer movement instruction to serve eligible clients both military and civilian affiliations.   Conditions include and are not limited to polytrauma, vestibular disorders, prosthetic limb(s), and traumatic brain injury.

The inspiration for Heroes in Motion® can be traced to PMA®-CPT Elizabeth Larkam's studio experience. Her project took root in 2008 when Mike Podlenski (Physical Therapy Assistant, Certified Athletic Trainer, Pilates instructor) invited Elizabeth to mentor him as he began the Pilates program within the Naval Medical Center San Diego's Comprehensive Combat and Complex Casualty Care (C5) Program.

Their collaboration grew to include the work of instructors Jessie Lee and Jojo Bowman, who founded a Pilates program for soldiers in Copenhagen, Denmark, under the auspices of the Royal Danish Ballet Foundation. Larkam mentored Lee and Bowman, developing Pilates studio movement sequences for bilateral amputees. Physiotherapist Hadar Schwartz, PMA®-CPT, at work with patients in the Pilates studio of the Zahal (IDF) Disabled Veterans Organization - "Beit Halochem", Tel Aviv, Israel, joined the group.

You can view a 4-minute documentary that follows the Pilates rehabilitation of severely injured Danish soldiers who fought in Afghanistanhere: http://vimeo.com/dimitrisvulalas/polytraumapilates4