A Day in the Life of Maria Pallas
Pilates Instructor (Santa Monica Studio)
What are your favorite Pilates
moves?
I love working my obliques! I
swear before finding this workout, I never had a waist. I could get a flat
belly but without shape. So give me a teaser, French twist, mermaid, and my
favorite a reverse side crunch any day.
What is one of your favorite
non-Pilates workouts?
I love to pretend that I am dancer
so my favorites often have a component of dance. I love Cardio Barre. Jessica
at the Santa Monica location is fantastic. Also big fan of Groov3 with Ben
Allen!
As a new mom, one of my favorite
workouts is Stroller Strides. You get a great workout and don’t need to get a
sitter! May seem like a light workout but these mamas are strong.
What’s your exercise routine like
for a typical week?
Monday: Pilates with Piper when I can
get into her class!
Tuesday: I teach 4 classes and try to stay in
fat burn zone with everyone. Then run around at park with baby
Wednesday: Stroller Strides
and yoga at Yoga Works (again I can bring Antonia and let her crawl around
while I get my in my yoga time)
Thursday: I teach 4 classes,
try to stay in fat burn zone. Swim and run around at park with baby.
Friday: Stroller Strides
and Pilates
Saturday: Hike, Stroller
Strides or Pilates
Sunday: Cardio Barre or
Pilates
What are some of your favorite
healthy foods?
Broccoli, sweet potatoes, almonds
are a few of my staples. I make most of Antonia’s baby food, so I try to keep
lots of fresh organic veggies on hand. We made a DELICIOUS soup the other day:
kale, green chard, onion, garlic, sweet potato and vegetable broth all pureed.
Yum! Oh, and I also made a kale pesto: kale, sunflower seeds, evoo, parmesan,
lemon, salt and garlic. Also yum.
What does your workout and eating
schedule for a typical day like?
I
sometimes get an early morning wake up call between 4-5 from a little baby down
the hall. With luck we all get another little bit of sleep and officially greet
the day between 6:15-7. Then it’s some milk, a diaper change and playtime
before a breakfast of oatmeal and fruit or maybe some eggs.
Then it’s playtime again and a nap
for baby while we walk to Stroller Strides. I get in my workout. Then we
stretch and play on the bluff. Tough life, I know. Then we head home for lunch
and a second nap for baby while I get odds and ends done (sometimes even
shower!!)
Our afternoon often includes, a walk
to Wholefoods and to the park. Then it’s home to make some dinner. We try very
hard to eat as a family. We have pasta more then I would like to admit, but
come on, I married a Sicilian. Hence the kale pesto, satisfies all of us.
Then it’s playtime, bath time, clean
up and baby’s bedtime. I will either sneak out to a pilates class, do my lesson
planning and music for week, go to improv, order more stuff on Amazon
Prime or pass out on couch. I will let you guess what happens most often. I
then sneak into my daughters room for a dream feed (feeding baby without waking
her up) and then officially retire to bed at 11:30 (remember I have most likely
been sleeping on couch before).
My favorite part of day is laughing
with Antonia and my husband. a not far second is making my classes smile from
feeling of awesome accomplishment as I run around them like a maniac! I love
being a mom! And I love teaching pilates!!
If it’s not obvious, I am a new mom
so much of life is all about Antonia. I assume that will change in… 1 year… 5
years… 18 years… ok probably never.
What’s your biggest source of
inspiration…what keeps you going everyday?
The love
of my life, Antonia and I also have a pretty great husband who keeps me going.
I know that if I can manage to get some rest, eat some greens and real food,
find 30 min to physically challenge myself, I feel better and am so much
happier. Taking the time to take care of myself makes me a better mom and wife.
I try my hardest to practice what I preach, so I can be a true real life
example for my classes. I am so far from perfect. I eat cookies, drink wine and
have absolutely chosen sleep over working out, but I try. And I often succeed.
And I should also give special shout
out to Jessica F, who is amazing to have in class because she works so hard but
also because she brings me chocolate! Chocolate can absolutely be what keeps me
going.
What are your trainer tips or
words of advice for people interested in Pilates and a healthy lifestyle?
Two clichés that I live by, find joy in what you are doing and
make the most of what you have.. I am a cheerleader and I think optimist by
nature, but life gets hard sometimes. I have absolutely never been happier
since the day my daughter was born. But again, it gets hard! You can focus on
the lack of sleep, and your completely changed body and very little “me time”
or you can focus on the magic, joy and laughter that this little creature has
brought into your life.
I no longer have the luxury of taking five classes a week but
when I am in class, I relish every minute and work my tail off!
