We recently connected with Sabrina Souilah and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Sabrina thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Was there a defining moment in your professional career? A moment that changed the trajectory of your career?

In 2006 while establishing myself amongst my peers in the highly competitive New York City dance scene, I suffered a complete tear of my right Achilles tendon during an audition – for the fun fact I did get the job. After this devastating injury diagnosis I also received a very pessimistic recovery prognosis, I will quote from one of New York most renowned orthopedic surgeons: “It will take you a minimum of a year to be able to walk properly; you should really reconsider your career”. Well I decided to go home to Switzerland to have surgery, on a side note I want to thank Ms Pamela at the Swiss Consulate of New York who facilitated finding a direct flight – with special accommodations – to Geneva within a day; the clock was ticking for me since I only had a week to have surgery from that actually injury date due to tissue dehydration which would make the tendon completely lose its elasticity and not be repairable (re-attachable), and it had already been 5 days. Fast forward, first successful foot surgery in the first days of March ‘06, and I’m saying first because two months later while doing my home-therapy exercises my foot went through my kitchen glass door – sectioned artery, 1.5 inch gap filled shattered glass… After a very successful second reconstructive surgery, I jumped back into physical therapy, x5/week including two hydro treatments and manual work. In August I was on a flight back to NYC, booked a photoshoot for a dance catalog with two weeks of my arrival, but continuing physical therapy was not the easiest, since I didn’t have surgery in the States it was a bit tricky to be eligible for post surgery recovery treatments, and that’s when I discovered Pilates, I gifted myself a private session and fell in love with the complexity of this method, it was all based on alignment, lengthening and all coming from a controlled center (core, powerhouse), and as a dancer this all made sense that it will be a legitimate preparation to again be performing on stage very soon, I knew I would be stronger than ever; so yes, I was sold but I could surely not afford to take sessions several times a week; one of the teachers I had trained with suggested I look into the work-study program offered by the studio; in October I was certified in all levels mat training, the following year I invested into six months of courses and studies and became certified in all levels of all apparatus (Pilates equipment).
One of the best investment on myself I could have made, and sharing my experience, knowledge and skills to this day has been incredibly rewarding.
Specializing in injury prevention and recovery has given me the opportunity to help dancers, professional athletes, fitness enthusiasts and sedentary individuals who want to better their health and wellness, live with fewer to no aches and pains for longer stretches of time.
My win had become someone else’s win, and somebody else after that, so on and so forth.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

What brings me an immense sense of satisfaction is when people avoid getting surgery because of the work we do together; seeing someone back on a stage. a field, a court; running a marathon, going up stairs at a subway station without fearing to fall; but also assisting mother’s finding their bodies again after birth. Throughout the years I have taken numerous specialized courses, including pre and post natal to add on to my knowledge and skill set.
I’ve become “the body fixer”, a funny nickname; it has been since the very beginning, a mission of mine to help whoever comes to me with a disconnected body, feel recalibrated and more balanced.

Putting training and knowledge aside, what else do you think really matters in terms of succeeding in your field?

I’ll say listening to people. ask why they think they feel the way they do, how afraid are they of change; a lot of people will not address physical issues simply because they think it will take to move mountains to get better and they are defeated before they even start. Building an honest and truthful mind/body connection is the key to success. Mind over body they say, well I say invite your mind to have a chat with your body and vis-a-versa, allow them to get along and work together with no pressure.
My approach will always be to set the barre where we can reach it, then we push it further, we reach it again, and we keep on going.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

Not long after my Pilates training I was diagnosed with Crohn’s Disease, lots of failed treatments, I was at my worse, every week there was a new level of rock bottom. My resilience was build of finding ways to ease myself from discomfort and pain by focusing on helping someone feel better; in all honesty it never lasted very long but I kept at it and it all felt like small victories, my moral was not destroyed, I was surviving. Now also having a diagnosis of Rheumatoid Arthritis and Osteopenia, I use myself as a guinea pig to figure out modifications to keep my training technique safe and enjoyable for everyone I work with.

Contact Info:

• Website: Under Construction
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/59sabrina/

Image Credits
Anthony Collins Photography jpegjonah.com