Tina Hicks - PMA® Certified Teacher
Tina Hicks - PMA®-Certified Pilates Teacher - has 15 years experience teaching Pilates and Pilates-based movement.
Tina has trained with first-generation Pilates Master Ron Fletcher, certified Rolfer Marty Morales, and with other legends in the movement industry including Wendy LeBlanc-Arbuckle, Mary Bond, and Gil Hedley. She has participated in an extensive cadaver dissection course, completed a Primary Certification in TAGTeach, and completed Balanced Body University's "Passing the Torch" mentorship program with Wendy LeBlanc-Arbuckle in 2011 at the Pilates Center of Austin. She is also a Level 1 RRCA (Road Runners Club of America) running coach, and was previously an ACE-Certified Personal Trainer.
Tina has long been involved in physical fitness, first becoming a fitness instructor in 1993, and has been part of the north Alabama equestrian scene (lifelong rider, hunter/jumper, dressage, eventing, and endurance) for many years.
Drawing on her physical fitness background, Tina strove to use her fitness improvements to improve her riding. But no matter how advanced her fitness evolved, her riding did not seem to develop along the same path. She understood the correlation between how the body functions both on and off the horse, but something was still missing. She began searching for new ways to better balance and align her body for riding and go beyond the limitations she had been battling.
As she studied her options, she became increasingly aware of the rehabilitative effects of Pilates when she sought personal training for a bulging disc in her neck. This bothersome injury was sustained while helping the family build a new barn. Over the years this injury would flare up, and each time the result was usually several days on painkillers and muscle relaxers. Doctors were happy to prescribe drugs for the excruciating symptoms but never seemed to be able to correct the the problem. As her Pilates training progressed and her posture and alignment improved, Tina noticed that she was missing something—the periodic disability of the bulging disc. She has been pain-free for years—a level of relief that she attributes entirely to Pilates.
One typically doesn’t mention “personality traits” in a bio, but anyone who knows her knows that Tina Hicks is stubborn and persistent! For some odd reason she is drawn to endurance activities most would call ... crazy... Like riding 50-100 miles on horseback, completing several Century bike rides, or more recently running marathons and ultramarathons.
Tina is passionate about incorporating natural movement into daily life activities ... “helping you do whatever you do, better.” This is how your time in her studio transfers to daily life; it’s not “just a workout” it's more of a way of correcting imbalances, promoting healthy movement, reducing (often eliminating) minor aches, pains, and injuries, and making you aware of small postural habits than can make huge differences to your comfort when changed.
Tina is also an avid minimal footwear enthusiast. She has much knowledge about the anatomy of the foot, stride mechanics, etc., and transitioned to minimal footwear for everyday use over ten years ago. Her marathon runs are done wearing minimal shoes and Luna sandals.