Nayra Iglesias

After completing her studies in Dutch Literature at the University of Amsterdam, Nayra discovered the Pilates method as a powerful tool for recovery from chronic pain. Her sedentary study and working life had caused her to experience chronic back and joint pain, but through Pilates she was able to work through her condition. What began as a necessity for healing soon became a practice that grounded and centered her. In 2018 she completed the Comprehensive Pilates Teacher Training at Smartbody Studio, where she was mentored by Anna Levin and Astarti Athanasiadou, and has been working as a professional Pilates teacher since then. Nayra works with people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds—whether that means supporting recovery, helping to establish new movement patterns, or deepening an existing practice. Alongside this broad experience, she has developed particular expertise in guiding clients who spend long hours at a desk and whose bodies are often conditioned into the posture we all know: hunched back, forward head, back pain, and limited use of hips and feet. She always teaches with an overarching focus on controlled movement, empowering students to connect profoundly to their bodies and to move with greater ease, both in the studio and in everyday life. After taking workshops and courses with movement educators such as Katy Bowman (Nutritious Movement, 2020) and Kyle Fincham (Infinite Play, 2022), she brought her practice beyond the studio: onto the dance floor and into nature through walks and cold plunges in canals, rivers, and seas. She always carries with her the grounding aspects of body awareness, breath, and alignment from her Pilates practice.