Today we’d like to introduce you to Mandee Louie.
Hi Mandee, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
I fell in love with Pilates not knowing how it would shift into helping those with chronic pain and conditions and/or injuries. I started taking classes when I was fresh out of college and working full time for a fortune 500 company with a fitness center that had Pilates reformers. I had a pipe dream that one day I’d get married, have kids, and teach Pilates part-time. I ended up following that dream by taking Pilates training and quitting my job only a couple years later and making it work on my own, teaching for studios for many years. Only now, 15 years later am I married with kids and running my Pilates company, Santosh Pilates Movement Therapy®️.
I invested heavily in my education in those early years, taking as many Pilates-based trainings as I could and specializing in complex injuries and chronic conditions, including hypermobility.
COVID eventually led me to open my own studio, Studio 400, and inspired me to create the hybrid business model that continues to get my students the best results. I found that with more variety and flexibility in scheduling, learning the ‘how’ of movement, along with staying consistent, becomes much more attainable.
That’s the heart of my blended approach: private sessions to understand your body and build your foundation, small-group classes to practice and progress, and tailored homework videos to help you take what you’re learning into your everyday life. Many of my students who thought they’d never move without pain are moving more easefully than ever after becoming a part of The Santosha Movement Society, my membership where students get support through several offerings.
And 15 years in, I’m still always learning! I’m continually taking courses and learning from some of the best in the business so I can keep bringing new knowledge and ideas to my students.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It feels smooth and joyful looking back, but the early days before Studio 400 were a bit of a grind as I worked at multiple locations and took a ton of on-going education courses to improve my knowledge base. When March of 2020 came around and both places I was working closed down, I quickly pivoted. It certainly was a challenging time, but I enjoyed building my own business quickly and it launched me into my own thing much quicker than I would have done otherwise. I’d also say that maternity leave was one of the trickier parts of owning my own business. My first was born before Oregon Paid Leave even existed, so stepping away and figuring out how to make it all work wasn’t exactly easy!
But I truly love what I do, and I have such a genuine connection with my students and community that being on leave while still having to check in and run things from behind the scenes felt much more natural than I expected. The relationships I’ve built through Santosha are a huge part of why I love this work so much!
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Santosha Pilates Movement Therapy® offers a personalized approach to pain, postural imbalances, and recovery from injuries or chronic conditions. We use Pilates and other movement practices, breaking them down to the foundations and details that most fitness programs assume are already in place. This is often the missing link in recovery for people who haven’t found traditional exercise or even daily chores to work the way they’d hoped, whether that’s because of an injury, chronic pain, or simply a nagging ache that keeps getting in the way of doing the things they love.
Pilates is used as corrective exercise that works alongside physical therapy, after PT, or as a bridge back to fitness. At Santosha, we slow things down, break movement apart, and pay attention to how you’re moving, not just whether you can do the movement.
Through a combination of private Pilates sessions, small group classes (in studio OR Zoom) and tailored videos done in between sessions, we help you understand the movement patterns that keep you stuck and teach you how to reset them for better alignment in everyday life, whether that’s playing sports, chasing kids or grandkids, or finally getting rid of nagging pain.
People often experience movement in a whole new way when they’re guided into the positions and sensations that allow their bodies to work more efficiently. On our own, it’s easy to develop compensations without realizing it, which can keep us from getting as much out of an exercise as we could. There are so many “ah-ha!” moments at Santosha when someone suddenly feels the difference, and we live for those!
I (Mandee, the owner) started teaching Pilates because I loved it, and I didn’t realize at first that I would become so specialized in working with people who need a different approach to movement. If you came to me because you want to get stronger or fitter, I’d say, “Absolutely, that may happen here, but it won’t be the sole focus of our work.”
Instead, we build a foundation for how you move for the long term: strength, stability, body awareness, and more efficient movement patterns. The goal is for you to feel empowered to take what you learn at Santosha into your everyday life as well as into whatever movement, exercise, or fitness you want to pursue for years to come.
We all have a different way of looking at and defining success. How do you define success?
Santosha means contentment in Sanskrit, the ancient language used in yoga, and that idea is at the heart of how I define success.
To me, success isn’t about constantly doing more, pushing harder, or chasing the next milestone. It’s about feeling good in your body, trusting yourself, and being able to participate in the things that make your life meaningful. It’s finding a place where you can appreciate every moment, and be satisfied with where you are.
That’s also what I hope to create for my students. Success might mean getting out of pain, returning to a favorite activity, feeling stronger, understanding your body in a new way, or simply no longer being afraid of movement. Sometimes it’s a big physical transformation, and sometimes it’s realizing that your body is capable of more than you thought. Practicing contentment truly brings a sense of freedom and ease.
There’s something really powerful about learning to work with your body instead of constantly feeling like you need to fix, change, or overcome it. Working with your body in the way we teach you at Santosha will also help you reach your goals. That, to me, is contentment, and ultimately, success!
Pricing:
- Santosha Movement Society- $35 month, gives access to all on-demand videos that are used within Pilates Movement Therapy, and discounts to private sessions, small group classes and events.
- Sessions start at $108 inside the SMS membership, small group classes are between $21-42.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.santoshapilates.com/
- Instagram: @santoshapilates
