Meet Megan White

Today we’d like to introduce you to Megan White.

Hi Megan, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I have been a mover my whole life, raised as a dancer, trained pre-professionally through high school, and continued my love of movement by becoming a dance educator.

It is no surprise that I gravitate towards all styles of movement, especially somatic practices like Pilates and Yoga. I received my first Pilates training when I was 19, and have been studying and teaching ever since. As far as yoga, I studied yoga as a child and teen, not realizing the lifelong impact that had on me until I went through my yoga training a few years ago.

Ideas of meditation, pranayama, being present, and creating awareness in the body may be foreign to most, but being raised with these modalities made it second nature for me to continue my movement experience as a teacher of the practices.

I am currently teaching Pilates and Yoga out of my studio Movement Lab, located in Columbia TN.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My journey to becoming a movement educator has not been linear. I have had a lot of bumps in the road whether with not finishing training for financial reasons or taking time off to have children. The first few Pilates training I attended were fine, but not the experience I was looking for. It took me almost 20 years to finally go through the Advanced training program at The Pilates Center, located in Boulder CO. It seemed as if the past two decades I was learning and evolving as a Pilates practitioner and teacher, just to bring me to this final training program.

As far as being a business owner, this is always an ever-evolving process. I opened my first business at age 24, a dance studio located in Spring Hill, TN. During the five years, I grew the studio, I had two children and went back to school to obtain my bachelor’s degree. When I was presented with the opportunity to sell my studio, it seemed to make perfect sense, mostly because I wanted to continue to grow our family and focus on being there for the two children I already had. It was bitter-sweet to sell the studio, but it wasn’t long before I was offered to come on board as a co-owner of the different dance studio, where I was able to spend a few years helping rebrand that business and get it off the ground again.

Once, my time was done there. It only seemed right that I should finally make the shift to teaching adults Somatics. At this point, I had been teaching on the side for many years. My Pilates business started slowly. I had one reformer sitting in a co-shared movement space, where I would meet a few clients a week. But, slowly and surely by word of mouth, I filled up with private clients. So, I took the plunge to move into my own commercial space to open a more legitimate Pilates studio, only to have to close three months later due to Covid. During that first year of the pandemic, I quickly shifted all my private sessions and classes to virtual. I sold off some of my equipment to students to have at home, because my family had decided we were going to sell our house, and travel in an RV to ride out the rest of the pandemic.

From our RV, I would zoom into clients’ homes where they housed the equipment. It wasn’t ideal, but it sustained me as an instructor and provided my clients with consistent lessons. This past July, we were back in town from our travels, thinking we would settle back into the community, I began to teach clients at their houses and slowly build back up small group classes in person, all while continuing to offer virtual classes. Then this past September, I was offered a great opportunity to share the most amazing third-floor space in downtown Columbia.

This historic building with wood floors, tall ceilings, and full of natural light was too good to pass up! So, I signed on, and slowly we are building back up our equipment and our clientele. Now, seven months in, I feel like we’re starting to feel established, and owning the identity of Columbia and Maury County’s only Pilates Studio.

Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am a movement educator. I specialize in teaching Classical Pilates, Yoga, and Somatics to adults and children.

My main love is Pilates (Contrology), a system of movement and therapeutic exercise developed over a span of 60 years by German-born athlete and physical therapy pioneer, Joseph H. Pilates. I believe Pilates helps you find the strength, stability, confidence, and mobility to live your life to the fullest. It’s like a daily vitamin that you really don’t want to skip.

I also really gravitate towards Restorative Practices that help the body find rest and healing. I love to teach restorative yoga and meditation to adults and children. I am also a Roll Model® Method practitioner, a practice that walks students through myosin fascial release (self-massage), using the Yoga Tune Up® Therapy Balls.

I give so much credit to my early exposure to movement, as helping make me the person I am today, and I want to continue to pay that forward. I spend a lot of time creating opportunities for children to experience movement. In 2018, I was awarded a grant that allowed me to create a Mindful Movement program at our local elementary school that allowed children the opportunity to move, create, and find rest in their school day. This endeavor upon others awarded me with the Tennessee Association of Dance’s 2019 Margaret Martin Award.

I am currently offering children’s yoga out of Little Neighbor’s an adorable children’s toy store in downtown Columbia, as well as, WobbelYoga® sensory-based classes out of our own space. I hope to continue to find ways to provide children with opportunities to experience movement.

I believe what sets me apart is the fact I was raised in a culture of movement, the practice of being present and aware of our bodies, feeling our emotions, and allowing space to process life and trauma through the body. This gift allows me to truly embody the work not just in my body resume, but also from an intellectual standpoint. I just get movement.

What does success mean to you?
I guess my definition of success is doing what you love. Truly finding joy in your work, and being able to balance it alongside the other important aspects of your life.

Contact Info:

• Email: [email protected]
• Website: movementlabtn.com
• Instagram: @movementlabtn
• Facebook: movementlabtn