Emily Corpuz , Pilates Instructor

Emily Corpuz
Fletcher Pilates Instructor

Emily grew up in Wilmington, Delaware and Boston, MA. She has a BA Degree in Fine Arts from Brandeis University and a Masters Degree in Education, specializing in Expressive Art*, from Lesley College in Cambridge, MA.

After graduating Emily taught Expressive Arts in the Boston Area, then decided to do some traveling and ended up moving to Hawaii. While raising her family she needed a flexible job. She started doing book keeping and accounting and had a number of clients including a dance studio where she was exposed to Pilates.

After 20 years in Hawaii Emily moved to San Francisco wanting to be near a city and more cultural activities. She did accounting for a famous Pilates teacher, Madeline Black, and got involved in fund raising and administrative functions of arts organizations. When a job opened up at the San Francisco Ballet for a Grant Writer she applied for the job and got it. “I always wanted to work for a big arts organization and I knew about the arts and I was a good writer. Writing grants is very detailed and you have to understand budgets so my accounting background was very helpful. After awhile I switched to doing Public Relations for the ballet and continued to study pilates here and there.”

An injury sent Emily to St. Francis Hospital in San Francisco for rehabilitation, the 1st Hospital in California to introduce a pilates program.  “I just loved it. It was so helpful. I thought I want to do more of this. I contacted Madeline Black, the pilates teacher, who I had done accounting for when I came to SF to find out about getting more involved. She suggested that I take a course and see if I was serious about it and then she would suggest what to do next. Wanting to continue I went through a pilates certification program. (They call it a training program now.) in San Francisco. Then I was tested and began teaching Pilates. After 4 or 5 years of teaching I was exposed to the Fletcher Pilates Program. I went through the first Fletcher teacher training program in California.  Since then I have practiced, practiced and practiced and taught more and now I am a facilitator for the Fletcher program and an advisor to young teachers.” After working in different studios, Emily opened her own studio, EMPILATES, in 2001 where she teaches individuals or small groups of students.

Having a Pilates studio Emily has to maintain her student clientle and keep abreast of what’s new by participating in continuing education programs. Emily says “You have to stay current, understand how your body moves and feel it in your own body then practice it.”

“The Keys to success in this field are loving what you do and being interested in the development of your students by making it more interesting and challenging for them and help them get stronger, more flexible, and moving better.”

One of the newest developments in this field is understanding how the brain affects movement. A lot more research is being done on brains (neuro pathways and (neuroscience). The information is helping to teach movement in new ways.

When not working Emily loves being outdoors, spending time with family, gardening, and hiking

*Expressive Art Therapy is a program using movement, and art dance, music, art and drama usually with the special needs population.

More about Emily:
Emily is certified by the PMA
(Pilates Method Alliance)

The PMA has created the only psychometrically validated, third party professional certification exam in the Pilates field
In addition to teaching at her own studio she set up a program and teaches Pilates at UCSF at Mission Bay for groups

Fletcher Pilates Video

A student of Emily’s, Barbara, has been taking pilates with Emily for 4 1/2  years.  She started at the age of 65 and in that time has followed Emily from two studios to her own studio, Empilates in San Francisco.  Barbara takes two sessions a week and loves every minute of it.  She has developed core strength and flexibility which is especially important as one ages. Barbara especially enjoys the exercises involving choreography and spine mechanics.  After an hour of Fletcher pilates she is invigorated and energized.

Contact Emily: empilates@gmail.com