Daniela Escobar shares the secret to her motivation.

If we had to describe Daniela Escobar in a word, we would say “tough.” During the days of the Vintage Pilates studio, Daniela was committed to her weekly lessons, before, during and after her time in THE WORK™. She was always strong. But it took discipline, humility and focus for her to pull back and find the subtleties in the exercises. Even when it was frustrating, she stuck to it and kept chipping away. This takes a toughness of character that Daniela exemplifies.

So, we weren’t surprised when she said that it is what she calls the “layers” in Pilates that keep her interested in her practice. Daniela is more than a skilled Pilates practitioner and teacher. She runs her own private studio, Westwood Pilates. Her staff includes several Vintage Pilates alumni. We admire her toughness — and mastery of nuances — that allow her to continue her Pilates vision even in these uncertain times. Read her blog below!

When Sandy gave me the task to write about what motivates me in my Pilates practice, the first word that came to my mind was “layers.” Layers within each exercise, layers of understanding them in your body. That’s how I think of Pilates. There is always a new connection to be made, an undiscovered detail of an exercise to understand. Every new step is a possibility to achieve something and become stronger.

For instance, it’s that great feeling you get when you are finally able to do a fairly good horseback when for years that has been your nemesis (hello me!). Or when you get to teaser on the mat and it’s not that big of a deal anymore, you know you will be able to do it. However, you can only achieve this point after you started peeling all those layers.

If I think about my own practice and what keeps me motivated throughout all these years I’ve been doing Pilates, it’s exactly this: the new possibilities, the accomplishment of a new layer, the deeper understanding of the system. There’s always something new even in the basic work you’ve been doing since day one. And for me, that’s the magic of it!