Meet Masha
THE WOMAN BEHIND THE METHOD
A life in movement.
A method in real life.
I fell in love with ballet as a little girl watching videos of Maya Plisetskaya's legendary swan arms. I wanted to move like that. What followed was years of training, rehearsing, performing and giving everything I had to becoming a dancer.
Ballet asked a lot of me, and gave me so much in return. It took me on an unforgettable journey where, on tour, no two weeks or days looked quite the same.
Finding my own rhythm
01/ ON TOUR
There were forever changing schedules, unfamiliar rooms, long days, different beds and far too often an injury I was trying to care for while still doing my job. I had little routines I made for my self wherever I was. Sometimes all we had were a few minutes and a patch of floor.
That's where I learned to pay attention. To notice what my body needed that day, to make movement count, and to begin again when a routine fell apart. That lesson has stayed with me since.
Some days you have more to give. Some days a little is what's possible. Both count.
02/ WHEN I NEEDED TO MAKE ROOM FOR ME
Years later, I created my own boutique reformer Pilates studio in Melbourne. I loved teaching there, and I loved the community we built.
But as the years went on and things got harder, I found myself doing every role in the business. Spending nearly every hour looking after what the studio needed. I had completely lost myself in the process.
I kept telling myself, When I have time. When things get easier. When I get through this week. There was always another week, another problem, another person who needed something. I kept putting myself last until I completely burnt out.
And that's when I ruptured my ACL and needed reconstruction. Suddenly, my body needed care and consistency at the very time I felt I had nothing left to give it. The business still relied on me, and I was trying to rehabilitate while keeping everything going. That was the hardest part to admit: I had built something I was proud of, but I had made myself the one person who could always wait.
The hardest lesson
THE MOMENT IT BECAME CLEAR
Putting yourself last doesn't mean your needs disappear. They wait for you, and eventually they demand to be heard.
A way back to myself
Élan grew from that realisation. I wanted to reach women beyond the walls of one studio, especially the ones holding so much together that they can barely remember the last time they did something for themselves without putting it off.
I wanted to share what ballet had taught me about intention, alongside the strength and support of Pilates, in a way that could fit into their lives.
Some days that might be ten purposeful minutes. Other days you may want longer. You can come back after a break. You can start exactly where you are.
My hope is that Élan helps you build strength and confidence, and that somewhere in those moments of movement, you feel a little more like you again. The woman who exists alongside all the things she does for everyone else.