Uli Nagel has been passionate about sports and exercise since she was a child. She studied gymnastics in Germany where she was born, and at the age of nine started teaching younger children. She went on to practice many physical disciplines formally and informally: Tai Chi, Qi Gong, ballet, jazz, modern dance and yoga, and has also trained in different kinds massage. For fun, Uli enjoys horse-back riding, track and field sports, skiing and growing and preparing healthy food. In 1995, while living in Australia, a friend recommended that she try Pilates to alleviate a back problem. Uli was astounded how, after just a few weeks, the Pilates core muscle training not only helped her back, but tremendously strengthened her whole body. She was hooked. Three years later in 1998, she moved to New York City to do a Pilates teacher-training with Romana Kryzanowska, a close student of Joseph Pilates who took over his studio after his death. A highly respected teacher, Romana was known at the time for offering the most thorough and complete Pilates training program. Uli passed her exam in December 1999 and has been teaching Pilates in gyms, health centers, and at her own private studio Pilates in the Berkshires in Lee, MA since then. Not only is Uli an accomplished Pilates teacher, she is also a writer and as such pursues many different projects in her spare time. She was won awards for short stories and is currently working on an autobiographical book about her many years of study and practice on the spiritual path to be published in Germany.
