Morgan Hill Pilates - How it all Began

Some of the most meaningful chapters in life begin before we feel ready. They arrive as quiet opportunities, unexpected challenges, and the right people appearing at just the right time. That is how Morgan Hill Pilates began.

To understand the studio’s origin story, you need a little background on me. Hi, I’m Julianne, owner of Morgan Hill Pilates. I grew up in Southern California, the fourth in a family of five kids. I started dance classes as soon as I could walk and never stopped. I danced through college, performing for the NBA Clippers, in Disneyland parades and later on a Holland America cruise ship.

It was on that cruise ship that I was first introduced to the reformer. A strange place to discover Pilates equipment — but maybe it was meant to be part of my story.

In college I studied interpersonal communications, but as I neared the end of my degree I realized my true passion was helping people through movement. Rather than start over, I finished my degree and added anatomy electives. After college I spent six months working and traveling on the cruise ship where I was first introduced to Pilates equipment.

Pilates itself wasn’t new to me — many of the movements had been part of my dance training growing up — but the equipment felt special and opened up a whole new world.

As I began learning more, I discovered Pilates wasn’t just beneficial for overall well-being; it was also being used as a rehabilitative practice. I knew I wanted to learn more. So when I returned from the cruise ship, I enrolled in a certification program with Pilates Sports Center in 2009.

Over the next few years I studied the exercises, took classes, practiced teaching with friends and family, and eventually found a job at a gym. I taught large mat classes and smaller sessions, but I quickly realized I thrived in more intimate settings where I could build personal connections and offer individualized feedback.

After leaving the gym, I got married, moved to Orange County, and began working at a small semi-private Pilates studio. I was always hungry to learn more, so I attended workshops whenever I could — some of the most influential with Madeline Black. During this time I became increasingly interested in the rehabilitative side of movement and thought how amazing it would be to work alongside a physical therapist. At the time, Pilates and physical therapy were not as closely aligned as they are today, and I didn’t know of anywhere like that near me.

Then life moved us again — this time to Northern California in 2013. No family, no friends, starting completely over. I was terrified.

My very first Craigslist search for a Pilates instructor job showed a listing for a Pilates studio owned and operated by a physical therapist in Los Gatos. I couldn’t believe the job I had wished for was suddenly right in front of me. Of course I applied, and that’s when I began working at Pilates Santé. I learned so much there and had the opportunity to work with such a wide variety of clients.

Around that same time, I was also connected with a Morgan Hill woman who had a very small Pilates studio. She was preparing for back surgery and needed someone to teach while she recovered. I happily said yes. For a while I worked in both places and slowly began putting down roots in Morgan Hill.

In 2014 I had my son. I returned to work for about a year; however, my health began to decline and I had to step away from teaching. The following year was spent trying to understand what was happening to my body while learning how to care for a brand-new little human.

Still without answers, in early 2016 I felt ready to work again — if nothing else, to hold onto a piece of myself. I reached out to the Morgan Hill studio owner I had previously helped and asked if she still needed support. We decided to work together again.

Not long after, she told me she was moving… and asked if I wanted to take over the studio.

I was terrified. I had a small child, was still struggling with my health, and had never run a business before. But it was also an opportunity I had dreamed about — one that seemed to be landing right in my lap. How could I say no?

So in less than a month I went from considering returning to work… to owning a Pilates studio. I am forever grateful to the woman who started something special, took a chance on me, and believed in me when I wasn’t sure I believed in myself.

Three months later, I was diagnosed with four tick-borne illnesses.

To say the studio saved me may sound dramatic — but in many ways, it did. That next year was incredibly difficult. I had an almost two-year-old at home, a brand-new business, and an illness that had no straightforward treatment. I got worse before I got better. My hopes of

having more children were crushed.

But every day I woke up, I had somewhere to be. People to serve. A community forming around movement and healing — one day at a time.

That became the center and foundation of Morgan Hill Pilates.

From there, we healed and grew together. I had an incredible support system — instructors who showed up right when I needed them, my husband at home, and my mother-in-law who graciously watched my son from 7am to 7pm so I could teach one evening a week in those early years.

We went from three reformers to four, then five, then six. Eventually we needed more space, so I asked the landlord when expansion might be possible.

His answer? “It’s available now.”

So once again, in just about four weeks, we tore down a wall and remodeled the studio to create more room for Pilates, movement, healing, and fun (all while still holding sessions and classes!!). That was June of 2021 — one year after surviving the COVID shutdowns, going virtual and reopening… we expanded.

And now here we are — Morgan Hill Pilates celebrating 10 years in business.

I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have landed here in this community. Thank you for allowing me to share my passion for movement and helping others. And thank you for trusting us to be part of your journey.

What started as a small studio with three reformers has grown into something far greater than I ever imagined — a community built on movement, healing, and connection.