Brandon Nelson

Carolyn Watson

This month, we spend a few minutes chatting with Wife / Mom / Entrepreneur / Pilates Guru / Paddler… Carolyn Watson!

Q: Carolyn, you’re well known for your expertise and business success with Pilates. Can you tell us in a few sentences what Pilates is, and how it differs from yoga or typical gym workouts?
A: Pilates is a system of exercise developed by the late Joseph Pilates which incorporates specific intentions into movement. The focus is on how an exercise is performed, as opposed to quantifying performance in absolute terms. For example, in the gym a trainer might ask a client to perform 3 sets of squats, with 150 lbs, focusing on good alignment of the knees and torso. In a Pilates class, a trainer will ask a client to do that same style of movement, but also guide the client towards a neutral spine, ideal core engagement, optimal breath patterns, neck and foot alignment, pelvic floor engagement, and so on. Reps and weight will not matter as much as perfectly executing 6-8 perfect reps.  In fact, sometimes Pilates looks quite like yoga or the gym work, with the differences showing up in the details.

Q: With Core Kinetics, your Pilates practice, you’ve basically said “In your face!” to the global recession, and you’ve managed to build a successful, growing business. How’d you pull that off?
A: We experienced significant drops in revenue in 2008, but instead of closing the doors we expanded. Opening two more locations, in Birch Bay and Anacortes, was the best way to go after new markets and ensure that our staff had an opportunity to continue soliciting new clients. Bellingham is extremely saturated with Pilates studios, so it made sense to get out of the immediate area. Our unofficial studio motto is: “Keep moving forward.” It can be a little scary, but being scared is not the same as being afraid. It’s fear that is debilitating. Scary can be kind of fun in moderate doses.

Q: Carolyn, it’s no mystery that 99 out of 100 families, when asked about the single biggest challenge they face, will answer “Finding balance.” You’re married and you and your husband have two beautiful daughters. What are some of the ways you guys have found – and maintained – balance?
A: We just try to have fun. That seems to lead to balance. We work hard and play hard, and none of us particularly likes to sit still for long periods of time. I think it is harder to find balance when you don’t have a life full of wonderful people and passions, as there is this sense of balancing fun vs. not fun. If you like it all, there is nothing to balance, just one great day after another.

Q: You’ve gotten into stand-up paddling (SUP) lately, and you and Heather are working together to develop an on-water fitness class around that sport. What is it about SUP that’s struck a chord in you? A: I was a highly-competitive runner for almost 20 years, and then recently took up surf ski paddling. SUP lets me take advantage of my leg and cardiovascular strength I developed as a runner, as well as the upper body strength I have been developing as a paddler. Combine all of that with the core strength from Pilates, and you get a sport that seems to pull together every fitness I have had in the last 10 years. It is a great way to interact with the water, with completely different perspectives than what is seen from a kayak.

Q: Carolyn, finish these sentences:

Whether most people realize it or not, there’s a… little kid …in every one of us. Does any 5 year old ever think about balancing their life? Heck no. They just play the day laid out in front of them. I think we all still have our 5-year-old self waiting to make some adventures.                                                 

My dream for my business is… to allow it to evolve into something wonderful that is not yet imagined.

If I could only convey one “golden philosophy” to my girls that they take with them through their entire lives, it would be… when facing two choices, choose the one which makes you feel the best. Let the heart guide the mind, not the other way around.

A dream vacation for the Watson family would go like this: Costa Rica, with peacock bass fishing in the jungle rivers and paddling out in the ocean. Lots of good food, a few long naps, and sandy beaches for the kids to romp on.

As far as business opportunities go, I would rank Bellingham… high for those with a creative, entrepreneurial spirit. 

If I could share a meal and a bottle of wine with one famous person, it’d be… the author Paulo Coelho. I suspect the stories he would tell around a meal might be even more fascinating than the ones he writes.

“Every Adventure Begins at Home!”

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