After attending the School of American Ballet in New York at the age of fifteen on a full scholarship, Natalia Haigler went on to perform professionally for several seasons with Pacific Northwest Ballet in Seattle, Washington. There she discovered Pilates while rehabilitating several dance-related injuries. After retiring as a dancer, Natalia pursued her interest in Pilates, earning a certification from Stott Pilates. Since then, she has starred in many of Stott Pilates’ consumer and professional DVD series and has joined them in fitness conventions around the U.S. She has also taught at Pilates studios and gyms in New York, Los Angeles, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, including Pilates on Fifth, Sports Club L.A., Equinox, Crunch, LIV Fitness, and International Fitness, as well as Canyon Ranch wellness resort in Lenox, Massachusetts.

Natalia is fully certified through Stott Pilates and holds a PMA-CPT certification through Pilates Method Alliance. She is currently a Master Trainer for BootyBarre and Hypervibe, a Certified Integrative Health Practitioner, and a Precision Nutrition Health Coach. In addition, Natalia has written articles for Pilates Style Magazine, Fitness Magazine, Imagen, and Buena Vida, as well as other titles geared toward the Hispanic market. She was the face of the Pilates program and promotional materials for New York Sports Club. Natalia also played a dancer in the feature film, Center Stage.

Natalia currently lives in her native Puerto Rico, where she teaches Pilates and BootyBarre in her studio and at the Fitness and Wellness Center in Dorado Beach. Sign up for online classes with Natalia on her website nvpstudio.com and follow her on Instagram @nataliahaigler for daily Pilates movement inspiration shared from her studio in Puerto Rico. Read on for our full interview with Natalia!

Tell us briefly about your work, inspirations, passions and philosophy on health and fitness.

In a way, I have been in the health, wellness and Fitness industry my entire life. Although, I would qualify dancing as athletics and fitness, mentally it definitely does not fall under the category of wellness, since it is a career of a lot of self destruction and pushing your body beyond what it should do.

Although this career was mentally more challenging than physically, it introduced me to the world of Pilates. As dancers we had to not only do class every single day, as well as rehearse,, but we also needed to cross train. We were required to do both Pilates and weight training, as well as “act as a weight” for the male dancers so that they could use our bodies as their weight and get used to lifting a body over their head. Although this sounds strange, it was actually very fun!

I stopped dancing due to injuries very early on and immediately went through my Pilates Certification in my early twenties. My body was thankful that I stopped dancing but I missed performing so much. Soon after I got certified, I was working in NYC at a Stott Pilates Training Facility, when one of the owners of Stott Pilates (now called Merrithew) came to check on the studio. At the end of one of my sessions he came up to me and asked me if I would fly to Toronto for an audition. Next day I was flown to the headquarters in Toronto for less than 8 hours where I met the creator of Stott Pilates and a lot of their amazing instructors. By the end of the week, I was filming instructional videos for their company.

This opportunity gave me the gift of not only falling in love with Pilates even more, but of being on set surrounded by creative minds and filling the void I felt from not performing anymore. I fell in love with being on set! I went on to do many many videos with them and I am thankful for the on-camera training that I received, especially now since I am 100% virtual and filming my own videos.

My inspirations, passions and philosophy have changed over time and I am sure they will continue evolving depending on where I am in life. I now think about health and fitness so differently in my 40s than I did in the past. I used to work out sometimes twice a day and now I am a strong believer that we should move our bodies every single day, but with something that feels good and nourishes the mind and body. Before, if I didn’t workout for at least one hour, then it wasn’t a workout! Now, I encourage everyone to move for 20-30 minutes a day. But this time should be spent fully focused! This is your time to connect to your mind and body and 20-minutes of full focus goes a much longer way than one hour or mindless working out! Also movement is to get your body working better, to get your muscles and your body strong and not to lose weight. Eating clean and healthy is 80-90% of the process. You can’t workout your way out of a bad diet. Also, as we get older, we need to make changes to how we workout. I have some health issues, including adrenal issues and know that I can’t push my body too much, so learning to listen to the body has definitely been a challenging transition (still working on it). To me, movement is a privilege and something you enjoy. Don’t follow fitness trends just because they are the “it workout”, do what makes you happy!

“ To me, movement is a privilege and something you enjoy. Don’t follow fitness trends just because they are the “it workout”, do what makes you happy! ”

We're all about movement at Venn. What does a typical day for you look like through the lens of movement?

Just like Venn, movement is everything for me too! I need movement and nature every single day. I start my day by walking my dog in the morning. This is my time where I am left alone with my thoughts or I listen to a motivational or instructional podcast. I am not walking fast, I am strolling and just enjoying the sunrise. After my morning walk, I stand on my vibration platform for 10 minutes while using a red-light therapy device. I am either listening to the same podcast or checking through my emails. When I am done with that, then I move on to my workout which is always 20-30 minutes, 45 minutes max! And that workout will vary depending on what injury I am dealing with at the moment! I usually do reformer work most days and when I am not, then I do some light weight training! Right now I am teaching virtually, so the rest of the day, I am cueing through a computer or filming for nvpstudio.com

At the end of the day after dinner, we take a walk as a family again. Walking after dinner is so good for digestion and glucose levels.

Why and how do you use a Venn Air Chair? Where in your home, office or workout routine do you use it?

Right now there is a constant battle of who uses the Venn Ball. I often sit on it while I am teaching via Zoom, of course use it for working out and my son constantly steals it from me so he can use it at his desk for virtual school!

At Venn, we zig when others zag. What's something in work or life that you approach differently—philosophically, physically, emotionally—than others?

I am a pretty structured person. I like my routine, I like planning my days so that I can function to the best of my ability. So time alone, workout time and healthy food is a must. Even when I travel I try to maintain a similar routine. Routines help me stay centered, but as structured as I am, I also can pick up and move in a second without giving it too much thought. I am able to start something new pretty easily and I really appreciate that about me! I am always up for changes, so even though I would say I am pretty structured, I am always up for a discussion of moves and changes. That is one thing I hope to pass to my son. To not be too attached to situations or material things. Change is always good if you look at it from the right lens!

Sign up for online classes with Natalia on her website nvpstudio.com and follow her on Instagram @nataliahaigler for daily Pilates movement inspiration shared from her studio in Puerto Rico.

Venn Ambassador Spotlight: Natalia Haigler — Dancer and Pilates Instructor