“If you don’t have the correct map
you will never reach the desired destination.”
One of the strongest driving forces in my professional and personal life, I can point with certainty, is the desire to get to the root cause of things…
Born and raised in Bulgaria, I was 4 years old when my grand mother came to visit and brought a beautiful doll as a gift for me. I was mesmerized with the bright blue eyes of the toy that kept blinking at me… It didn’t take long before I took a pair of scissors and opened the head of the doll to figured this out! I was so proud of myself! I still remember the look on my granny’s face when I showed her what I did and tried to explain why the doll’s eyes were moving… She was in shock, started crying and returned home the next morning! Years later my Mom gave me her version of the event; my poor grandma was devastated and told my Mom she was rasing a serial killer!
My early school years were a nightmare! Now I know why but back then the struggle was real. In 5th grade we were given an assignment to write an essay about the engine that never stops moving.
Everyone wrote about spaceships and submarines, I wrote about the human heart… well it didn’t go so well! I not only got the lowest grade in the entire class but the teacher asked me who wrote my homework, which, to me was worst than my grade. I was faced with the dilemma to follow the direction the school system wanted me to or to take the road less traveled and let my studies be guided by inspiration, excitement and self-exploration.
I decided to start writing and submitting my papers to city level contests, where my work was evaluated by teachers from all over the country, not by the narrow minded, visionless educators in my school. And I started winning award, after award… the recognition was incredible! A few of my writings were published, my Mom still keeps those, and the word spread to my school where I was recognized for my success by the school administration. My teacher never apologized for the humiliation she put me through but I didn’t care because I experienced, for the first time in my life, the power of dedication, self-motivation and hard work and realized that anything and everything is possible even in rural Bulgaria.
While in Law School I was introduced to Forensic Pathology and absolutely loved it, yes more than law!!! I’ve spent hours in the lab dissecting and learning about the genius of the human body, about the incredible mechanisms that comprise our system and this is when the intricate NS and the brain captured my attention!!! But there was one problem… I didn’t like working with dead people, I wanted to help a living organism to achieve optimal function!
In 1995 I came to USA to pursue a career in Physical Therapy which ultimately landed me in NYC studying Pilates with the one and only Romana Krizanowskaya who was desiple of Joe Pilates himself.
Romana’s dedication and love for the original work of JP was so contagious that it sucked me right in…it was my new religion! I couldn’t get enough of it, I submerged into the world of corrective exercise and proper posture under the vigilant guidance of Romana who new I was a “genius of the human body” before I did.
My journey at Drago’s Gymnasium, working with Mr. Glik and Mr. Gratz who were personal trained by JP, teaching by Romana’s side and learning from her every day allowed me to master the original Classical Pilates regimen without getting someone’s interpretation and to draw my own conclusions of how to apply this powerful work to the bodies I was working with.
The real Pilates education for me begun in 2000 when I returned to Fort Lauderdale Florida to open my studio ProPilates.
Pilates was a new word for the quite residential community of Harbor Beach… We printed and delivered 100 flyers to the mailboxes in the area. Out of 100 flyers I accrued 68 clients, most of whom are still working with me even today. It was hard work but so interesting and ever-changing because there are no two bodies alike… and I was working with clients from all walks of life. After the first month I expanded the studio and started teaching group classes in addition to the private lessons I originally started with. I will never forget when Scottie Pippen took a group class with 5 of my 70 year old clients…they absolutely abolished him and he got a root awakening of the true meaning of core strength!!!
In 2003 Romana trusted me with the training of her apprentices in Florida, which was such an honor and a huge responsibility at the same time. I was so happy to spend more time with her personally and professionally during her teachings at my studio and to be able to expose my clients to her work was incredible! I continued to expand ProPilates and my education as well;
I took a 50 hr Human Body Dissection class at the Medical School of university of South Florida to deepen my knowledge in anatomy and physiology
Golf biomechanics class helped understand the mechanics of the golf swing and help my clients win golf tournaments… Which they did!!!
Postural assessment class helped me understand the importance of alignment
And then Lizzy entered my universe!!!
Lizzy was a beautiful 42 years old woman who was in a terrible car accident and was completely immobilized from the neck down due to a severe brain injury… I remember after my first session with her I went home and cried. I realization that my current work is not going to make a dent in Lizzy’s condition. I wasn’t at ground zero in my knowledge yet, I needed to go deeper in my education.
In I met Tom Pruvis, PhD in Physical Therapy and extremely intimidating dude! I completed his Strength and Conditioning program and he became one of my favorite teachers because of the way he packs information in a single sentence, his choice of words to most effectively communicate a concept and the level of integrity of his science based and backed program. His interpretation and presentation of physics and biomechanics is foundational in my work today.
Muscle activation Technique was next on my list of studies which took my understanding of the muscular system to a whole new level.
So my quest of getting to the bottom of things continued and this is where I realized that I was going in the wrong direction…
I was looking for the technique that will give me the ability to help anyone… no matter of age or health elements. Super athlete or a stroke patient! But if you noticed all of my studies were focused on the MUSCULAR System:
- Strengthening of the Muscles
- Optimizing their Function
- Activation of the Muscles
- Postural Muscle Re-Education
A light bulb went on in my head… Which System CONTROLS all Systems in our body? You guessed it…! The NERVOUS System!
Well, If the CONTROL Panel is dysfunctioning, can we expect the controlled systems to work well and optimally? Of course NOT!
I was barking up the wrong tree!
Our NS is the invisible BOSS of everything;
- The proper regulation of your muscle tone;
- Your Posture is directly related to the current state of your NS
- The flexibility of your spine or the lack of it
- Your Balance and Coordination
- Sleep Cycle
- Breathing, Digestion, Hear beat, Blood pressure
I had found my map and I started moving fast with Developmental Psychology, Neuroscience and Quantum Mechanics!!!
Here are some of my studies:
- Neuro Anatomy & Physiology
- Developmental Psychology & Basic Motor Pattern Development
- Motor Learning Development
- Postural Reflex Patterns
- Breathing as a Reflex
- Sensory & Motor-sensory Learning & Development
ProPilates became my lab! I was applying, observing and documenting my newly discovered concepts with everyone I worked with during the day and at night I dove back into my studies and continued to connect the dots! And all of the sudden people started to comment:
“I am not sure what we did in our last session I but I felt very connected, more plugged in mentally and physically!”, “I have no pain!”, “I sleep better!”, “I am losing weight!”, “How did you that? My posture improved in 1 hour!”, “My balance and coordination have improved significantly!”
You CAN achieve all of the above simply by following the right map to the desired destination! Are you ready to join the movement!
Education
1998 – 2000 Completed Second Generation Classical Pilates Instructors Certification under the tutelage of Romana Kryzanowska.
1999 – Completed Fitness Instructor, Fitness Specialist, and Strength and Conditioning Specialist courses at the Fitness Institute in Boca Raton, Florida.
2000 - Tonka opened the first Pilates Studio in Fort Lauderdale in.
March of 2000 Tonka acquired her certification as an ACSM Health Fitness Specialist at the American College of Sports Medicine.
January of 2001, she received the Professional Accreditation for Classical Pilates Instructors from The Pilates Guild in New York City.
December of 2004, Tonka completed a course on principals of posture, acture, and gating with neuro muscular applications at Neuro-Muscular Therapy in Sarasota, Florida.
January of 2006 Tonka attended the extensive course on Gyrotonic Expansion System in Miami, Florida, under the founder and developer of Gyrotonic, Julie Horvath.
August 2006, she completed the 50-hour lab course on Full Body Dissection at the University of South Florida College of Medicine in Tampa, Florida.
September of 2010, she attended the Designs for Health, Inc. nutrition course called Core II Functional Endocrinology.
October of 2010, Tonka enrolled in courses on Muscle Activation Techniques and completed them in January of 2011.
In 2011 Tonka completed the master courses on Resistance Training Specialist Program. Rounding off her extensive education in 2011, Tonka attended the internship and master courses in Muscle Activation Techniques, which she completed successfully in 2013.
In 2014 Tonka started studying Aerial Arts and was fascinated with the work. She wanted to bring the benefits of Aerial fitness to everyone and the APX™ Aerial Pilates exercise Method was born.
In 2015 - present Tonka expanded her knowledge in neuroscience and the effects of neurological patterns on movement, coordination and balance as well as strengthening and motor patterns improvement.