Tanya Maria Aguila’s love affair with Pilates started in 2012, when it helped her deal with aches and pains from running and her yoga practice.

“I discovered it first as sort of a therapeutic alternative and the rest was history,” she recalled. “It was efficient, effective and I never feel spent after a session. All my aches and pains disappeared and my body completely transformed.”

Borne out of her desire to bring the fitness method to the Philippines, she established Onelife Studio the following year: “We believe that Pilates is truly one of the most effective fitness methods around the world today. We continue to create programs that share the best that Pilates has to offer, personalized to you. Pilates is safe, highly progressive and truly accessible and it is our goal to make it a lasting practice you can commit to.”

Onelife Studio has a partnership with Polestar. “It’s one of the world’s leaders in Pilates. It has representation in over 50 countries,” Aguila said.

Aguila, who is also a Nike+ Training Club trainer, said she wants to introduce Pilates to everyone: “I promised myself that I would make it my mission to share Pilates with as many ladies as possible. It truly transforms lives.”

And now, Aguila wants breast cancer survivors to discover Pilates: “Many women now more than ever are surviving breast cancer, which is amazing news. However, most of the surgeries and reconstruction work these women have to do leave them with very little strength and endurance to jump right back into an active lifestyle. Breast cancer survivors, most especially those who undergo mastectomy, require a great deal of physical therapy to help them recover the proper function of their chest, shoulder, arm, and back muscles. Rehab sessions can be quite costly—physical therapy sessions in Manila go as high as P3,500 per session!—especially on top of their treatment expenses.”

She believes Pilates can benefit them greatly. “Physical therapy work is important to help restore the range of motion for the entire shoulder girdle, to regain whole body mobility, to correct posture, to perform functional movement, and to fix muscular imbalances.

Pilates, combined with physiotherapy, is low impact and highly customizable so it is perfect for progressive recovery.”

To share Pilates with more breast cancer survivors, Aguila has introduced The Onelife Pink Card this October, which is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

“Recent studies show that one out of three Filipino women will develop breast cancer in her lifetime,” she pointed out. “This is a staggering figure and so it made me realize that our community, which is largely composed of women, must do our part in helping raise awareness about this disease and in helping the less fortunate cancer survivors cope with their continuing treatments.

“Women have to take care of each other. Our community at Onelife is committed to joining the fight against breast cancer.”

A portion of the proceeds from the sale of each card will be used to fund physio-led Pilates sessions for select breast cancer survivors who cannot afford the continuing expenses of rehab. “These sessions will be a series of one-on-one rehab sessions with our resident Pilates trained physiotherapists aimed to help restore optimal movement for the recipient breast cancer survivors. So you get fit, while they get better,” said Tanya.

Pink Cards get you access to 100 Pilates group classes at Onelife’s San Juan branch. The card is valid for 200 days from the date of purchase.

Thirty Pink Cards will be sold for P55,000 each.

Tanya said, “Onelife is a health and fitness studio that cares. The moment you step into our doors, you’ll feel it. We have a unique approach to your well-being. Our approach puts your needs at the heart of everything that we do.”

Onelife Studio is at 2/F, Citiplace Building, 8001 J. Abad Santos St. corner Lopez Jaena St., Barangay Little Baguio, San Juan City.

Call 0917-8951762, 6715433; e-mail [email protected]; visit www.theonelifestudio.com.