Meet Nextfit Trainer Debbee Sharpe

Debbee is the owner of The Pilates Body Loft. She has been a fitness trainer and instructor for 30 years teaching classes, training clients and other instructors. She started and owned the first aerobic studio in Durham, North Carolina from 1980 to 1991. She was on the PE staff at Duke University and taught aerobic fitness. Debbee was one of the featured instructors on Crunch Fitness aired on ESPN2. She was also one of the Fit Team for Jenny Craig's 'Fit in 15' on the Health Channel. Her videos include Crunch Fitness Turbo Sculpt; Harper's Bazaar Greenhouse Spa; and Jenny Craig's Tube and Tone Workout. Debb continues to be involved in video, training talent to be ready for camera and techs for the shoot. She has also designed workout programs for several featured articles in Shape Magazine. Sharpe's Workout was a continuing education provider for ACE, and Ms. Sharpe taught instructor workshops and lectured throughout the United States. Debbee has presented at international conventions. She chaired the first Workout for Hope in North Carolina and was a guest presenter for the event in California and North Carolina. She was a civilian fitness provider for the US Military during the Gulf War and spent two months in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia. Ms. Sharpe has many general and specific fitness certifications.

The Differences Between Yoga and Pilates

Yoga vs. Pilates? We settle the score.

 By Nextfit Trainer Alycea Ungaro 

Yoga and Pilates Fusion Workouts

Wander into any gym or exercise studio and you are bound to find classes with interesting titles heralding some type of “fusion” workout. Yolates, PiYoga, and Yogilates are just a few examples of combined Yoga and Pilates routines that claim to offer the best of both worlds and profess to be bigger, better and more effective. But do they work? 

To determine if these hybrid routines are truly superior to the systems they combine, it’s important to understand the differences between Yoga and Pilates, and what is unique about each exercise system.

What are the Goals of Yoga?

Since it’s been around about 2000 years longer (if we’re fact-checking), let’s start with Yoga. The practice of Yoga has a rich history that spans the globe. Spiritually, Yoga reaches beyond our humble planet and extends into the heavens: The original mission of Yoga was to cleanse and purify the body to receive the Divine Power of God. Today, while many still preserve this as their practice goal, others use it to promote health, fitness, and mental stability.

To achieve the full benefits of this practice, Yoga practitioners push their bodies and minds to the limit through a variety of strategies. In a Yoga class, you can expect to hold challenging positions, assume difficult postures, regulate your breathing, and, perhaps most demanding of all, attempt to quiet your mind. Classes often incorporate chanting and always end with resting postures to prepare the body for re-entry into everyday activities.

What are the Goals of Pilates?

Developed only 90 years ago by Joseph Pilates, the Pilates method is a purely physical experience that