Testimonials
What our clients say
I am hypermobile with EDS. I have found that pilates and movement are essential for my overall health and care. However with EDS, it is difficult to find someone who is knowledgable and experienced in working with hypermobility. It takes a capacity to deeply understand how fascia truly works, how the body moves through space with ease for that particular body (not just based on an external understanding of balanced alignment), and openness on how to properly stabilize and support a body while in dynamic movement. Arlene can do all these things and more! Her capacity to truly comprehend what is happening in the body, offer the right structural support in the right ways in order to stabilize and strengthen the parts that are underused, and her hands-on deep tissue work is a gift and a blessing. Working with Arlene is like working with an artist deep in her creative process. I highly recommend her.
Very informative practitioner who teaches you to hear what your body is saying, relieve pain and improve your overall function. I am grateful to have found Belly Studio as it will teach me lifelong practice for injury prevention and pain management
Arlene is an expert in the human body, academically intelligent, and has a deep life experience that translates well to working with a diverse clientele. Her unique way of combining science with somatic intuition makes her stand out in Pilates body work. Arlene corrected my movement patterns to heal a decades-old back problem. She also taught me how to self-correct through her “Body Flossing” method, and helped me to learn proprioception and how to live in my body, after decades living in my head as a PhD researcher in astrophysics. I cannot overstate how impactful and special it is to get to work with Arlene.
I lived in constant pain. Arlene got me out of pain. She also taught me things I can do on my own. Not to mention it’s a blast hanging with Arlene!
Pilates was helpful for general well-being, but Tina suggested that Arlene had treated a lot of tough cases. Mine was indeed a tough case. I was diagnosed with rheumatic autoimmune disease about 25 years ago. The main symptoms were joint pain, including debilitating wrist pain, exhaustion, swollen glands, and dry eyes and mouth. I have been taking hydroxychloroquine ever since. I also took prednisone for many years. About 7 years later, I was diagnosed with celiac disease and started a gluten-free diet. The hydroxychloroquine and the GF diet resolved the worst of the joint pain and most of the swelling. But I was still exhausted much of the time and had gotten accustomed to fairly constant pain around my ribs and joints. I had bronchitis frequently and took asthma medications as well. I also had gastroparesis for several years, which stumped my gastroenterologist because it had no known origin. The gastroparesis caused a chronic feeling of nausea and a 25 pound weight loss.
When Arlene did my intake exam, she told me within minutes that I was hypermobile. I had been told that before by a physical therapist (ankle) and also a TMJ specialist (jaw). Both of these authorities said there was very little I could do about it and I would have recurring problems in these areas throughout my life. Arlene was different. She explained that hypermobility is a body-wide thing that leads to tightness and pain, and it could be addressed through corrective exercises. Two years later, my rheumatologist confirmed that I have EDS type III, but told me it is harmless and doesn’t matter. After that, I am confident that Arlene knows more about hypermobility than my board-certified medical specialist.
In the time that I have been seeing Arlene and her junior trainee, Cora, I have seen remarkable improvements in multiple areas.
Working with Arlene has been a life-changing experience. I have attended her virtual classes and worked with her for private sessions. Prior to meeting Arlene I had tried every treatment that my medical providers had offered me with no real improvement in my symptoms. When I first saw Arlene I was unable to sit comfortably for more than a few minutes with use of a tens unit, could barely walk a couple of blocks with the use of a cane, and was having frequent episodes where I was unable to even stand easily or my joints were slipping and causing extreme pain.
Since working with Arlene, I can enjoy my life again: seated activities (watching sport games, road trips, flying, sitting through long dinners with friends, attending concerts, etc.) and walking activities (daily morning walks, running errands, gentle hikes, etc.) Additionally, I now have knowledge and tools to help my body when I feel a flare or episode happening, so they do not keep me down like they used to. Arlene works to empower the people she works with with tools that they will use for the rest of their lives.
I cannot recommend working with Arlene enough. She is incredibly empathetic and in tune with the work she does. She truly has a talent for helping people and the knowledge she shares is invaluable. She is such a gem and gift to this world – I hope that all individuals who need additional support in their lives have an opportunity to work with and learn from Arlene.
I had given up hope living with chronic pain, DDD and RA (Fibromyalgia, which I never accepted as real) when I came across an article about Arlene and The Belly Studio and it has been life changing! She has done what at least eight doctors couldn’t do! No more daily pain pills, no more thoughts of giving up. I feel like a different person! Immersion is awesome as well! I can’t thank her […] enough! Love you gals!
My name is Heather Hardy and I am a professional violinist , singer, songwriter based out of Tucson, AZ . I am a 54 year old woman that has been playing violin … and piano as well, since I was 9 years old .
Having fallen in love with my instruments and music at such a young age, I have at this time played pretty much everyday for 46 years . I have a band and am loading amplifiers and heavy equipment for every show I play .
I’m telling you all this about me, so that you will understand the depth of the repetitive strain that my body has endured and continues to endure nightly … as music is and has always been … my sole source of income. When I began working with Arlene at the belly studio about 2 years ago , I was in a lot of pain , all the time. Specifically my left wrist, but also my left neck and shoulder. Sleeping was interrupted nightly and I was scared to death of not being able to play my violin at some point in the near future . I had seen an Orthopedic specialist and she (having no compassion at all) told me that I had significant arthritis in my wrist and should start thinking about a new way of supporting myself. It was horrifying, I have no other skills! ! And much deeper was the fact that music is not what I do but, who i am. And I can’t imagine a life without it. I was truly scared.
I walked into The Belly Studio and was greeted with hope.
Arlene started to study how I played and what a violinist goes through physically. She assured me from the beginning that we could find ways to reset bad patterns and and stresses that had developed because of the way I live my life and use my body. She did not ever say I needed to stop living my life the way I wanted, to or stop playing music. We worked with the violin at times, she taught me many great self-care techniques. Tools that I could take on tour. The Body Flossing® techniques are a priceless skill to keep all the aches that come with aging at bay and of course, for me, they have helped with the aches that come from playing the violin. Arlene introduced me to myofascial release and great correctives to help my body reset. I had been trying every kind of body work for years. They all helped in ways, but never got to the core of what I needed. Arlene’s technique for working with the Fascia ….. was the missing piece to pain relief for me. . I continue to play and practice ……as much or more than before . Even while we were working to heal issues from playing. I had to keep playing to because it is my livelihood. She understood this, and her treatment plan was unique to me, in order to support that . That’s how she works . So sometimes there have been large steps forward, that had to be repeated because I had played so many shows a particular week, but Arlene found ways to work around that. She is a miracle worker. I have experienced improvement in every part of my body. I have been sleeping without pain, playing without pain. And my fear that I would ever have to quit playing has been removed. I now know that my body can be supported in ways to heal itself, correct bad habits and prevent injury from becoming chronic. Do I have aches at times, yes. Shoot, I’m 54. But I listen to them and have tools to heal them at my disposal. It may be self-care I learned from Arlene … or I have her wisdom at my disposal at our private sessions. I cannot say enough good about The Belly Studio and the work they are doing . It truly has saved my life. And specifically Arlene. I am a joyous violinist … looking forward to many more years doing what I love to do, and Arlene Corcoran and The Belly Studio gave that gift to me.
I’m a 22 yr old male who was suffering from scoliosis, chronic back pain, tendinitis, anxiety, sleeplessness, and had a hard time reaching my fitness goals. Through working with Arlene all of those issues have subsided and my scoliosis has become manageable. My self-confidence, peace of mind, focus, happiness, and energy have increased.
Studying pilates with Arlene is an intimate experience. You feel like you’re her only client when in session with her. She pours over the details of your progress and shares in your recovery to an eased, neutral body. What’s more is she explains in detail what she believes, and always knows, is going on in your body, why she is having you do the choreography, and how it is working the area.
Finally, you immediately feel welcome at her studio as it is also just a few steps from her home. The property is healing, peaceful, full of desert vegetation, friendly animals, and brimming with a natural energy. You can’t help feeling like you belong there!
I’m a semi-professional hand drummer. I’m also 54 so this has been challenging for my body, particularly my shoulders. Arlene is the only person out of a myriad of practitioners I have seen that has been able to get to the root cause of my 4+ year old shoulder problem and chronic pain. In addressing the whole body structure and movement patterns, she has helped me discover ways of using my body to actually protect my shoulders instead of injuring them every time I play. Now my ongoing workouts with her are focused on building an incredibly strong body.
Before going to the Belly Studio I was in constant pain, and as a nineteen year old woman, this was troublesome. I had come to accept that I was constantly going to be in pain and attributed it to the fact that I am a competitive equestrian. Arlene proved this to be wrong and after only a few weeks of going to the Belly studio I was pain free. The Belly Studio has given me the skills I need to continue doing what I am doing, and still be pain free.