Owner and Director, Hally Bayer
The Beginning
Thrive Pilates is a product of a lifetime of experience and education in health, fitness and counseling. Hally’s passion for health and wellness began early in her life. As a dancer, she was always interested in physical fitness. When she was just fifteen years old, she was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis. Over the next two years, she was hospitalized, heavily medicated and operated on three times to save her life. These experiences had a profound impact on Hally’s life. After her recovery, she volunteered visiting children in hospitals and giving them hope and inspiration. She discovered her ability to impact others’ lives and chose to make helping others her life-long goal.
Education
She went on to study Human Development at Cornell University, where she graduated with distinction. In addition to her coursework, she continued to build on her experience in the helping profession by working with children with special needs, tutoring adults, and assisting professors in contributing valuable research in the field of psychology. After graduating, Hally worked as a Social Skills Teacher and psychotherapist at Beyond Words Center, in Atlanta, Georgia.
Simultaneously, she attained her Master’s degree in Counseling from Georgia State’s acclaimed Counseling program. During her internship she continued to work at Beyond Words and at an HIV Clinic, counseling individuals and groups who could not afford treatment.
Further Training
Months after completing her graduate studies, Hally’s passion for overall health and wellness inspired her to compliment her career in counseling to become a Certified Pilates Instructor. She trained for over 700 hours with Power Pilates, the “Harvard of Pilates training programs.” She currently teaches private sessions and mat classes at Thrive Pilates in Philadelphia, PA.
Hally’s teaching style speaks to her background in both dance and counseling—integrating her technical expertise with her clients’ current needs and personal goals. She motivates and challenges clients with an intense workout, while maintaining her gentle and compassionate approach to facilitating progress and understanding individual needs.
Hally’s nutritional training began with her personal experiences in healing through nutrition. Although her health improved after her surgeries, Hally began having symptoms of Crohn’s disease while she was a graduate student. Her doctors put her on more medication, performed more surgeries, to no avail. She sought out fitness, nutrition and healing coach, Catherine Carrigan of Total Fitness in Atlanta, GA. Catherine changed her life, by helping her improve her health through changes in diet and lifestyle. Catherine inspired Hally into starting Thrive. Hally studied with Catherine in her Nutritional Mastery Course and continues to research nutrition and health.
She has also trained in Baptiste style Power Yoga, with Steve Gold of Philly Power Yoga. She has been practicing yoga since her days at Cornell and continues to do so at least four days a week.