Romana Kryzanowska is the world renowned protégé of Joseph Pilates and has been teaching the method for almost 60 years! Romana first met Joseph when he treated her for an ankle injury. As a dancer she soon realised his method strengthened more than just her ankle.



Romana worked under the direct supervision of her mentors, Joseph and Clara Pilates until 1944. She temporarily stopped teaching the method after her marriage and move to Peru but picked it up again when she returned to the United States 15 years later. She became Joseph’s chosen successor and eventually took over the studio. Romana made a commitment to Joseph and Clara Pilates that she would continue their life's work. She continues to deliver on that promise by travelling the world and teaching the next generation of instructors. Both Romana and her daughter Sari Mejia Santo act as guardians of the method. They strive to keep it pure and to pass it on as Joseph would have wanted them to.