Community in Unity: Shelia Donovan

Shelia Donovan works out at her studio on Washington Street.

The Canton Citizen is pleased to partner with the Canton Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Committee to present “Community in Unity,” a new regular series spotlighting Canton residents of diverse backgrounds. The series will run weekly throughout Black History Month and continue monthly for the remainder of 2021.

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Shelia Donovan, the founder and owner of Shelia Donovan Pilates Studio, LLC, on Washington Street is a woman of deep faith who is passionate about movement and running. A lifelong learner who is dedicated to being a lifelong teacher when it comes to educating others about fitness, she counts her blessings every day and even during the pandemic Donovan found new things for which she was grateful.

Donovan is a native of Virginia. When she was 6 years old, her parents divorced and she moved with her mother and siblings from Norfolk to a neighborhood in Virginia Beach that was predominantly white, as were the schools. “I got teased every single day,” she said of her life as a second grader.

Donovan came up with a new excuse daily for not going to school, but her mother was not buying any of it. The same was true as Donovan went through school, with her mother encouraging her daughter to be strong in tough situations.

“‘We’re all God’s children,’” Donovan quoted her mother’s words. “‘Be proud of who you are. Stand up for who you are. And dare to be different.’ That’s the kind of mother I was raised by. And I’m grateful for it now.”

Donovan is a graduate of Norfolk State University, a Historically Black College, where she earned a degree in exercise science/kinesiotherapy. While in college, she began running. She said she didn’t know how to run when she started, but her trajectory took her from a sixth-place finish in the women’s division in her first race to becoming a professional marathoner who won the Richmond Marathon twice.

“My running career was everything,” she said. She still races, although now it is virtually. Donovan takes part in races every month on her treadmill, with the money going to a good cause.

Shortly after graduating from Norfolk State, Donovan got a call from the Veterans Administration (VA) Hospital in Jamaica Plain offering her a job. Friends and family told her that Massachusetts was too cold and expensive to move to, but Donovan had a goal. “The only reason I came here was because of the Boston Marathon,” she said.

On her ride to the VA in Jamaica Plain, she saw people running along the Charles River and knew she had made the right decision.

Donovan worked in Boston for several years before returning to Virginia, where she worked with a researcher who was studying patients with spinal cord injuries. She worked in cardiopulmonary rehabilitation, spent a year working with paraplegics, and worked with veterans who needed lung/heart transplants. She returned to Massachusetts in 1997 to attend the Massage Institute of New England.

Donovan met Mike Donovan when she first came to Boston. When she returned to Virginia to work, Mike called her nearly every day. After she came back to Massachusetts, Mike proposed to her on a beach on Nantucket. Shelia asked him to wait for her decision.

“He had to give me one year,” she said. “I had to pray, to see if this is what God wanted for me.” They married in August of 1998.

Donovan earned her National Certified Massage Therapist license in 1999 and also became a fully certified Stott Pilates instructor. But she found something special in her study of Gyrokinesis and Gyrotonic. Both teach students to use continuous and fluid movements to increase the mobility of the spine. “Gyro is my love,” Donovan said.

Donovan was working as a massage therapist, teaching fitness classes and Stott Pilates classes, and was also a personal trainer when she opened her studio on Washington Street in September of 2002. “(Mike) found this place,” she said. “He designed it and built it. It just grew.”

Clients at the studio can choose from a schedule that includes yoga, TRX Suspension Training, Stott Pilates, gyrokinesis, Gyrotonic, Tai Chi, Kettlebell, and private classes with a team of instructors. COVID-19 forced Donovan and the staff to make changes to the offerings. One of those changes was the use of Zoom video conferencing as a teaching tool. It helped Donovan to maintain a connection with her clients and taught her to keep moving while teaching so that her students moved with her. It also increased her strength.

“Zoom classes were a blessing for me,” Donovan said. “It has changed my life. (My clients) are doing everything I’m doing. If I stop, they stop. I am so much stronger. I’m so flexible. I’m at the best physical strength.”

Donovan said that life during the pandemic taught her to slow down and listen to her body. She starts each day by meditating and doing joint rotations. “It taught me how to take care of me,” she said.

Donovan is a member of the Pilates Method Alliance, a nonprofit professional organization for those who work in the field of Pilates. Last spring the organization issued a written apology in which board members acknowledged missteps and mistakes made on social media and for failing to support the Black Lives Matter movement.

“They sent out an apology,” Donovan said. “After [the killing of] George Floyd, they came out with a diversity team (Diversity Equity and Community Committee). I was proud of them for doing that.”

The deaths of Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor touched her deeply. “This world has to be a better place,” she said. “If Canton has started a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Committee and PM Alliance is apologizing, there’s something coming out of this that’s going to change, because it’s overdue.”

Donovan is committed to sharing her knowledge of fitness with others. “This is why I show up,” she said. “I want to live and I want to live abundantly. I couldn’t do this on my own. It’s a team here. We are open: private (classes), duets and some classes for four. We are going strong on Zoom. Never take any of this movement for granted.”

Donovan is also an instructor trainer for Pilates Suspension Method; the studio is a PSM training facility. She will teach the Pilates Suspension Method foundation course live/virtually on Saturday, April 24. Those interested in taking the one-day course do not need prior Pilates experience.

For more information on Shelia Donovan Pilates Studio, go to sheliadonovan.com.

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Posted by Mary Ann Price on Feb 28 2021. Filed under Featured Content. Both comments and pings are currently closed.