Ann Marie Snowden has spent a lifetime at the nexus of nurturing and physicality. She split much of her adolescence between the outdoors and the kitchen. She hiked and ran track; played volleyball and field hockey; and was an All-State softball player two years in a row. Meanwhile, after watching her parents make healthy meals that nourished body and soul, Ann Marie went on to cook professionally for eight years at restaurants like Cafe Juanita and at high-end catering firms, nurturing the famous in their homes. She also served as an image consultant for ten years, helping people match their inner strengths to their outer presentations.

In the 1980s she moved from team sports into aerobics, but missed the broader challenges of the former and took up mountaineering. She was usually the only woman on her teams tackling the peaks, and took pride in being able to carry the same 60-pound packs and endure the same hardships as the men. Ann Marie has done technical rock climbing; ice climbing, summiting Mount Rainer and Mt. Whitney among others.  Then after a personal transition in 1999 she tried a Pilates mat class and discovered her future.

Ann Marie recognized the ability of Pilates to build inner strength and radiate it outwards while lengthening and strengthening the body. She likes how it builds the mind-body connection and can be fully customized to the individual, with the instructor picking from more than 500 exercises to serve individual needs. So she began training to teach in 2003, and now is a Level 5 Instructor in Romana's Pilates. She regularly continues her education through such workshops as:

• Advanced Continuing Professional Education with Pilates Grande Dame, Romana Kryanowska;
• Applied Anatomy and Kinesiology for Pilates Instructors in: The Foot and Ankle, and the Pelvis
• “It’s All About the Powerhouse” with Jay Grimes 1st Generation Instructor
  “The Enchanted Wunder Chair” with Bob Likens
•  Current activities include Gyrokinesis, Tango, Salsa, Rumba and of course Pilates.

After winning over a loyal clientele at a Seattle-area Pilates studio, Ann Marie has opened the incomparable Hidden Pilates Sanctuary to create the perfect environment for nurturing and revealing to the world the power contained within you.