May 25, 2015
Anne (Annie) Martens is the owner of Bella Bellies. Anne took her experience as a personal trainer, pilates instructor, child birth educator, doula, training in Midwifery Assistance and a mother of three, to develop movement programs focused on women.
Anne is a Licensed Lamaze Child Birth Educator, and has studied as a Postpartum Doula with Midwife Vicki Hedley, and a Birth Doula with Sunday Tortelli. She studied and worked one-on-one with Julie Tupler from 2005-2007 and studied Midwifery Assistance under the direction of Midwife Pamela Hunt, Midwife Deborah Flowers, Midwife UmmSalaamah Sondra Abdullah-Zaima, Midwife Carol Nelson and Midwife Joanne Santana. Ms. Martens is a certified Pilates instructor under Kathy Van Patten (2003) and Bob Liekens (2005); is a certified Pilates Method Alliance Instructor, a personal trainer, completed her B.F.A. in Dance at the Boston Conservatory, where she graduated cum laude under Emiko and Yasi Tokunaga, and completed post-baccalaureate work in chemistry at Montclair State University.
Currently, Anne is providing teacher training through Bella Bellies® to maternal professionals and fitness professionals. She also presents seminars and workshops to maternal professionals throughout the country. Anne has presented workshops at the Pilates Method Alliance National Conference in 2012, 2013 and 2014 and has worked at Cleveland Clinic Instructing Child Birth Education and Stroller Moves®. Anne continues to work at University of Pittsburgh Medical Center – Hamot, instructing Child Birth Education and Bella Bellies® trademarked classes.
Anne's passion for maternal well-being and techniques has inspired her to write The Bella Bellies® Book Series. The Bella Bellies Books address fitness during pregnancy, postpartum, menopause and beyond.
The book thoroughly discusses and reviews step-by-step instruction for the following
- movement during pregnancy
- movement for birth
- preventing or resolving diastasis rectus abdominus
- techniques to help prevent pelvic floor dysfunction and adaptations for pelvic floor dysfunction
- core movement post cesarean section
- techniques to help prevent osteopenia and osteporosis
- and more
Considering the Bella Bellies Program is designed for mothers all exercises are adaptable to include a baby or child, in the Momilates® and Stroller Moves® books.
In terms of Public Relations, Anne is the featured speaker in "Prenatal Pilates with the Tupler Technique" DVD and has been consulted by several national broadcast productions and media sources including Web MD, Oprah.Com, Big Belli Productions, Disney Broadcasting, Baby Zone, NBC, ABC and CBS National Broadcasting and affiliates. Anne has been featured on behalf of Bella Bellies® in Fit Pregnancy, Ask Miss A, Kiwi Magazine, Expectant Mothers, Jersey Journal, Fox Online Magazine, Fox Broadcasting, Telemundo, Max & Fitness Magazine, on LX NBC (New York), and in several other popular media productions.