MARIA GAMBURG

"I have been representing Canada on the international stage for a while now and have been crowned Canadian champion twice in a row in 2021 and 2022. This year was especially hard for me. Competition after competition. Grand Prix in Moscow, Grand Prix in Spain, World cup in Bulgaria, and all in a three month time. Coming back from these international events, I had three more competitions before Canadian Chmapionships. My body was tired, and unfortunately at Canadian Championships, I developed a very serious injury that obligated me to miss one of the most important competitions of the year: Panamerican Championships.
I was doing my last routine in finals at the Canadian Championships. Minutes before I had to go, I felt a sharp pain in my lower back and barely got up to walk to the carpet. I felt this sharp pain for every second of my performance. Turned out that I developed a disc hernia in my lower back. I couldn’t bend forward or backwards, let alone walk.
I was supposed to go as leading gymnast #1 to the Panamerican Championships… but health is more important. Our federation decided that it would be better for me to sit this competition out and get ready for the next one in about one month, Commonwealth Games.
I found Maria Gamburg on Facebook and heard about what she’s doing. I put all my faith in Maria’s work, because I heard she does miracles! When I started going to Maria’s lessons, it was hard for me to even lie down on her reformer… In about one month, because of Maria’s help and her guiding, I could finally arch again and do all the complex elements I used to do before my injury!
I’m very grateful for her help, because of her, in only ONE MONTH, such a short period, I was able to go to the Commonwealth games and become Commonwealth Champion! If you have any injury, I strongly suggest Maria’s services, she’ll make you even healthier then before your injury;)"

"Not long ago I wrote a post about how I had an ankle injury (in October last year) and all the troubles associated with this trouble, which, due to my carelessness and the incompetence of the doctors, dragged on. That is, the injury seemed to go away, but the leg somehow didn’t move the way it did before. I started physical therapy, had it for about a month, and everything was quarantined. Then I tried massage. I didn't see any results. Or it will take a year to do it, I don’t know. And Maria Hansburg, a Pilates teacher, offered her own version of rehabilitation. I hesitated a little (after all). And she went. I didn’t regret it for a minute. The course is not finished yet, but I can already see the difference. And very noticeable. She approached the matter very professionally. The exercises are done on a special stretching platform. I won't say it's easy. But I didn't expect this. The main thing was to see the result. And we both see it. Maria is happy with her work with me, and I am happy with her and my leg. So I can recommend it with full responsibility to anyone who has problems of this kind. As a bonus to everything, my whole body tightened up and the long-standing pain in the lower back, which I had long come to terms with, thinking that it was professional, went away. In general, I told you briefly. Next, think for yourself, decide for yourself. A few more words about her. She is very charming, sweet and doesn’t put pressure on her with her skills. It just does its job right. And with soul. The course will end soon, but I’m already so used to it."

"I really want to thank Maria Gamburg for her useful and very necessary work!!!! Pilates rehabilitation coach. My find and discovery of this year! For many years, going to doctors and their attempt to identify the diagnosis and cause of pain, dizziness, etc., has come to its epic. The reason was found, the spine, but the treatment is just "ingenious" a bunch of painkillers and the answer is one, "nothing can be done, maybe in 10 years you will be limited in your usual movements."Not rosy and not comforting. A little more than a month of classes and conscientious exercise at home, and....a whole month without painkillers, the pain went away in the second lesson, after 3 weeks a personal record, 16.5 km of fast walking without back pain!!!!!
Maria, thank you from the bottom of my heart, you bring me back to my former active life!!!! And of course, the bonus is that the posture is more beautiful than at 20 years old. "

"Many thanks and a small summary of only 12 twelve Pilates classes with Maria Gamburg .
It took me a long time to get ready, it’s always difficult to start, and it’s also difficult to overcome the pain. And how I want to live to the fullest! Maria convinced me and don’t think that with her complex exercises like a little mermaid or a swan, I, like many, are oh so far from this level. She convinced the rehabilitator with her professionalism and her patience. Why 12 lessons, because summer has come and the desire has appeared! and I wanted it!!! walk through our beautiful open spaces. I went down 65 steps to the lake, and then I had to go up, I was kayaking, that is, I sat down, bent my knees, not on a stable surface. And it worked. And I walked along Canyon SAINT-ANNE in a circle, assuming that I could only cross one bridge, look down and return, but I did! Maria, thank you for your patience and participation in my recovery! We continue our lessons with joy."

"I would like to write about Pilates trainer, rehabilitation therapist Maria Hamburg.
Maria is a professional and very sensitive trainer with an individual approach, it is interesting to work with her, and the classes are effective. Maria managed to involve me in regular exercises, I began to feel much better, and the need for physical activity appeared. Of course, this is largely her merit. She constantly diversifies training and gives recommendations taking into account the level of training. Thank you very much for your caring and creative attitude towards your work!"

"Today I finished lesson 10 of the Marathon, I want to share my experience and impressions. I’m not new to sports, in my youth I did gymnastics, later yoga, and for the last two years Pilates and Zumba, so 3 workouts a week was the norm for me. Quarantine put an end to this, which is why I accidentally stumbled upon the Mashin website and saw the proposal for a marathon and did not doubt the word at all. From the very first lesson I really liked it - the explanations are very clear, the demonstration is excellent from all angles and with easier/more difficult options, you can always press pause, take a breath ;) go back and watch/repeat again. This is an undoubted advantage of recorded lessons for independent work, not to mention the freedom to choose the time for studying. But that’s not all, Masha opened up completely new layers of Pilates for me, a lot of previously unknown movements that load all the muscles, very effective, sometimes difficult, but all the better, there’s something to work on! We are all different, for some one thing comes easier, for another, for another, Masha’s lessons have everything for all tastes! To say that I am satisfied is to say nothing! This is the best investment I have made :) I received a set of workouts for a very reasonable price and I can use it as long as the site exists, and I hope it will last a long time. A few words about Masha, she is always there, ready to answer any question, help, advise, support, extremely pleasant to talk to, easy-going! Thank you very much, Mashenka, I hope for further cooperation, I think it will be fruitful!!!"

"I would like to leave a review for Maria Gamburg, an awesome personal trainer that has been helping me to get though things which I was told are unfixable. 5 years ago following a terrible concussion, I was released from the hospital into a big nothingness with the words "the brain is a tricky thing", and "you will need to learn to live with limited physical abilities now". It was a devastating change from a very active life to headaches, dizziness, and nausea that followed nearly every physical activity. With time it got better, but not nearly well enough to do all the things I love and miss. Then I lost a pregnancy and the stress and surgery that had to follow reflected on my battered body and soul even more. Adding a few other physical ailments that I have but don't want to discuss, going back to a significant and interesting exercise was only a fantasy according to so many doctors I have talked to.
Then I decided that "you ain't dead until you are dead" is quite applicable here, and I started looking for a trainer that works with people with disabilities.
I met Maria Gamburg through a recommendation by a mutual friend, and she changed my world and gave me the most important thing of all - hope. I bought a Zoom session with her, loved her knowledge and optimism and bought 10 more sessions. Now that I have completed 6 of them, I would like to provide a review. I am stronger, I am way less dizzy, my seriously damaged vestibular system is relearning how to work, and I am feeling alive. Maria is kind, knowledgeable, patient, optimistic, and a great trainer. She perceives challenges as just what they are - something to overcome together. I highly recommend her."

"The immigration process is quite labor-intensive, hectic, with nervous tension, requiring constant attention, eating up a lot of mental and physical things. Remember everything, keep everything under control. If the fortitude was enough, the body began to complain of pain. Doctors couldn't find anything that could be the cause. Bad thoughts came. For some reason they are always the first. And all thoughts now revolved around pain. Why? What can be done? How to stop being afraid of new attacks? The doctors’ explanations boiled down to “perhaps a massage will help you.” Massage is great. But you need to trust your body to a professional, and you couldn’t find one. The decision to practice the old fashioned way, as taught in childhood and adolescence, was faced with the fact that I was no longer a young girl and the techniques did not work and, moreover, aggravated the pain. Maybe he can endure it and after the sore throat the body will wake up and work properly? Intuition suggested - no. A competent approach is needed.
PILATES.
And then, by chance, I was introduced to a specialist with vast experience and knowledge of muscular engineering of the human body.

-Let's start working?
-Come on (a glimmer of hope that my case is not hopeless)
I needed an individual approach and it completely satisfied me.

- I know that I need to be patient if doing the exercises hurts, but I’m not sure that I’m doing the right exercises
- What you don’t need to endure
- ....?
It turns out that yes, I don’t have to endure anything, but I like to do everything in class and do my “homework” and YES the pain is gone. A year and a half of periodic pain, attacks came on schedule and then a pass!!! Bewilderment... here we go again soon. She came, but not for long and weak. And a pleasant emptiness where there used to be an ache. Calmness and confidence - I know what to do if suddenly...
In general, there were no signs, thunder or any special effects, but a miracle happened."

"Many years ago, Pilates brought me back to normal once. I decided to try again.
Even during the assessment, Maria recommended a couple of exercises. I like Maria's calm tone. She explains in detail all the exercises and why they are done; which muscles are involved; pays attention to the "small" details in order to get the desired results. Between classes, I send 1 exercise video per day. Maria always looks through it carefully to correct it, if anything. I even praised it once, which is nice.
If I need the result ASAP, then I study every day.
Condition AFTER 3 weeks: 80% recovered. Shoulders straightened, respectively, posture improved. Endurance has noticeably increased. I can already get all the shelves and I can braid the braid myself; I choose clothes according to my mood, not according to the convenience of dressing; my knees have become more mobile. I go to the store without any problems. Even at Costco, where I make big purchases. Yesterday I dug a potato bed for the 1st time for 30 minutes! I can already mow the grass with a machine.
How nice it is to return to a mobile life again and stop depending on others in simple everyday details."

"I would like to share again my experience of doing Pilates with Maria (my trainer and part-time friend) and what it has led to today :) Firstly, for the classes I ordered a new sports uniform and I liked wearing it just like that. But the form obliges) I felt a desire to walk in the morning (I plan to run), I took out a long-forgotten iPod with music (I’ve already forgotten what a pleasure it is - you walk to the music, and it’s as if you’re participating in a video clip, you can imagine yourself in the leading role and from This makes me want to move even more). Further - more: buying an elliptical exercise machine on the advice of Maria (I work out for 25 minutes twice a day, a photo of the elliptical machine is attached). Castaty, the purchase cost me only 50 dollars. I gained more strength and again started one of my hobbies - sewing. I must say that I love sewing very much, but this is the case - for some time I am on a sewing binge, then a period of oblivion sets in (tired, no inspiration, etc.), and some kind of push from the outside is required so that the desire sewing resumed. This time Maria became such a push (or kick, in a good way) for me. Before the start of summer, an audit of outfits was carried out and it turned out that I couldn’t fit into many of my dresses from last summer! But we are studying, so it’s a matter of a couple of months, but during these couple of months you also need to wear something, right? And in just three weeks, 4 new dresses were created. Evidence - photos. In a black dress, I tried to take a photo of myself on my mobile phone as best I could, since it’s not really visible on a black mannequin. The quality of the photo is very poor, but you can see that the dress is there! We'll see what happens next!"

"Condition BEFORE: frozen shoulders and muscle weakness after 4 months of living with pain. Couldn't reach top or bottom shelves in kitchen cabinets; I couldn’t make my own ponytail; she walked hunched over, like an old granny; I chose clothes so that the sleeves would stretch, because otherwise I couldn’t put them on myself; she went down and up the stairs with difficulty; I couldn’t work in the garden. Even going to the store was a problem: reloading products from the cart onto the conveyor, back into the cart, into the car, into the house. I came to my senses the whole next day.
I am quite active in life: walks, badminton, gardening, running around with my grandchildren, etc. Therefore, I wanted to return to normal as soon as possible.
Many years ago, Pilates brought me back to normal once. I decided to try again.
Even during the assessment, Maria recommended a couple of exercises. I like Maria's calm tone. She explains in detail all the exercises and why it is done; what muscles are involved; pays attention to the “little” details to get the results you want. Between classes, I send 1 video per day with an exercise. Maria always looks at it carefully to correct it if anything happens. Once she even praised me, which was nice 😊.
Because I need ASAP results, I study every day.
Condition AFTER 3 weeks: 80% recovered. The shoulders straightened, and accordingly, the posture improved. Endurance has noticeably increased. I can already reach all the shelves and braid my hair myself; I choose clothes according to my mood, and not according to the convenience of dressing; knees became more mobile. I go to the store without any problems. Even at Costco, where I do a lot of shopping. Yesterday I spent 30 minutes digging a potato bed for the first time! I can already mow the grass with a machine.
How nice it is to return to an active life again and stop depending on others for simple everyday trifles."