Pukka Pilates & Physical Therapy

Pukka Pilates & Physical Therapy Get safely back to the life you love after injury. Licensed Physical Therapist and 2nd-Gen Pilates Teacher. The body doesn't lie.

09/23/2026

Three years ago my back put me on the floor and didn’t let me back up for a full night.

I’m a physical therapist. I’d been a gymnast, then a dancer. I thought my body would always do whatever I asked. Then it didn’t — and it took me three years to feel like myself again.

That’s the method I’m building for you. Not theory. Lived it, rebuilt from it.

If you’re in your own version of that gap, comment INTERESTED or DM me WELLNESS — I want to hear where you’re stuck.

09/17/2026

Joy taught jazzercise for 20 years, then multiple herniated discs, shoulder issues, and both calf muscles torn nearly took her out of movement completely.

She's 54 and pain-free for the last 10 years. She now teaches Pilates herself, because she believes in the Pukka method that much.

This is what tailored, clinically-informed movement work actually looks like over time.

👇 Ready to stop guessing and get a plan built for YOUR body? Link in bio to book your first session.

09/17/2026

If you're recovering from an injury, you've probably already been told what to do about it. And a lot of it is exactly why you're still stuck. So let me set the record straight, because the difference here is everything.

You're told that when your physical therapy ends, you're basically done. What you really need to understand is that the day your PT ends is the most dangerous day in your recovery. Most people get discharged well before they're 100%, and then there's nobody. That gap, between not injured enough for the system and not well enough to trust your body, is exactly where I work.

You're told to just find some exercises online and keep moving. What you really need is someone qualified to tell you what is actually safe for your specific body. So much of what's out there is made by people with no clinical training at all, and the exercise that's perfect for one back is the one that sends another into spasm. I'm a licensed physical therapist. I don't guess with your body.

You're told to push through it, that you have to be tough to get better. What you really need is the opposite. You need to do exactly what your body can safely do, and progress from there. Pushing through is what kept setting my own back off for years. Doing the right things, safely, is what actually brought me back.

You're told to just go see a Pilates instructor or a personal trainer. What you really need is someone who is both a physical therapist and a master Pilates teacher, in one person. Because a trainer can't keep an injured body safe, and most therapists just hand you a sheet of stretches. I'm both, which means I know how to keep you safe while genuinely rebuilding you.

And you're told to settle. To be grateful you can just get through the day, and to accept a smaller, more careful life. What you really need to hear is that you are allowed to want your whole life back. The hiking, the golf, the travel, getting down on the floor with your grandkids. With the right, safe plan, most people can get back far more than they've been told to accept.

That's the difference. Everyone else is guessing. I guide you safely.

Link in bio to talk about what this looks like for you.👇

Hi, I'm Sharon Manzuk, I'd like to tell you my story, because it's the whole reason Pukka exists & I want you to know ex...
09/17/2026

Hi, I'm Sharon Manzuk, I'd like to tell you my story, because it's the whole reason Pukka exists & I want you to know exactly who you're trusting with your body.

I was a competitive gymnast before I was anything else. Then a dancer, through high school & college. I was the kind of person who was always moving, always competing, always completely certain that my body would do whatever I asked of it. But like most athletes, I had injuries which inspired me to become a physical therapist after experiencing my own rehab.

In my early forties, my body betrayed me. I was fit, training hard, strong, & disciplined, but my back put me flat on a hard floor for an entire night, unable to move. I recovered that time, so I filed it away as a bad episode. It happened again. And again. And then, three years ago, it did not resolve.

This time I couldn't sit for more than 2 or 3 hours. Sleep became a battle. The pain went chronic. Eventually I needed an epidural just to get over the hump, & for someone who has always believed in the body's ability to heal itself, that felt like a genuine defeat. It took me 3 years to feel like myself again. And getting there meant rebuilding my entire relationship with movement from scratch. I stopped golfing because I was afraid the twisting would set me back. There was real grief in that. It wasn't just physical, it was an identity reckoning. I had built my whole career and reputation on movement, & my body was no longer cooperating.

And here is the lesson that changed everything, and it's the reason I can help you. I learned that strength is not about doing more. It is about doing exactly what your body can do, and nothing more, and discovering that this is enough.

That single lesson is why I built Pukka. It is a safe, expert-led way for people recovering from injury to get back to the life they love, guided by a licensed physical therapist who has been exactly where you are, without pushing you into re-injury & without ever handing you off.

If you have a similar story, let's talk. I'm going to show you why what I do is completely different from anything else you've tried, and then I'll walk you through exactly how we get you results.

https://pukkapilatesandpt.com/new-to-our-studio-register-here/

Joy taught jazzercise for 20 years, then multiple herniated discs, shoulder issues, and both calf muscles torn nearly to...
09/17/2026

Joy taught jazzercise for 20 years, then multiple herniated discs, shoulder issues, and both calf muscles torn nearly took her out of movement completely.

She’s 54 and has been pain-free for 10+ years.

She now teaches Pilates herself, because she believes in the Pukka method that much.

This is what tailored, clinically-informed movement work actually looks like over time.

👇 Ready to stop guessing and get a plan built for YOUR body? Link in bio to book your first session.
Joy McClelland Napolitano

09/08/2026

My real business partners have four legs each.

My rescue beagles spend a lot of time at the studio, usually curled up on a mat while a client works through their session. They don’t care about your form, they just want to be near you, which honestly might be the most therapeutic part of the whole hour.

Soon we’ll be glamping in an Airstream, dogs in tow, working with clients from wherever we happen to be parked. For now, they’re very happy studio greeters.

Dog people, tell me about yours in the comments.👇





09/01/2026

I spent my forties and fifties in chronic back pain.

Every doctor, every physical therapist, every well-meaning friend said the same thing: just rest your back.

So I did.

And I got worse.

Because here’s what no one told me: rest doesn’t heal back pain, it creates fear. And fear creates tension. And tension creates more pain.

The body doesn’t lie. When you stop moving, you lose the very strength and mobility that protect your spine. Your muscles weaken. Your fascia tightens. Your nervous system starts treating normal movement like a threat.

That’s exactly backwards.

What actually works? Intentional, supported movement. Classical Pilates. The kind that rebuilds your foundation from the inside out, not the kind that just checks a box.

Movement-as-medicine isn’t a metaphor. It’s how I got my life back. It’s how I teach now. And it’s how my clients stop living in fear and start moving pain-free.

You don’t need more rest. You need more understanding.

Be honest, does ‘just rest your back’ make you more afraid to move or less? Tell me which and why.

👉Follow for more truth about healing back pain.

Address

9855 Erma Road, Suite 132
San Diego, CA
92131

Opening Hours

Monday 8am - 6:30pm
Tuesday 7am - 6:30pm
Wednesday 7am - 6:30pm
Thursday 8am - 6:30pm
Friday 8am - 3pm
Saturday 7:30am - 11:30am

Telephone

+18582718800

Website

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