Her work: Owner of the Comb Goddess Workshop, a hair salon and pilates studio on Signal Mountain. “I’ve been a hair stylist for 12 years and a pilates instructor for more than a year, and I wanted to find something that would allow me to do both under the same roof. We opened Jan. 9, and business has been great.” Information about classes and services is available at 423-886-7500.

What is pilates? “Contrology, it was originally called. The main focus is strengthening the core. It increases flexibility, makes muscles leaner, and can help posture. A lot of people say they feel taller after doing pilates.” The exercises were developed by Joseph Pilates, a German nurse and former boxer who “wanted to create exercises that bedridden soldiers could do. He used the springs on their hospital bed to do it, and when influenza took out a large portion of the hospital, nobody he was taking care of died.” Pilates’ system of exercises was introduced to American in the 1920s.

What took so long for it to catch on? “It’s hard to teach, and for a really long time, it was hard to even explain what it is. A lot of people leave overwhelmed after they take a class for the first time because they’re tuning in to muscles they’ve never used before. Teaching people how to find and use those muscles can be difficult.” Sydney has taken pilates for five years and became an instructor after a year’s apprenticeship through the PhysicalMed Institute while living in Steamboat Springs, Col.

Where is Steamboat Springs? “ Northwest Colorado. The population is about 10,000 people, but it’s a ski town, so it swells to 30,000 when the tourists are there. A native of Memphis, she, husband (a computer technology teacher at Chattanooga Middle School), and their two-year-old daughter moved to North Chattanooga last year to be with family.

Why they like Chattanooga: “It’s a very pretty city, and we really like it that there’s a lot of outdoor activity, like mountain biking – which I don’t do, but my husband does – and hiking. It seems like there’s a lot getting ready to happen here.”

On music: “Sublime is my favorite band. I like hip hop, old country music, and rockabilly. My husband played one-string bass in a rockabilly band in Colorado. There’s a good local music scene, and I think it’s just a matter of time before he meets the right people here, and he’s going to have to take me dancing one of these nights. We like to two-step.”

The people she admires most: “My parents. They’ve always been supportive of me. They’re still happily married after all these years. They have fun, they laugh, and they’re amazing with my daughter. They’ve really worked hard to have what they do now.”

The best advice she ever received: “Don’t be afraid to take a risk or make a change.”

Sydney Craig style: “T-shirt and jeans on a daily basis, although I like evening gowns too.”

On the name of her studio: “Egyptian and Roman cultures had comb goddesses, symbolizing the strength of women and women’s hair. But I have a lot of men who come here and do pilates too.”