UK Edition
Who is Heather Dorak, Meghan’s close friend and Pilates teacher?
The Duchess of Sussex was spotted greeting her close friend, confidante and Pilates teacher Heather Dorak at Victoria International Airport on Thursday.
It’s thought that the pair, who reunited with hugs and smiles before setting off, are set to enjoy a girl’s weekend at the £10.7million mansion on Vancouver Island where Meghan and 8-month-old Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor have been based since Thanksgiving (barring a short trip back to the UK earlier this month).
So, just who is the body coach, who is believed to have become close to Meghan when the Duchess was living in LA, and who is rumoured to have been involved in organising her secret hen do? And what can we Brits learn from the wellness guru?
Dorak was a regular contributor to The Tig, Meghan's (now-defunct) lifestyle site, and featured regularly on the Duchess’s personal Instagram account, before it was closed when her relationship with Prince Harry became more serious.
The pair have been pictured enjoying Pilates sequences on the beach, attempting core-strengthening Pilates plank poses in panama hats and swimwear, and trying out playful partner Pilates sequences with their feet together as they motivate each other to complete abdominal muscle-building roll-up moves.
In the past, Meghan has described Dorak's workouts as “hands down the best thing you can do for your body”.
Dorak, who was a guest at the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018 – accompanied by her husband Matt Cohen – runs Pilates Platinum studios with her sister Sarah Dorak. The pair offer private training to “target the areas of your body you most want to improve,” and have branches in California and Texas.
The Duchess first attended Dorak’s 55-minute classes – which incorporate terrifying-looking “Megareformer” Pilates machines – when she starred in Suits.
Billed as an “inventive and aggressive” approach to full-body fat burning and conditioning, Dorak’s own Instagram account – in which she shares snaps of her toned, lean, ultra-flexible figure – are testament to the efficacy of her methods.
Dorak herself came to Pilates as a dancer, and fell for the conditioning exercises, masterminded by Joseph Pilates, following an injury. Her profile page for Lyfe Fuel, a superfood supplement for which she is an ambassador, states that the pressure she had previously felt to look and perform to certain standards as a dancer left her with a “dark secretive unhealthy eating disorder”.
She says Pilates has helped her to shift towards a healthy mind: “It is those struggles that make her stronger and empower her to spread her experience to others,” the page states.
“There are so many workouts that you try out once and never go back to; Heather's studio is the complete opposite,” Meghan once said to Women’s Health magazine. “You keep coming back for several reasons: first off, your body changes immediately... give it two classes and you will see a difference; second, Heather is amazing as an instructor, as a friend, she is inspiring in every way. Lastly, the people in class are cool, unpretentious, and motivating.”
Dorak opened her first studio in Hollywood in 2006, and has since opened six more studios in locations including Venice Beach, Santa Monica and San Antonio in Texas, where she grew up. Her blog posts cover topics such as “8 secrets to boost your metabolism”, “how Pilates can help your brain” and “how to keep those “New You” resolutions”.
A single class in a Los Angeles studio is $30, and other options include a “Shed to Wed” package at $205 per month, for four sessions per week for four weeks.
Dorak is a mother to two boys, Noah and Cody. She and Meghan were pregnant at the same time in late 2018; Dorak continued to work out throughout her pregnancy, sharing her adapted routine on Instagram. At 17 weeks she told her followers she was “lunging” her way into the weekend; at 33 weeks, she shared tips for moderating a plank during pregnancy by keeping her feet further apart.
But her regime isn't entirely punitive, and like Meghan, who named her blog after her favourite red wine Tignanello, Dorak is also partial to a glass of wine, as well as a green juice.
"Everything in moderation and enjoying every sip," she posted in one snap of herself enjoying a glass of red in a set of matching white pyjamas.