Strengthen, Lengthen & Heal with Pilates. Yes, it's for you.
Pilates is truly for EVERY body. If you're recovering from a serious injury, or you're an athlete at the top of your game, Pilates will profoundly enhance your strength while bringing greater balance to your body. At Studio 8 we offer expert instruction on the best equipment in a boutique setting. Come visit!
What is Pilates?
Pilates is an innovative system of mind-body exercise evolved from the principles of Joseph Pilates.
Pilates dramatically transforms the way your body looks, feels and performs. It builds strength without excess bulk, creating a sleek, toned body with slender thighs and a toned abdomen. It teaches body awareness, good posture and easy, graceful movement. Pilates improves flexibility, agility and economy of motion. It can even help alleviate back pain. Professional dancers have known the benefits of Pilates for decades. Top athletes use it for strength, flexibility, and injury prevention. Hollywood celebrities and supermodels use it to maintain beautiful physiques.
Pilates is an excellent way to rehabilitate injuries and conditions including; back pain, all kinds of disc dysfunction, neck issues, knee injuries, knee instability and pain, hip injuries, hip replacements, ankle instability, frozen shoulder, shoulder impingement, rotator cuff issues, scoliosis, kyphosis, lordosis, SI joint problems, RSI, osteoarthritis, osteoporosis and more!
What Are the Benefits of Pilates?
Builds strength without "bulking up" - gain long, lean muscles and flexibility
Develops a strong core - toned abdominals and a strong back
Creates an evenly conditioned body
Learn efficient patterns of motion
Increased bone density
Improves posture and spinal alignment
Injury prevention and rehabilitation
Who is Pilates For?
Pilates for Athletes
Pilates is an integral part of many athletic programs for cross training purposes. Why is that? Athletes put a lot of stress on their bodies by repetitively tightening and shortening muscles which often leads to dysfunction and pain in hips, knees, low back, and feet. Pilates lengthens and strengthens all muscle groups, especially those used repeatedly in sports. Mobility in the body is key for healthy athletic performance & function and Pilates is an integral tool for athletes.
Nothing like finding an instructor who is passionate and knowledgeable about the human body and health conditions! Christine has been amazing in helping me bring my post-pregnancy/marathon body back in shape. Whether in private sessions or group classes, I always feel her commitment to helping me achieve my personal goals. As an athlete and a healthcare professional, I would recommend Christine to anyone.
- Nina H, Marathon Junkie, Movement Specialist and Mother of 3PILATES FOR PREGNANT & POSTPARTUM WOMEN
Pilates is a safe and effective exercise program for women throughout their pregnancy and quickly after the delivery of baby. We have trained women until hours before childbirth! Focusing on lengthening and strengthening muscles does not have to stop during a pregnancy. Pilates can be very gentle or more advanced for the seasoned Pilates student.
Keeping the pelvic floor muscles strong and breathing deeply are both invaluable during pregnancy. In our experience, women who do Pilates during their pregnancy feel better (no back pain!), deliver faster, and experience a faster recovery. Many of our students are back in the studio a few weeks after the baby arrives.
I was a free weights-devoted fortysomething when I walked into Chris's studio, looking to add a little core strength and flexibility. Chris patiently walked me through various core-building exercises, showing me at every step how fitness was supposed to feel. Turns out, I didn't really know. With specific instruction and useful visualization, she revealed a depth to my muscles and connections between them I was not aware existed. Seven years of two classes and one private per week later, it's become part of my daily life, from posture and balance to getting out of a chair or carrying groceries to running and swimming. Now that I know how it's all supposed to feel, I can't help feeling it. And it feels wonderful (and I look pretty damn good, too).
- Clint P, Writer, Investor and Father of TeenagersPILATES FOR INJURIES, SCOLIOSIS
Many Pilates instructors began Pilates from a place of injury. Because Pilates is a slow, carefully controlled form of building strength and flexibility, it is perfectly designed for the injured body, and many of us are living with these issues. Pilates works to build symmetry, something that can be a challenge in all bodies but is particularly noticeable in a person with scoliosis or an injury. Pilates can help relieve pain and rebuild the body from the inside out. We have see great success with clients with bulging discs, fused discs, other spinal surgeries, spondylosis, arthritis, scoliosis (minor to major C and S curvatures), chronic fatigue, knee replacement, hip replacement, frozen shoulder, rotator cuff and many other rehabilitative situations. Most medical and physical therapists recommend Pilates as a rehab protocol.
PILATES FOR SENIORS & DESK JOCKIES
Movement is such an amazing and necessary part of life. As we age, things get sticky, tighter, crunchy. Our ability to balance declines. Our society sits, a lot. If we don't have flexibility combined with a strength, things are going to hurt. Pilates is all about flexibility while working on balance and strength. Those concepts are synthesized in every session we teach. My favorite quotes from some senior clients: ‘I can tie my shoes again!’, ‘I was able to balance on one foot and apply lotion to my other leg!’, ‘I felt amazing that I could dance at my daughter’s wedding all night long!’ It's never to late to try something new, especially when that novelty can deliver freedom.
Meshelle discovered Pilates 12 years ago and originally used it as a means to cross-train and improve her sports performance. Pilates training has helped Meshelle develop a strong, stable core needed to continually meet her athletic goals, including running a sub 3 hour marathon in 2011. Her dedicated practice has allowed her to remain injury-free and become more flexible. Pilates also helped her get back into shape quickly after the delivery of her two daughters. Away from the studio, you can find Meshelle running road races or chasing her two daughters around the neighborhood.
- Meshelle R, Elite Runner and Mother of 2