Integral Pilates

Superb. I’m rebuilding my strength post serious illness. Rachel is extremely attentive, skilled and knowledgable. She is very careful to prescribe exercises that are right for me and my pace. Each visit she gently moves me ahead with new challenges that I can handle. I appreciate that she is also trained in the Alexander Technique as body alignment is an area of focus for me. She clearly explains the technique for each exercise and carefully observes me to make sure I am doing them right. She makes excellent little stick figure drawings with instructions that help me remember my program. Rachel is also a lovely, kind, delightful person. If you speak with her, don’t let her little girl voice fool you — she is a real pro and really knows what she is doing.

The studio is very conveniently located, and the space is really pleasant with great equipment. Rachel is an amazing teacher– patient and innovative, and she works with me at my level while challenging me just the right amount. She explains things very clearly and is a supportive teacher who gets results.

Great post-​partum exercise sessions (with my 2-​month-​old baby)!
After two kids, I’m out-​of-​shape, overweight, and have abs of jello — so I arranged 6 private sessions with Rachel, where I bring my baby. The first session, per my request, she helped build me a core-​strengthening routine that I can do on my own when I have a few minutes (without any special equipment). I just finished my 2^nd lesson — using the «reformer» pilates machine — to do more specific exercises, and it felt great.
I really like Rachel’s hands-​on approach. She physically lays-​on hands to guide me through an exercise; to show how I’m using more/​different muscles than I should be; and to physically hold one part of my body still so I can work specifically on another part. This is terrific for me since I don’t have great body awareness — and in large yoga classes I never know if I’m doing things correctly. I’ve heard Rachel’s also good with more advanced folks & dancers, but I can only speak to her abilities with novices like me.
How did it work with the baby? Today, my 2mo old needed to nurse right on arrival. While I fed him, Rachel used her Alexander Technique training to work with my posture, and by placing her hands on my head, neck, shoulders and back (while I was nursing), she was able to improve my posture to a more lengthened, upright, and comfortable position — without any conscious effort on my part. Next, while I changed his diaper, Rachel pointed out how the disorganized and flexible movements of an infant differ from adult’s organized but more limited motion — so I didn’t even feel that this was wasted time. Then, my babe watched us for a while, but when he wanted attention, Rachel held and bounced him while I continued with my exercises. When she needed to demonstrate something, we would pass the babe back and forth — worked great.
How does this compare to a «mama and baby yoga» class? I like those too, but didn’t feel like I was getting the needed attention to properly strengthen my core muscles & pelvic floor. I think of these private lessons as an investment.