Pilates is endless. The more I do and learn, the more I realize how much more there is to learn. In a workshop that I didn’t have high expectations for, I learned the late Kathy Grant’s ideas and bold movement style and this exceeded them with A+ honors! I took away so much from the five hour intensive and cannot wait to share the work with you. I will focus on arm balance, inversions, breath, feet and teaching you to use the equipment to find your own body resistance! Did you know that Mat Pilates was only performed if equipment was not available to practice at home or do 5-10mins in the studio if there wasnt a free machine!
See you in class!
Gratefully,
Gail

Gail, owner of Mind Your Body Pilates,  demonstrates a well-rounded Pilates workout that you can practice wherever your summer takes you!

Stars have been doing Pilates for years now, which is in agreement with my beliefs that Pilates became trendy but it is not a trend.  Stars such as Kate Winslet, Pippa Middleton, and Jennifer Aniston give Pilates credit for their slim and toned physiques!  Pilates works to lengthen muscles and improve posture (which results in the most efficient use of a muscle) almost immediately, but doing Pilates over time is where one can really see dramatic change. Pilates has plateaus but there always is room to go deeper, redefine and learn more. Look at these hot bodies as a result of Pilates! They truly seem to have the Pilates body.

Mind Your Body’s Unlimited Pilates Class Special has been a big hit at the studio this month. We’ve sold more than 20 packages last month and over 10 this month!  Our clients love the discounted group Pilates apparatus classes.  One of our enthusiastic students said she was coming in to Mind Your Body for a Pilates class every day this month.  That’s a resolution we can stand behind!

The Unlimited Pilates equipment class package  was the idea of  Mind Your Body studio owner, Gail Giovanniello, after listening to a disgruntled client on “a la carte’ pricing.  Gail decided, why not?  The Pilates method is intended to be practiced everyday. Since the birth of New York Pilates at Drago’s gym, Pilates lessons have been offered privately and semi-privately (meaning a few other people) whom all knew their own workout and everyone could do their series of equipment exercises on their own, despite a few comments and corrections from the instructor. Pilates group Reformer and Tower classes is a fairly new concept to the New York City Pilates community. By now, many know of the great deal at Mind Your Body Pilates & GYROTONIC;  only five students to a group Pilates class!  This setup is nearly like the semi-private from back in the ’50′s at Drago’s Gym, except each person is following a skilled instructor to the rhythm of great direction and music!

So, unlimited group Pilates Reformer classes for $240.00?   People are praising Mind Your Body Pilates & GYROTONIC. (It also includes the GYROKINESIS class on the schedule)

“It is a generous gift from Gail! The unlimited Reformer class package is bringing me to my goal of three Pilates classes weekly!”  ~elizabeth r

“Wow! Now I can afford to do the Pilates Class Marathon I intended to begin the year with.”   ~meghan n

“Really?  That’s great! I love you.”  ~scott b

“Thank you, thank you, thank you….”  ~karen s

The Unlimited Pilates Package activates on the first scheduled class after purchase and is good for 30 consecutive days.

At only $240, it’s the best Pilates group class deal on the Upper East Side!

Snowbird, Utah

“My Pilates work (as a student) gives me a great edge on fine tuning my skills as a skier. Skiing takes physical effort, control and strength. My quads burn but I am able to ski from morning until closing, five days in a row without being completely spent. My arms are strong enough to pull my way through the flats and the lateral muscles of my legs assist as I  skate my way to the next lift. Opposite of an oblique twist,  my upper body stabilizes face down the mountain while my pelvis and legs twist side to side to form gentle “S” curves down the slope. The coordination and stability of Pilates helps me keep the separation between my lower ribs and pelvic crests. The steeper hills are accomplished with control and precision. Unlike the Kamikazes of today, I ski with control, skill and form. Sound familiar? These are exact words I would use to instruct a Pilates lesson, though I will still begin a steeper peak with an occasional snow-plow

I hope you will also find the correlation between Pilates and skiing and keep up your strength work both on and off season. Happy skiing t0 those who enjoy the sport as much as I do!”

Share YOUR ski stories here.  Mind Your Body shares the love of skiing with many of you and we want to hear about your experiences….

Everyone knows September means one thing – back to school. Here at Mind Your Body Pilates & GYROTONIC®, we’re eager to share our classes with you.  All of our New York Pilates classes are semi-private. Only 5 people maximum can register for any class on our schedule. The instructors at Mind Your Body Pilates & GYROTONIC® give individualized attention to every person in class. Whether you decide to take a private NY Pilates session, or pop in for a class, you can be sure that your needs will be attended to.

At Mind Your Body Pilates & GYROTONIC® you can find classes in both Reformer and Tower/Mat at a variety of levels. To find the right class for you, view our NY Pilates class schedule here.

Reformer (pictured above) is the most familiar equipment used to enhance Pilates work. The moving carriage allows strength work at many different levels of resistance. You will develop muscular power with corresponding endurance. Some exercises are performed lying down, providing a base of support for the spine.

Tower/Mat (pictured above) is often considered the Cadillac of all equipment. This Pilates apparatus will have you sitting, lying, kneeling and standing! It permits many lengthening exercises designed to restore the spine to its normal birth position.

Mind Your Body Pilates & GYROTONIC® also offers GYROKINESIS® classes. GYROKINESIS® involves various spinal motions done while sitting on a stool. These move out into the hips and legs in all directions. Kneeling and standing exercises can be added and in the more advanced levels, endurance is added by adding continuous movement from one set to the next and adding repetition. A GYROKINESIS® class is usually a preparation for more strenuous activities.

Will you come back to NY Pilates class? Mind Your Body Pilates & GYROTONIC® offers great class packages and the personal care cannot be beat at any other studio on the Upper East Side. Come in for your semi-private NYC Pilates class today!

While the utilization of props (balls, fitness circle, straps, blocks), can easily add a strength challenge to any mat exercise, can props improve flexibility and decrease tension as well? How about change your alignment and enable the core muscles to work more effectively and specifically? Can using a prop inhibit improper biomechanics? Can it reduce the chronic tightness in our hips and shoulders?

The answer to the above questions are YES. Using props in a Pilates mat class can work wonders for increasing flexibility and correcting improper biomechanics.

For example, a small ball between the knees engages the adductors and helps to stabilize the pelvis and engage the core. A yoga strap is a tool for deeper stretching, a theraball challenges balance and stability and a yoga block may be used to open the joints and is used as a stability tool when placed under the pelvis. The props PROP your bones up so you can feel the origin of the muscle, using a muscles full length when extending! It may sound Greek but it is easier performed than stated. We hope you will come to experience it yourself, as we believe it will literally CHANGE YOUR LIFE.

We do it all at Mind Your Body, and each class has something different to offer and is always a challenge. One can start with our Basic Tower/Mat class on Monday’s at 4:30 PM. For a full class schedule, please visit https://clients.mindbodyonline.com/asp/home.asp?studioid=3187.

Dear Friends:

The PMA would like to make it known to the international Pilates community that our First Generation Pilates Teacher, Kathleen Stanford Grant, is home bound and in poor health.

We know how much she would appreciate hearing from her former students, admirers, friends and all well wishers. Now would be the ideal moment to thank her once again for her contributions and care.

If you would like to send a card wishing her peace, comfort and good health, please write to:

Kathleen Stanford Grant
135 Eastern Parkway, Apt. 14i
Brooklyn, NY 11238
USA

Sincerely,

Elizabeth Anderson
Executive Directo

Renowned choreographer David Parsons, artistic director of NYC dance company Parsons Dance, returns to the Joyce Theater to present his evening length work “Remember Me,” a fiery, athletic, heart-wrenching rock opera featuring live vocals from the East Village Opera Company. After nearly a three week run, the show ends TONIGHT 2/21 at 7:30 PM. For those who are unfamiliar with Parsons’ work, imagine a product both graceful and sharp, technical and artistic, innovative and classic. Parsons’ ability to reinvent an age-old story (two men in love with the same woman) proves his presence in the dance world is ever lasting. The dancers themselves are gems, highly trained and committed to their art. Night after night live music, bold lighting and video projection captivate the audience. This is not just a dance show, this is an experience. Tickets are still available, no less! Visit www.joyce.org or call the box office at 212-242-0800. If you would like to donate to Parsons Dance and help Parsons himself create a brand new work, please e-mail inquiries to info@parsonsdance.org.

Additionally, did you know that NYC Pilates studio, Mind Your Body, has in its instructor roster the very talented Melissa Ullom, the most recent addition to the Parsons Dance ensemble? David Parsons, an avid Pilates class fan (and a fan of Mind Your Body on the Upper East Side), has been known to practice Pilates with the best, and Melissa certainly is an asset to Mind Your Body! Pilates keeps the body strong and able to perform night after night after night! After watching “Remember Me,” I trust you will feel inspired to achieve those fitness goals!

Parsons Dance in collaboration with the East Village Opera Company

As you may already know, I am an outdoor cyclist and take spin classes in the colder months, which we are in. With the Pilates classes and GYROTONIC classes I take regularly combined with the 100 mile rides in warmer months, the cycling classes have gotten much easier! I breezed through Saturday’s class and those of you who spin, know that the spin classes are NO JOKE! I don’t want to put anyone in a negative light but I wanted to scream out, “DO MORE PILATES. FIND YOUR CORE!” I always give much credit to anyone for taking a job, riding, power walking or taking a simple stroll on the treadmill so I was happy to see so many people exercising in this group class. But I also wanted to shout, “CROSS TRAIN”. People were unsteady on the bikes, rocking their bodies and that comes down to exerting too much effort. Where is the control? Pilates classes are a great way to cross train one’s body. Pilates exercises will lengthen the spine, allow one to use the core, stand tall, move freely, balance on the ground or on a pedal and most importantly, MOVE FROM THE CENTER OF THE BODY, THE CORE. Check out our classes! Do it today. The most common statement I hear is, “I wish I had started Pilates classes ten years ago!” Yeah, it is one more thing but it is worth leaving the office early or getting out of bed on the weekends. I see and experience so many happy people at Mind Your Body, as it is a treat for the mind and the body.
Yours truly, Gail Giovanniello

I can’t say it any other way. Pilates is about focussed, fluid exercises designed with an intelligent order that keeps you limber and strong from the inside and out!!
Please check this article out from the PMA. And tell me how Pilates makes you feel? What has changed in your body, mind or spirit? How about your gait? Posture?
And for those who have had a negative experience or think it was not a workout, contact me. I would like to change that…. Not everyone LOVES Pilates but if you were turned off by your experience, I know that I can turn it around. Pilates is just too good to get a bad rap!

Sure, one should continue to do cardiovascular workouts such as spinning, outdoor cycling, kick boxing, running, indoor equipment, but Pilates is a must for spinal health, breath control, flexibility, balance and an all around sense of well-being. ok…..check the article. Look at Joeseph Pilates in these photos. He is in his late 60′s here…..Tell me what you think. xo gail certified PMA Pilates instructor