Stretching out
The word “Pilates” conjures images of Hollywood-types in their pricey athletic-wear, sipping bottled-water; however, Pilates of Central Arkansas is debunking that myth by offering classes in a relaxed atmosphere in downtown Conway.
Pilates of Central Arkansas is owned by Elizabeth Grant, a Registered Nurse who lives in Greenbrier and who remains employed by Baptist Health as a part-time clinical instructor. She states that “between Pilates and Baptist, I work six days a week!”
A 22-year nursing veteran, Elizabeth injured herself while lifting an intensive care patient years ago. She subsequently went through three surgeries and missed almost a year of work dealing with the surgeries and their recoveries. “I was dealing with chronic pain and still trying to perform the day-to-day duties of a nurse. Nursing is a very physical job,” she says. During this time, she saw an advertisement for a ten-session Pilates mat class and thought, “I am going to try that,” so she did. “Those ten sessions were amazing, but then they were over! It helped with my pain so much, and there was such a huge difference in how I felt. I knew I wanted to learn more.”
Elizabeth contacted the instructor, Ed Cantrell, a now 77-year-old Conway resident who still teaches Pilates, and set up semi-private lessons. “I attended Pilates lessons with him faithfully, twice a week, for about a year and a half,” she says. “It is amazing what one can do on Pilates reformers,” she says. Toward the end of this personal training time, Elizabeth realized she wanted to pass along to others what Ed had taught her through Pilates.
In 2007, she enrolled in mat certification and reformer training at Personal Best Pilates Studio in Kansas City. The certification required 178 hours, and it was after this training that she opened Pilates of Central Arkansas in November 2007. Wanting to be certified to teach Pilates on the cadillac, tower, chair, and barrel, she enrolled in a Balance Body University certification program along with current co-instructor, Terry Hearn. This program was hosted at Pilates Unlimited in Dallas, Texas, under the instruction of Karen Sanzo and took over eight months. In all, Elizabeth has logged over 500 hours to complete her certifications. The Balanced Body certification is universal and is incredibly thorough. “I feel as though Pilates is almost an extension of me as a nurse in that they are both very holistic and deal with ones health and overall wellness. I get to encourage one to stay healthy and to take care of their body,” says Elizabeth.
Pilates of Central Arkansas has two teachers in addition to Elizabeth, Terry Hearn and Marie Gardener, who are also Balanced Body certified instructors. “Pilates is for anyone, any age, any fitness level. Anyone can do some form of Pilates.” states Elizabeth. She also advises clients with specific body or health issues to consider one-on-one training, which allows for more personalized and focused work. The therapeutic results are worth the investment.
“It is neat to hear the stories of how much this has helped people. One client came in on a Monday morning bragging about keeping grand babies over the weekend and holding one baby in one arm and pushing a stroller with another baby and stating ‘I couldn’t do that before Pilates.’” It is this end result that drives the trainers at Pilates of Central Arkansas, and that retains their clients. According to client Helen Clawson, “Since having my first child ten months ago, Pilates has given me a stress outlet, a greater sense of well-being, and a stronger body to get through each day.”
Pilates of Central Arkansas offers both mat and equipment classes and caters to the needs and schedules of its clients. Some people start on the mats while others start on the equipment, which include the universal reformer, tower, step barrel, and Pilates chair.
At its core, Pilates is an exercise system that strengthens the muscles, increases flexibility, and improves overall health. Despite its recent popularity and resurgence, Pilates was actually created in the early 20th century. Elizabeth’s Balanced Body instructor states, “Pilates is passion - passion to learn about movement and think about movement from a new perspective. This new perspective, in part, deals with the idea that when something is moving, something else must stay stable. Simple, maybe, but not easy. It takes mental focus to make this happen, and just like other activities that take practice, so does Pilates.” This method of movement lends itself to the healing qualities of Pilates.
Pilates of Central Arkansas not only caters to those who have physical problems and need strengthening and body toning, they also focus on those who need to improve flexibility and core strengthening for other forms of exercise. Pilates can enhance any athlete’s performance, whether it is football, basketball, swimming, or running. It is also known for improving ones golf game. Client Holly Van Dyke says, “I’ve seen better results in my arms doing Pilates than any other form of exercise.” Pilates especially assists runners by working on posture improvement while providing strength training for a full-body workout.
Asked about the long-term goals for the studio, Elizabeth says she would like to add more machinery, specifically additional towers and chairs and possibly another reformer or two. Despite this, she wants to remain conscious of class size, saying, “I like a small class. I can watch everyone and correct their posture and form as needed.” In addition to possible equipment purchases, Elizabeth wants to get the word out about the classes and benefits of Pilates.
As far as the classes, Pilates of Central Arkansas can create classes of up to four students at a time on the reformers. She has several set time slots, but there are openings for additional classes and a few classes that are not currently at capacity. The reformer classes are a great way for a group of four friends or colleagues to exercise simultaneously. Mat classes are also conducted Mondays and Fridays at noon and Tuesdays and Thursdays at 6:00 p.m., and there is no limit to the number of participants in these classes. In addition, personal training sessions are available by appointment, and the studio is open Monday through Saturday.
Elizabeth shares another mantra from her Balanced Body instructor: “Taking time to learn and understand Pilates fundamentals can expedite your Pilates learning curve. Think of it as building a firm foundation. A house without a good foundation can crack, crumble and collapse; the same could happen to the body. In the body, this can manifest itself as back pain. The body will substitute various muscles when it can’t figure out ideal muscles to use. This is referred to as muscle imbalance. In some cases, its muscles overworking, while in others it is muscles not working to their full capacity. Pilates of Central Arkansas can help build your foundation; just give us a call!”
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