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| - I stumbled upon The Pilates Barre a few weeks after it's grand opening this January and could not be more happy that I did. As a former collegiate athlete and certified personal trainer, I've been been active in many forms of exercise for years, including strength training, yoga, various barre classes, and competitive mountain biking, but it wasn't until rehabbing from a bike injury a few years ago that I was introduced to equipment Pilates. Pilates allowed me to not only increase my total body strength in a low-impact way (I've also had two hip surgeries so really appreciate the value of this), but also gain overall body awareness, which has even included improved breathing mechanics (learning to actually breath into all of my ribs, which helped to alleviate neck tension that was contributing to chronic headaches).
But when it came time to find a studio with group classes that I could make part of my weekly routine, I quickly learned that not all Pilates is created equal. Many of the studios and teachers I tried here in PHX did little more than take you from one movement to the next and help to count repetitions. Even the "high intensity" pilates classes I tried, although sweat-inducing, lacked the deeper mind-body connection and precise, methodical movement progressions that I craved.
And then.... I found The Pilates Barre! Jamie is a fantastic teacher. She is focused on technique more than any one I've ever taken a class from, but does so in a fun and creative way. In the first week of class with her, I had learned at least 5-10 new exercises (despite having done reformer and tower classes 3-5x/week for the past year at a different studio!) and with one simple new verbal cue from Jamie, started feeling one of the most fundamental pilates movements in an entirely new and challenging way. I still have some restrictions on my movement from my upper cervical injury, but she's helped me to modify any exercise that I need to in order to make it safe but still effective.
I also love that that's she's incorporated some components of barre methods in her teaching. I've tried a LOT of barre classes over the years (Bar Method, Pure Barre, the Dailey Method, Barre 3, Karve). Even though I never felt like I was getting the most efficient one hour workout, I loved certain barre exercises, particularly those ones focused on glutes/legs, which are the exact ones that Jamie incorporates into her barre fusion classes. Aside from helping to shape/lift your butt (which is enough reason on its own), these tiny focused movements have been a game changer for reducing my hip pain/tightness and help make me more powerful that ever on my mountain bike.
I would encourage anyone to give these classes a try, not matter how experienced or inexperienced you are. You can start at any level, and the more classes you take, the more challenging it gets and the more benefit you derive. A long winded review, but that's how strongly I feel about The Pilates Barre!
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