Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Time to Get Trim: Instructor Elizabeth Cassidy demonstrates the pelvic clock exercise.
Pilates classes available at new Park Avenue studio
Exciting new gym trend for those who think step, tai chi and tae bo are so five minutes ago
By Michele Leung
For those who feel that step aerobics, tai chi and tae bo are already passé, Renee Satterfield has a new item on the menu. She hopes that Pilates classes at her new business, ReFormation Studio, will satisfy the fickle exercise palate.
ReFormation Studio, which opened its doors on April 15, offers both yoga and Pilates (puh-LAH-teez) classes, but Satterfield says she has been fielding a lot more calls about the latter. Pilates was once the secret of New York dancers and Hollywood actors. However, the everyday San Jose crowd will also have their taste of it, thanks to Satterfield.
This form of exercise was developed by German fitness guru Joseph Pilates during the 1920s. As a nurse treating immobilized patients during World War I, he devised his own style of body conditioning with specialized apparatus, which is the basis of the discipline today. Pilates is an exercise routine that centers on breathing and works on muscles without bulking them up. "As opposed to weight lifting, where you can lift the weights, but can you hold it?" says Satterfield. "This was made for dancers. A ballet dancer's strength is in her muscles which hold her up."
The 3,500-square-foot studio is in an airy room. Orange walls, candles and the sound of running water make it conducive to relaxation. In one corner of the studio stand the Pilates machines, which the inexperienced may mistake for medieval torture devices. However, Satterfield assures us that they are painless. She shows off the Clinical Reformer, a wooden frame with a mat that smoothly glides back and forth with springs that provide resistance. Then there's the Cadillac, also called the Trapeze Table, with springs suspended from poles.
Satterfield, a Willow Glen resident for 15 years, says she didn't open the studio simply because pilates is the exercise trend du jour. In fact, she didn't know that the public was even aware of it yet. "I have always been forward thinking," she says.
The studio advertises yoga and pilates classes. Satterfield expected that the latter would take some time to build a clientele, but she has had to turn students away because her introductory classes are already filled up. "I thought it would take three to six months for the pilates classes to get full," she says. "But I found people have their own yoga studios and yoga masters. So we will get the new people who are just getting into yoga."
Satterfield says ReFormation Studio's unique feature is the individual attention. Each class is limited to 15 students. In addition, she claims that her business will be the only studio providing intermediate and advanced Pilates class in the South Bay.
Kim McPherson of San Jose, a student who arrived early for her very first Pilates course, attests to the limited venues at which pilates is taught. A card-carrying member of Gold's Gym and Nautilus who has taken physical education classes at San Jose City College, McPherson learned about pilates through reading and word of mouth. She jumped at the chance to take a six-week course through ReFormation Studio. "This is truly unique. I have not seen this anywhere else," she says.
Photograph by Skye Dunlap
On the Mat: Students go through their paces in Pilates exercise class.
Elizabeth Cassidy, who has been involved with Pilates for two years and is now a certified instructor, swears by this discipline. As a runner, water skier and martial artist, Cassidy says Pilates has helped her athletic abilities by "maximizing her efficiency and minimizing her stress."
For Cassidy, body awareness and correct posture are key. "When I go running, I can tell which organs are hanging out," she said. According to her, stress to the body comes from improper alignment of the spine and pelvis, which can cause shoulder and back pains and bowlegs.
Satterfield personally hasn't had too much experience with either form of exercise, but she will learn and relax at ReFormation Studio. The studio was borne out of her need to find a balance in her life. "I'm a wife, a mother and a business owner. I run, did weight lifting, and pounded my body to death," she says.
After doing some reading on how to strengthen her muscles and maintain flexibility, she discovered yoga and Pilates. "So I decided to open a studio," she says.
Just like that, ReFormation Studio was born. At the rate Satterfield goes through life, her studio will be put to good use for herself. Some business entrepreneurs mull over an idea for years, but Satterfield pounced on her idea after just four weeks of brewing. Her lease began on April 1; the studio had its grand opening two weeks later. "If I get an idea, I make it work," she says. "I found the space, and I went for it."
Satterfield has a lot to keep her busy these days, as she is splitting her time with other business ventures. When she's not perfecting her moves on the Cadillac, she runs her main business, the Linen Express linen shop, just three doors down on Park Avenue from the ReFormation Studio. She also puts together wedding fairs at the Santa Clara Convention Center. She admits that this arrangement wouldn't work if the studio were anywhere else.
"I'm always springing out ideas and working on a lot of projects," she says. "Some people are acclimated to the day-to-day routine, but I can't work unless I'm motivated."
Besides the exercise classes, nutrition and NIA courses are also in the offing. NIA, short for neuromuscular integrated action, is a combination of yoga, tai chi and dance. "Its a good workout, a lot of free movement, and you work up quite a sweat," Satterfield promises.
Being a proud Willow Glen local, Satterfield is looking for her brain child to mirror her community's neighborhood feel. She hopes to attract young career girls, professional women and seniors. She aims to cater to anyone looking for a place to unwind, just as she was. "It's not just groceries, the dog and the husband," she says. "You need to do personal things. I wanted to meet a community of women."
ReFormation Yoga and Pilates Studio is located at 1040 Park Ave. at Lincoln Avenue. For more information, call 993.YOGA.
Willow Glen, California Since 1992
