When Heather Andersen, the platinum-haired founder of New York Pilates, started studying the method in the mid-2000s, it was still a relatively niche form of bodywork. There was private instruction for those in the know; ballet and modern dancers also used the technique for injury rehab and cross-training, which is how Andersen came to it. (Joseph Pilates, the German émigré who opened his pioneering Manhattan studio in 1926, counted George Balanchine, Martha Graham, and Jerome Robbins as clients.) “It was too expensive for my friends to take privates, so all throughout my 20s they never really figured out that I wasn’t a yoga teacher,” Andersen recalls with a laugh, “because they couldn’t experience what I was doing.”
Fast-forward to the wellness bubble of 2018, and the P-word now rolls off the tongue—along with terms like reformer (the multipurpose apparatus equipped with springs and pulleys) and 100s (the ab-torching exercise that pairs lifted legs with hummingbird-like arm flutters). In New York, where there’s a workout to suit every individual predilection, the Pilates landscape has refracted into a rainbow of options. There are the studios—like Andersen’s latest, a bilevel space on Houston Street soft-opening this week—aiming to democratize the body-toning practice with a suite of classes that elevate the heart rate or stretch out tight muscles. The popular SLT, which incorporates cardio and strength-training elements to grueling effect, is a more distant relative to the old-school method. Then there are the purists, like Amy Nelms, who counts one degree of pedagogic separation (the teacher Romana Kryzanowska) from Pilates himself. She does one-on-one sessions in a new Flatiron aerie, as chronicled on Instagram, where comments include an enthusiastic “Need to get in” (plus heart-eyed emoji) from the model Carolyn Murphy.
Here, a guide to New York’s best Pilates, in five different takes. Call it something for everyone—and every part of the body.
New York Pilates
Heather Andersen launched her Pilates business out of an airy basement-level space in the heart of the Village in 2013. “It was very modest; it was definitely a starting point,” she says, but her plan of action—to lead the kind of athletic, reformer-based Pilates classes that she herself, a former dancer, dreamed of taking—caught on in a city that appreciated her combination of rigorous technique and clean aesthetics. Now, with locations in Soho, on the Bowery, and seasonally in Montauk, she has just given her humble flagship a serious upgrade, relocating it to a sprawling, skylit space a few blocks away. The Houston Street storefront, which soft-opened this week with 14-person classes on the ground level (the basement will follow next month), comes with its own creative history. It was a recording studio for the likes of Bob Dylan; then, the artist couple Arakawa and Madeline Gins took up residence for a stretch. Now, New York Pilates has given it a cathedral-like feel, with whitewashed brick walls, birch flooring, and a trio of soaring arched windows that let in natural light. With programming ranging from Sculpt + Restore to the self-explanatory Abs Arms Ass, the goal is to hit all one’s needs, down to the neoprene-edged NYP leggings that are due later this fall.
Erika Bloom Pilates
In 20 years of teaching, Erika Bloom has acquired something like X-ray vision: an eye for intuiting the subtlest imbalances (say, one hamstring longer than the other), paired with a finely calibrated system for correcting them. Her sunlit flagship—located steps from two Manhattan landmarks, Barneys and Central Park; sister studios stretch from Los Angeles to the Turks and Caicos—quietly hums with private sessions; her team’s certifications often go above and beyond to include postural assessments, osteoporosis protocols, injury prevention, and pre- and postnatal care. (Bloom just so happens to be a trained doula.) The hands-on work doesn’t stop at the muscular level: “We’re talking about fascia, we’re talking about the nervous system, we’re talking about stress responses, we’re talking about diet and inflammation,” says Bloom of her holistic approach. As the city’s Pilates scene seems eager to meld with other fitness modalities, she is keen to keep the focus on the unsung intrinsic muscles around the joints (including ones in the pelvis region that “stabilize everything and make your butt look unbelievable”). For Bloom, who jokes that her “hippie California family” had her meditating since age 2, refining one’s physicality is another way to foster the mind-body connection.
East River Pilates
Kimmy Kellum’s introduction to the Williamsburg Pilates scene had a bright, if informal, start a few years ago: On her rooftop overlooking the East River, she would lead early-morning classes for her friends twice a week. She soon began renting space to accommodate her growing following, and in 2016 she set down roots on South First Street, with a bright, inviting space offering reformer and mat classes. A second location nearby opened the following year, and this weekend comes the third. Located on North 11th Street, this elegant new studio—designed as a complement to, not a replica of, the existing ones—centers on the springboard, a wall-mounted apparatus that enables a freer range of motion (and therefore a “core stability challenge,” she says) than the reformer, with its track-gliding carriage. The contemporary take on Pilates evolves in concert with the wish lists of the regulars. A heart-pumping class, with a HIIT beginning—think burpees and squats—and classical mat Pilates end, is a current favorite; pre- and postnatal offerings also reflect the clients’ changing lives. An added perk: East River counts three Australia-trained physiotherapists on staff—“exceptionally qualified Pilates instructors!” says Kellum—who lend extra expertise in biomechanics and rehabilitation.
Flatiron Pilates by Amy Nelms
A classical Pilates faithful, Amy Nelms has been teaching for more than two decades, building up a roster of private clients—fashion editors, athletes, dancers—the word-of-mouth way. (Case in point: She joined Instagram just this month. “I have a lot of models, and they do it for me,” she says with a laugh.) As a result, she has a well honed means of scanning the body for strengths and weaknesses, which helps her tailor a series of recommended exercises to each individual. “I think I have really good attention to detail—a little OCD in a teacher never hurt anybody!” After working in L.A. earlier in her career, tending to film and TV folk, she later moved back east to help run one of Equinox’s Pilates departments. Since then, she has carved out her quiet, revered corner of the fitness landscape. This month, that means moving into a jewel box of a space in the Flatiron District, with dark wood floors, ivory leather equipment, and views of the Empire State Building (talk about inspiration for taller, straighter posture). The strength in this system is its ability to constantly course-correct, no matter what life throws at us—catwalk-ready heels or neck-stiffening iPhones. “What Pilates does is it keeps your body in balance.”
SLT
This hybrid Pilates-influenced method revolves around the hulking cousin to the reformer, called the Megaformer. If the namesake letters stand for Strengthen Lengthen Tone, be prepared for a post-class reality that might register as Serious Leg Trembles. With elements of cardio and strength-training layered on top of modified Pilates exercises, the 50-minute workouts are designed to take you to the edge and keep you there; maintaining the focus on proper form and on the smaller muscle groups, rather the prime movers, is an additional (and formidable) challenge. Since launching in New York in 2011, the company has expanded to five additional states. This week, its latest studio, SLT/x, moves in the opposite direction: into an under-the-radar space in the Flatiron designed solely for one-on-one (or two) instruction. Along with the intimate setting (ideal for those with injuries), another perk is the flexible timing; appointments can be arranged for 30, 40, 50, or 60 minutes. Breanna Bartley Arrington, a stage performer when she’s not teaching SLT, flexed her dance vocabulary on a recent morning, counseling a client to think adagio—in other words, nice and brutally slow.
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