Traditional Pilates studio moves to Brecksville

by Stacia Naoum

COREdination Pilates, a traditional Pilates studio that offers a full range of programs and caters to all ability levels, including rehabilitative programs for clients with limitations and programs for athletes of all ages, moved from Richfield to 8914 Brecksville Rd. in Brecksville last October.

The studio offers group reformer classes and group chair classes, as well as semi-private and private sessions, where clients use all the main pieces of classical Pilates apparatus: the reformer, chair, trap table, spine corrector and ladder barrel, said Amanda Martin, studio owner and director.

Martin is a third-generation Pilates instructor. She studied and trained with Michele Larsson, who worked with Eve Gentry, who worked with Joseph Pilates, himself.

Additionally, she is one of only 11 mentors throughout the United States and Canada for Pilates Core Integration, a Pilates instructor certification program. Martin is also a mentor for Integrated Balance Pilates Teacher Education.

“We are not a cookie-cutter studio,” said Martin. “My instructors and I analyze each client from the moment they walk into the studio and design each class based on who is present that day and what is needed for them to gain the most benefit from their Pilates experience. Each exercise is purposely thought out from the beginning to the end of class based on the needs of the individual students in that class.”

COREdination Pilates instructors Madalynn Wendland and Ali Petrus have medical backgrounds that influence their work and broaden their knowledge base. Wendland holds a doctorate in physical therapy and is a professor at Cleveland State, and Petrus is a physician’s assistant and a former dancer.

Martin is also a former professional dancer and choreographer for the Cleveland Cavalier Girls.

“This skill set allows me the ability to create new variations in material to keep classes fresh and exciting, while staying true to the intention of the classical work created by Joseph Pilates,” she said.

The instructors collaborate to combine their areas of expertise: the scientific and anatomical knowledge of the human body and the creative aspect of movement.

“The result is a safe, innovative and truly one-of-a-kind program,” said Martin. “It is one that allows even the most advanced client to continue to progress once the classical repertoire has been mastered.”

COREdination Pilates has a strong client base that has grown over its 15 years in business, and some have even followed the studio through three location moves.

“Our clients come from Magadore, Euclid, Strongsville, Akron and Medina, some driving as far as 55 minutes, because they feel they can’t get what we offer anywhere else,” said Martin.

“I have been Amanda’s client for many years,” said Sharon Seitz of Hinckley. “She is very knowledgeable and creative and tailors the exercises to each client’s needs and abilities while providing a challenging and engaging class.”

Class sizes are kept small and intimate, with no more than seven students in each class. This ensures that each client is monitored and evaluated continuously for proper form, said Martin.

“We use a lot of hands-on tactile cuing to help our clients understand the correct execution of each exercise,” she said. “Not only can an exercise lack value when done incorrectly, it can actually be harmful. As such, a big part of our program is the value we place on educating our clients to recognize when they are compensating with incorrect muscle patterns and to teach them how to properly recruit the correct muscles through movement.”

Martin grew up in Broadview Heights and attended Brecksville-Broadview Heights schools from kindergarten through high school graduation in 1997.

“There is something so special about this town; I wanted my family to have the opportunity to fully experience the school community I grew up in,” said Martin. “So this summer, my husband and I decided to move our home to Brecksville and enroll our children in the district.”

The Pilates studio moved to Brecksville in the fall, and she began coaching cheerleading in the Brecksville-Broadview Heights Schools this winter.

“We are all in,” she said. “I’m so happy to be back and to be fully engaged in this community.” For more information, visit coredinationpilates.org or call 330-659- 0030.

Feature image photo caption: Amanda Martin is the owner of COREdination Pilates, which recently moved from Richfield to Brecksville. Photo by J. Kananian