Happy Final Countdown to Summer!

August 31, 2022

 I want to give everyone a heads up that this summer is jammed packed so try to get yourself on the schedule and try to cancel out as soon as you know you have to give others the spot. Remember you can always schedule yourself in an hour before the class or private but cancel yourself out 13 hrs before your class or Private.


I will be out of the studio June 6-8th then I will out July 1- 6. If you need an extension on your expiration date, please let me know, otherwise remember you have two months to complete your sessions.


Mat Classes is a great place to be during the summer! You can now buy 5 or 10 Sessions. Tuesday and Thursday 10am are for beginners or for special considerations. Thursday 9am is for those who are confident in the vocabulary of the Pilates exercises and firm in their modifications if they have them. Always remember that Mat Classes is for YOU! looking to the person to the right or left of you isn’t going to help YOUR body. Sure, if you don’t know what leg circles are, do a quick peek, but then get back into your body and follow the instructions:


press the body into the ground, back of the head, shoulder blades, hands pressing into the floor as well. One leg up toward the high diagonal or ceiling, opposite leg either in home position or long and straight out pressing into the floor. Make a small circle with the leg that’s up and feel the circle coming from the femur bone (thigh bone) in the joint, pelvis stays strong and stable. Could you see that in your mind? could you, do it?


When I first started Pilates that’s where I was started on the floor, doing the mat exercise to help me understand the body placements, breath, the spine to move onto the apparatus.

See you in class! and don’t stop when it gets hard!


Client Highlight!

I want to give a shot out to a client. Just this past week I came to a moment with her during her Private that literally made me want to cry tears of joy! Some of you have come to me so broken down, I know what it’s like to be broken physically. It really messes with your psyche. It’s painful because we remember when moving through our body was easy and effortless...but as our wisdom begins to grow, we realize we’ve overlooked some physical elements that’s created pain, lack of movement and before we know it, we’re broken. Well, she was there when she first stepped foot into my studio and knowing how Pilates meet me right where I was, I knew it could meet her. As a year past, she came to decision to undergo a surgery, I fully supported it because I know from 20 years of working with bodies, she will number 1 not be in pain and number 2 when pain stops, you get to move again, freely!! After her first surgery and feeling freedom, she knew she had to have another...and then...ONE MORE! Yes! you counted right 3!!! surgeries...all new parts. The pain being eliminated, the lack of movement not being a factor any more, brought back a quality of movement. Oh gosh I’m eyes are swelling. Finally, after all of the HARD, Difficult work she has put in, her body is REALLY moving and the Pilates movements/exercises are really reshaping her. It is so beautiful to watch, experience and be a part of. Honestly, in some ways this new chapter is her new start.


Look, this didn’t happen overnight, in a span of one year or really even two years...it took over a lot of time, and as stated she isn’t even done...are we really ever done? should we be done? NO! Every BODY is on its own path and journey and as we go along, we learn deeper in the Pilates method, that makes us go deeper into our bodies. We find ourself stuck at a spot, we have to ask ourselves why? How can I get unbroken? How can I bring back or bring in movement to this part of the body? Don’t ignore it, face it and keep going.


Change is hard to start

Messy in the middle

and Gorgeous in the End


Heidi

We Take Pilates Seriously, But It's Also Seriously Fun

By Heidi • July 30, 2026
Hey Friend-  YOU made this celebration everything it was. The response was so overwhelming. Thank you, past and present clients, for your accolades. I know each one of your stories, they are knitted in me and how each of you have inspired me to continue teach the method we all love, Pilates. I loved how each person was sharing each other’s stories and in turn was inspiring each other. We all know that not all Pilates sessions need to end in a Teaser. Becoming a Pilates teacher wasn’t a dream of mine.. no, no, somebody else is living that- but it has become my purpose and that goes far beyond a dream. There are times I will think back to a time I had with a client and just start laughing- We may take Pilates seriously, but it’s also seriously fun, do you have a time in mind? Email me back and tell me, we can laugh together. Overall, I think the best compliment I received was: “so heartwarming hearing all of the positive comments from your clients. They truly love you for the help you provide. Keep up the good work putting a smile on their faces.” From after injury or surgery, improving performance in a sport and completely reshaping a body, I can’t wait to keep going! I’ll see you in the studio. Thank you again, for your trust, your commitment, and your belief in me Heidi
Patriotic striped and star-spangled cups with sparklers on a festive table

Happy 4th of July!

By Heidi • July 3, 2026
Happy 4th of July! May you be around friends and loved ones to celebrate this amazing day that makes our Country incredibly special! Something happened in the month of June.. I have to admit; I was in the middle of life when all of sudden it hit me. When I realized I gasped! Then I had to stop, reflect, then realize that I kind of dropped the ball on this one… but don’t worry I’ll be making it up. Do you know what it was? Well, no need to wet the pallet and ponder I’ll tell you- You guys, we’ve been in the new studio for 6 MONTHS!!! Say what!? When I came into an awareness about it, these were the things that came to mind. Firstly, YOU! My heart is full of gratitude towards you. I am so honored that you trust me with your body to build it into a body that makes you feel strong, confident and keeps you doing what you love to do. Doesn’t it feel great to be able to move with such ease in life and our activities? Secondly, our new space is a dream. Some years ago, I was out on a walk along the river one very cold day, and I was thinking about what my business coach and I were talking about. She told me to go dream.. What would I want my studio to look like? I did just that, believing it in my heart that it could come true? I can’t say, but I can say I just threw it out there. I wanted my studio to be in a brick building near the river so I could see the water. Every day, when I walk up into the studio, it’s a dream.. A dream that came true. I am seriously filled with joy. I want to thank you for your understanding of all that I have had to personally go through. The floor may not be perfectly cleaned every week, I may have missed the date on making a new plan for you . Thanks for figuring out where the extra rolls of toilet paper are and referring people to me. I may have been a little elsewhere at times, but I promise I am giving you my best step forward. I feel loved and supported by you. Thank you. I love seeing all of you have a sense of pride walking into the studio. Thank you for showing up, being excited to come to your Pilates session, and creating a camaraderie among each other. Heidi Come join the fun to celebrate our 6-month Studio Anniversary! Tuesday July 14, 6pm, If you are planning on coming please sign up so I can plan accordingly. Thanks.
Woman performing suspended Pilates exercise on a reformer machine, wearing blue leggings in a studio.

Curiosity in Motion

By Heidi Garcia • May 27, 2026
The countdown is on until the first day of summer and I am here for it. My California soul will be fed and my sun dresses are dusted off. But I digress… Something that is happening across the board at the studio is the curiosity of the Morris Hardware building across the way. Majority of you ask the same thing, “what’s in that building?” Finally, a client who knows the owner got our answer, it’s nice when a new person asks I have the answer. It seems majority of you have a strong opinion about the new painting that is happening across the way as well. This is equal to the curiosity of what is in the building. Both of the things got my thinking… could we have curiosity about certain things around our Pilates exercises … I do know for a fact that everyone has a strong opinion about their least favorite or favorite exercise so that is taken care of. But back to the curiosity, I would hope that at some point in your practice you start being curious about the movement itself or your body in relation to the exercise. What I’ve noticed with my 25 years of personal practice and for sure during my 23 years of teaching is that when I started becoming curious of body and movement, change happened and I see that with my clients. The clients who stop during their session and ask questions, notice something about their body are the ones whose movement becomes quality. It’s no longer just zipping through the exercises to just check it off. My teacher’s story of curiosity was when she couldn’t do Rolling Like a Ball, her teacher asked her, “do you want to explore why this exercise isn’t happening?” Mine was Curl and Reach; I had to get curious as to why I couldn’t keep my pelvis stable when doing this exercise. I know exactly where I was (in my Costa Mesa apartment) when I stopped and got curious for the reasons and teaching myself to find the control within the movement. It was at that point that I really understood how Pilates is at its finest, a corrective exercise system. In the book, “Contrology Handbook, A Guide to Joe Pilates’ Method” by Sandy Shimoda it states, “Contrology develops the body uniformly, corrects wrong postures, restores physical vitality, invigorates the mind, and elevates the spirit.” I challenge you to start becoming more curious within your own practice and ask questions, that is how growth and change happens. Heidi

Spring 2026

By Heidi • April 24, 2026
Hello Pilates Enthusiast! Spring is in the air so it’s only appropriate to say “God Bless you!” “Gesundheit!” “¡Salud!”, there covered them all. There are some great workshops coming in May check them out below, sign up and share with a friend! It has been noted that my schedule is filling up. The best course of action is to sign up ahead of time; the other best action is to put yourself on the waitlist. When I see that you are on the waitlist, if any time opens on that day, I will reach out to you to see if you want what has become available otherwise; if the time that you waitlisted for becomes available, it will be yours. Please remember the 12-hour cancelation policy. All the details are below. See you on the Mat! Heidi

Spring Awakening & Studio Updates

By Heidi • March 24, 2026
Spring reflections on the Pilates journey, upcoming workshop details, Welcome Springtime sound healing event, Mat Class updates, and online video library offerings.
Woman in blue leggings and pink top doing a side stretch, smiling.

What Else Do I Do Besides Pilates? A Lifetime of Movement.

January 26, 2026
I get this question a lot.. When it comes exercising what else do I do? Over the years I have had my fair share of different types of movement. WAYYY back in the day (like high school) I was so into aerobics, remember Step..LOVED IT and ran until I was told to stop because it was developing the wrong muscles for dance. While in College was when I was introduced to Pilates so I added that. After College I did weight training and cardio kick boxing, it was hilarious because I gained so much muscle weight that I couldn’t fit into my favorite jeans, so I told my trainer that I no longer wanted to train, he was devastated but I just didn’t want that body type.. and I got sick of eating plan tuna with bean sprouts. I had to completely stop training for about 3 months to lose that muscles… and I got back into my favorite jeans. It was then that I also was dancing professionally in the Bay Area. I did yoga and ran like 2-3 a week because no one could tell me I couldn’t. After my hip surgery back in 2013, which consisted of removing three bone spurs in the back of hip, taking a cyst off of the head of the femur bone, and repairing my frayed labrum, I was told that it was best not to do anymore high intensity training. Since I didn’t want my hip to deteriorate anymore, I do what the doctor told me. I gave up running, really high jumps, and externally rotated squats (those will put me out for like a week). Today, my exercise looks like this, of course Pilates 2-3 times a week, walking when I can, yoga irregularly, weight training 1-2 times a week, biking on my Pelton and dance. The main thing I do is take care of my hip, do all the things that support that joint through movement. I love movement, my body craves it, even it’s the laziest of movement, I will do it because I know I will always feel better.