Mother and daughter team Linda Rhodes and Sarah Liston run one of the region’s longest established pilates studios. The J’AIME team met them to find out more.
Equilibrium Pilates Room has just moved to the beautiful surroundings of Coppice Garden Centre, where their clients can shop, relax over coffee or grab a bite to eat between classes.
“We’ve always admired Coppice Garden Centre as a fantastic lifestyle destination and it feels like the right fit for a business like ours,” says Sarah, who joined her mum in the business 11 years ago.
“Our boutique approach means that we can offer a very bespoke service with small specialist classes in a really beautiful setting.”
Linda, Sarah and five other specialist instructors boast a timetable to suit everyone from the beginner to advanced. But what sets them apart is their work with people as individuals regardless of their age, fitness and experience.
“There is no typical client at Equilibrium and we have always had an open door policy here. From the super-fit to those with long term health conditions or injuries, we believe everyone can gain huge benefits from doing pilates and yoga,” says Linda.
It is also a business that never stands still, with teachers committed to their continuing education, to the constant investment in new equipment and the sharing of new information and knowledge with their clients. Equilibrium is proud to be creating an army of pilates geeks!
Reformer classes are Equilibrum’s most popular class, with the likes of tennis star Andy Murray and premier league footballers claiming Reformer Pilates has transformed their game. Surprisingly the average man on the street is yet to be convinced, despite pilates being invented by a man who was a boxer, bodybuilder and martial arts expert. This is something Equilibrium hopes to change.
Linda and Sarah are rightly very proud of their 20-year heritage and remain the most experienced pilates teaching team in Sutton Coldfield.
All but one of the EQ team is homegrown, having come to the studio as a client and then deciding to become a teacher. They have all completed training and accreditation by the Body Control Pilates Association, Europe’s largest professional Pilates organisation and widely regarded as the benchmark for safe and effective teaching.
“The training is intense and takes time, typically 12 to 18 months to gain the initial qualification to teach mat pilates, so there are no shortcuts. Then there’s further training to gain accreditations in the pilates equipment such as the reformer and trapeze table or cadillac,” says Sarah.
Equilibrium is striving to make the studio as safe as possible in the current climate, including the introduction of a hospital grade air filtration system and re-covering the studio equipment with antiviral fabric.
“The effect of doing regular pilates practice can be life changing and seeing the positive changes in people both physically and mentally inspires us every day to keep doing what we do. We are excited to see how the studio will grow in our new home at Coppice,” adds Linda.
Private sessions for one, two or three people are already available and group classes will resume on May 17 in line with Government guidelines.
To find out more visit eqpilatesroom.co.uk, email hello@eqpilatesroom.co.uk or call 0121 323 4663.
