Local Mom Runs Pilates Business From Home

Meet Amy Elder, an Oakland Township stay-at-home mom and Pilates instructor who runs Core Strength Pilates from her home. 

I interviewed Elder to see what her business is all about, find out what it’s like to run a Pilates (pronounced puh-LAH-teez) business and learn how she got started. In this first article, I’ll cover what her business offers and what her approach is for providing the best possible service to her clients.

In a following article, I’ll detail how and why she got started in this line of work and what life as a Pilates instructor is like.

By the way, it looks to me like Pilates is an ideal option for moms.

Elder offers several types of traditional Pilates classes at the beginner and intermediate levels, and the rates are very reasonable. In case you’re wondering, as I was, Pilates was developed by Joseph Pilates in the 1920s as “a unique system of mind-body exercises that are designed to create a toned body by elongating, strengthening and improving muscle elasticity and joint mobility without creating bulk," according to a pamphlet for Elder's business.

And I hear that it’s very effective. 

One appealing aspect of Pilates is that it doesn’t matter what your beginning level of fitness is nor what age you are – Pilates works for everyone. “To have someone come into a class and just start moving muscles and joints, relaxing their mind and feeling good about what they have just accomplished is the best part of my job,” stated Elder.

She said she especially enjoys “teaching with a nonintimidating approach.” This is not hard to imagine, as she is very open, friendly and positive. She aims to have every participant “feel comfortable and have fun working out.”

“I love to encourage during classes and make the one-hour workout one of the best hours in the day,” she said. 

Core Strength Pilates offers private, semiprivate and group sessions. One class features mat work and the use of your own body for resistance. In another class, clients are provided with toning balls and fitness rings as they work on the mat. There is also a class centered on the use of a stability ball — one of those really big exercise balls you may have seen.

The group classes are held at a conveniently close Oakland Township location, the Oak Arbor Church and School Social Hall. This is a spacious, beautiful room with large windows looking out on a woods. There’s plenty of space to work out in a lovely, peaceful setting.

Perhaps one of the best selling points for Core Strength Pilates, and one that will particularly appeal to moms, is the flexibility of the program. Elder doesn’t require participants to attend particular sessions or to notify her if they can’t come to class.

“Being a mom and a wife, I know life is busy, and you never know what the next day will bring,” said Elder.  She has structured her program so that “everyone knows that you come when you can, as often as you like and to any class that you want.” 

She also doesn’t charge a fee for missing a class. If you purchase a package of sessions, you still come when you can. The package lasts as long as it takes you to use up the number of sessions purchased, with “no expiration date,” she said. And not only that – the first class is always free.  

For busy moms with schedules that have a habit of shifting, this flexible setup is ideal. The convenient location is a plus, and the no-pressure, friendly and peaceful approach to exercise is just what many of us are looking for.

A pregnancy or two down the road, an exercise environment that is nurturing and effective and doesn’t require us to impress anyone may sound pretty good.

For further information, contact Elder at abelder@me.com or 248-330-1148.