A funny thing happened on the way to law school for Kyria Sabin, owner of Body Works Studio and director of one of the largest Pilates teacher-training programs in the world.
She met Ron Fletcher.
Fletcher was the protégé of Joseph and Clara Pilates, who created the Pilates movement method. Fletcher, also a dancer and choreographer, is credited with developing and propelling Pilates into the mainstream around the globe.
It was Fletcher’s Los Angeles studio that a 20-something Sabin strolled into in 1992. It would change the course of her life.
“Ron’s studio became my home away from home,” Sabin said.
The tall and graceful Sabin immersed herself in the study of Pilates, a movement-based physical conditioning program. Later that year, she was invited to open a Pilates studio in Tucson. At the time, no formal teacher training programs existed. She asked Fletcher if she could teach his work. In 1993, they put together the first curriculum based on Fletcher’s methods.
“I figured I’d go to Tucson for a few months, open the studio, get a great tan before going on to law school in New York,” she said with a smile. “Pilates wasn’t even on my radar.”
Nearly 20 years later, Tucson is the central campus for Fletcher Pilates worldwide. Each year students from around the world descend on Tucson for the comprehensive teacher-training Fletcher Pilates curriculum. The students range from dancers looking for a “Plan B” to men and women seeking a second career, plus all types in between. To date, they’ve trained and licensed 658 teachers. There are studios offering Fletcher Pilates in 11 states in the U.S. and eight countries.
Sabin is the only faculty member recognized by Fletcher as a Master Teacher and Disseminator. She has gone on to develop the Pilates program at the University of Arizona, where she is also an adjunct professor. She’s traveled widely promoting and teaching Pilates.
“Pilates is the most effective and efficient way to transform a body in a very healthy way,” she said.
According to her studio’s website, “Pilates involves refined, purposeful movements requiring concentration and physical awareness. The form is elegant, graceful and balanced.” This is “a full-body conditioning program designed to strengthen the core musculature as it lengthens the body. This dual emphasis leads to a longer, leaner, more flexible, better toned and more evenly developed physique. The focus on breath and properly performed movements leads to improved posture and overall physical balance.” A complete Pilates program involves both mat and equipment work.
The main 3,500-square-foot studio offers private and semi-private lessons and group classes, plus massage and shiatsu. An introductory sampler includes two private sessions, (choice of Pilates or yoga), and a massage for $200. An unlimited monthly class pass is $90 for an individual, $140 per couple. There are two satellite studios devoted to private and semi-private sessions.
“It was scary in the beginning,” Sabin says. “There were times when I felt like, ‘what am I doing here?’ But in retrospect, I have no regrets.”
Sabin’s loyalty and passion for Fletcher’s work are clearly strong motivators for the 45-year-old mother of two, and she deeply admires the 89-year-old mentor who has had such an influence on her life. She also attributes her strong leadership style and ability to “make things happen” to her mother, Gretchen Shartle.
“When there’s a void or a lack of energy, I see possibilities where people don’t. It’s a gift that I have,” Sabin said. “I try to reach someone’s movement potential beyond what they think they can do. I see what’s next and I try to give (my teachers) a plan.”
Fletcher Pilates can go beyond the physical into the spiritual and psychological realms. For this reason, it takes a certain kind of person to be able to teach and connect with students. Sabin said she’s hasn’t always hired the right instructors and has definitely made some mistakes along the way.
“I hired people more because of talent and didn’t look at the bigger picture,” she explained. “I found a number of teachers who were gifted movers but didn’t have the full package. They were not kind people.
“It’s important to be gifted but also giving. We’re in a service to others.”
Sabin said she would like to see Pilates taken more seriously as a profession. This business is not regulated. “People can still hang a shingle and call themselves Pilates instructors,” she said.
As a member of the national board for the Pilates Method Alliance, she helped spearhead efforts for national certification.
“It really takes study to work with people’s bodies. I don’t think a lot of people getting into this business take it seriously enough.”
Without regulation, Sabin worries a lot of people could get hurt. Her concern is that “many people teaching Pilates today have less experience than a personal trainer.” That’s one reason she’s so passionate about training teachers.
Body Works Studio and the Fletcher teacher programs have seen unprecedented grown over the past 20 years and they are poised to continue. Sabin says she wishes she’d systemized things sooner. “Even if you’re not planning to franchise, you should always be franchisable,” she said.
With those systems now in place,
Sabin plans to open a second studio in Oro Valley, a 2,000-square-foot facility based more on a franchise model.
Clearly Sabin has replaced the bright lights of New York and the call of the legal profession with mastering the art of the body’s movement and sharing that expertise with people from around the world. Her craft is working to create a body that is “articulate — at the ready for life, for whatever comes next.”
Much like Sabin is herself.
Body Works Studio
1980 E. River Road, Suite 250
(520) 323-7070
www.bodyworksstudio.com