Happy 4th of July!

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 doing a yoga plank variation on a mat, balancing on hands with one leg lifted.

Mat Classes

June's mat classes were extremely fun. I think we all needed flow in our bodies. The Abs A$$ A SAP series was such a fun time. I had fantastic feedback I had to share it with you- 


I took the Abs, A$$, ASAP class and it was wonderful! My husband says that he sees a visible change in my booty. The first class I attended was right at the beginning of my monthly cycle and I did not have any cramping for the first time in months! I believe this was due to working my lower abs and core and strengthening my core overall. This class was a ton of fun and I always left feeling energized and ready to take on the day! I can't wait for the next one to start.


Heidi is such a great teacher! She always starts class on time and if we move through the routine quickly, she adds additional exercises so that we use the entire class time. She is super encouraging and always makes me feel like I can keep going, even when I am tired. She explains thing really well so I understand what I am doing and why. - Stephanie 


The result I love the best from the Abs Ass ASAP series would be feeling much stronger and supported within. The first couple of classes really broke down the foundation of body movement. After understanding that concept, my body really locked in to become stronger from that stability. I really look forward to the next series as the learning really brings about physical growth. - Heather


The Next 6 week Saturday series will be July 11- August 15 10am it will be all about “Building a Strong Body” E-mail coming next week.

Yoga mat roll with dumbbells and exercise ball tied with a green strap

Magic Circle

In July we are using the Magic Circle where we remind ourselves Pilates isn’t about over squeezing to break the thing, but rather to be intentional about how we engage with the Circle to activate the correct muscles. 


Class and Times: Wednesday 11am Level 1 Thursday 9am Level 2 

Sign-up here

Person seated on a purple yoga mat using a laptop in a calm indoor room

OPVL

OPVL: If you loved the flow classes from this last month, did you know you could do them at home? Here is the link to sign-up, below are the names of the videos. Join for just $20.00 a month and cancel anytime. 


Level1: Spinal Movements, Simple and Quick, Clarify & Work

Level2: Breaking things down, Using the Core for the Body, Up Tempo

Level3: Working on the Hard, Everything to help with Roll Over, Messy Hair, I don't Care

Person meditating among white singing bowls on a woven mat indoors

July 18th Sound Bowl Healing

The July sound bowl experience will focus on Blessing in Surrender. 


Becoming vulnerable is a key step in surrendering to blessings. Many times, our emotions and ideas overtake our true desire. Expectation comes in different forms and at times; frustration comes along for the ride. Yet, when we truly surrender our heart, we create an unstoppable flow of blessings. On July 18th at 7PM, we will embrace the energetic embodiment of Blessing in Surrender through the frequencies of crystal bowls and tuning forks. Bring a blanket, pillow, water, yoga mat, and most importantly, have your heart open and ready to receive. Sign-up here https://peacewithin.setmore.com/heather

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.
Woman doing Pilates back extension on arc barrel; arms outstretched, blue leggings.

When the Lower Back Takes Over: A Pilates Approach to Pain Relief

January 19, 2026
Do you suffer from low back pain and tightness. In my own experience as well as working with clients who come to me with lower back pain it comes down to a few things: a weak core, an unstable pelvis, tight hamstrings, tight hip flexors, could also be from conditions like scoliosis, arthritis or spinal stenosis. What tends to happen is that they end up doing everything with their lower back. For example, NOT bending their knees when picking something up or twisting just the wrong way that sends them into pain. These actions along with other actions that they do on repeat can be the reason. When they do this, they end up putting a lot of pressure on their back rather than distributing throughout their body with their core, legs and back. There is more of downward pressure to pick the thing up or in other actions, rather than an up and in connection to support the back with the help of the core and legs. In other conditions like scoliosis, the spine is fixed in a rotated state that created an imbalance of muscles. With something like Arthritis, the muscles are so tight that without the help of stretching the muscles it will cause a lot of pain. In the end after evaluating how a client moves and what and if they have any conditions, I can then see what muscles over do the work, which muscles are tight and we can go from there to get the correct muscles to do more of the heavy work. After retraining the muscles to activate there is a more balance in their lower back that there is a wonderful release of pain.
Hands clasped at a Thanksgiving table, near a plate and decorations.

Giving Thanks!

By Heidi • November 26, 2025
First and foremost, I want to THANK YOU for showing up on the hard the days, committing to yourself to learning Pilates, to embodying it, and for trusting me to teach you the movement we all love Pilates. I know how easily it can be disappointed in our bodies, it’s not the shape we want, it’s not as flexible as we’d like, not as toned we think we should be and maybe you think it’s failing you…but none of that is helpful to ourselves when we want to embody Pilates. This body of ours belongs to us; we are entrusted to take care of it, to honor it, to thank it for caring us through, and most importantly loving it. I remember a turning point for myself when I had to doing a complete 180 on how I viewed and appreciated my body, it was after my hip surgery. I really had no idea how bad my hip was other than it was failing me 1000% at just 35 years old, I couldn’t even go from sitting to standing without excruciating pain, I couldn’t walk in a smooth gait, anytime I worked on it, it was be burning and on fire and forget about sleep. Looking back after the surgery day, I have no idea why they sent me home. Coming out of the fog of anesthesia I came to realization that it was a lot more serious than I ever thought and my zen doctor put it in the nicest way but knew a lot more than I knew and I’m thankful that he was sensitive to my ignorance. There was bone spurs removed, a cyst on top of my femur bone removed, and my frayed labrum was tied down. Finally, after 3 months I was able to put some weight on it and start rehabbing it on my own. It was at that time I became THANKFUL AND GRATEFUL that my healed hip was moving again, supporting me, standing me up, and being it, all can be for me in the moment in time. I was also extremely thankful and grateful for my Pilates knowledge. From that time on, I honor what it can do for me every day. 12 years later and it’s still moving me, supporting me and standing me up. Sure, there are still times, I get down on my body, but I don’t stay there long. I return my focus on the important parts: I live in this body till the day I die, how can I support, love and honor it. I challenge you to do the same to your body and say Thank You! Have a beautiful Thanksgiving filled with family, friends, good food and good company. Heidi
Assortment of pumpkins in various colors and sizes on a wooden surface, autumn foliage in background.

Happy Halloween & Holiday Reflections

By Heidi • October 28, 2025
Thoughts on the holiday season, insights from a Pilates retreat in Santa Barbara, studio schedule updates, and November's focus on Thera-Band work in mat classes.
Woman doing Pilates exercise on the floor with arms outstretched, legs extended, in a room.

The 100 is a breathing exercise?

October 14, 2025
The 100 is a breathing exercise? Along with strengthening the abdominals, hip flexors, neck flexors, and lats, yes, it’s a breathing exercise. The rhythm of the breath: inhaling for 5 counts and exhaling for 5 counts correctly by itself is challenging. Actively, inhaling through the nose, to widen the lungs to “push” the diaphragm down and actively exhaling strongly through open lips, to “pull” the diaphragm up this action help with the contraction of the deep abdominal muscles. This can for sure can bring in a lightheadedness that a lot of people experience on the regular when starting out. Now, just to clarify, your diaphragm does this on its own it’s just that we are putting a great emphasis on getting them to move on purpose. This breath work engages the transverse abdominals, obliques, and pelvic floor. So, add in bringing your head and legs off the floor, along with actively pumping the arms and all of sudden it becomes challenging to keep that breath in rhythm. BUT! When you get the breath correctly, a sense of warmth runs deep through the body, and everything pulls to your center and bam you are you are in your breathing rhythm that gets you going. Could be the very reason, Joe Pilates has this exercise first on the list.

Pilates vs Yoga

By Heidi • October 3, 2025
You teach yoga, right? Aaa rrrr nope- never have, Hi, I’m Heidi Garcia, and I’ve been a Pilates instructor since 2003 so, yea very much Pilates very NOT Yoga. Typically, I let this oversight run off my back, but there are times when I’m like, how long have you known me? Slip of the tongue, I guess... Well, anywho, the next thing that runs with that is what’s the difference? Let's run through some of the differences. The breath is different, the focus is different, the movements are different and Pilates has equipment, yoga has small props, but Pilates has solid equipment that tones the body to do the Mat work ...among a lot of other things. Pilates has also entered into the rehabilitation world, so it’s quite versatile in that way. So, working with bodies for just a good workout that focuses on the technique of the exercises or working with bodies coming out of injuries, the method will deliver exactly what you want out of it. Overall, Pilates is all about core connection, core meaning all the core muscles not just the “six pack”, stability, flexibility, and precision. I LOVE how Romana used these three words to describe the Pilates exercises: “you can define Pilates exercises in three words: Strength, Stretch and Control". In EVERY Pilates exercise you can find those three words. Yoga is more about flexibility, balance, breath and meditation. You won’t find anyone sleeping during a Pilates Mat Class, well maybe after. Xo Heidi
Close-up of wet, fallen oak leaves in various shades of brown.

Capacity, Chaos, and Clarity

By Heidi • October 1, 2025
I don’t know about you or maybe you’ve experienced a month that felt like a rollercoaster, but my September was just that. I won’t get into a long winded read but I will just break it down. 3 Weddings in 3 weeks, yes, you read that right, out of 4 weeks that was had in Sept ember the first three were weddings. They were fun, beautiful, each unique and special in their own way. We were honored to be witnesses for these couples, but there were major lows that I experienced in-between. Leading up to the first wedding, I had bruised my tailbone. I didn’t think much of it and it kinda bugged but sitting in the airplane seats really made it stand out. Coming back and leading into the 2nd wedding I noticed that I wasn’t feeling well, but just brushed it off of the travel but morning of the wedding it was evident that I really wasn’t well. By 11pm that night I had to go to the emergency room to get some antibiotics for a UTI. I hadn’t one in years but this knocked me out. Moving into the third wedding, I had the repercussion of being on the antibiotics and my tailbone really needed to be addressed. So now I’m sitting on a doughnut and icing. The good thing, I’m on the mend. I opened an email the other day and read the most encouraging sentence: Honor Your Capacity. I needed that. Owning, operating and trying to keep up with a business is a lot, add in driving my daughter around for her work and her extracurricular activities and just keeping up with the daily chores can just feel straight up overwhelming. All this to say.. GOODBYE SEPTEMBER! LOL. No, but really, reading that then thinking about it reassured me that I can honor when I’m sick to take the day off, to honor that my family will always be first and my business is well operated and what I can do is what I can do, and lastly if the chores are ignored the chores are not getting their feeling hurt. So, You too, honor your capacity, honor what and who are number 1 then put the rest behind it. Here’s to leaves turning, crisp air and death of what isn’t serving us. Xo Heidi