Best Machine Pilates

East Side Balance

At its core, Pilates is an exercise created by the injured, for the injured to make themselves better. For example, Gary Ames, an ex-cop and elementary school teacher was forced to have back surgery about five years ago because herniated discs were crushing his sciatic nerve – that's the one that allows you to move your arms and legs effectively. "I was walking around like Quasimodo," Ames says. To physically rehabilitate, he began an intense Pilates regimen and had himself certified as an instructor, merely to keep himself healthy. After teaching a few classes, Ames set up shop, running the Art of Pilates Studio off Burnet until April of this year when he moved to the east side of Downtown, into the aptly named new studio, East Side Balance. "It's very important to make Pilates nonelitist," Ames explains, noting the use of Pilates among Hollywood socialites and professional atheletes. "It's exercise for everyone."

East Side Balance
906 E. Fifth Street, # 109, 512/698-1890
www.eastsidebalance.com