The Pilates Place

At first thought an art gallery may seem like an odd, incongruous place for an exercise class. But as Julee Jones begins to guide the members of her Tuesday morning group mat class through a series of Pilates stretches and strength-building movements, Leiper’s Creek Gallery suddenly seems like the only appropriate place for exercises that are intended to connect the mind, body and spirit.

“I choose to teach in this serene, beautiful environment because that’s part of contributing to the spirit of the exercise,” Jones explains. There’s no loud music, no mirrors, nothing garish in the room. Instead, the women in the class are surrounded by paintings on the walls and are quietly inspired by a three-figured bronze sculpture in the center of the gallery.

“With Pilates we’re taking the human body and making it as lovely as it can be,” says Jones, adding that on an exercise mat you get a chance to make a difference in your body, just like an artist or a sculptor creating a work of art.

While she has been teaching Pilates since 2001, Jones opened The Pilates Place in Leiper’s Fork in July 2005 when she bought the historic home that now houses a studio, where she gives private classes, and a guesthouse called Miss Sweeney’s Inn. When she moved to Middle Tennessee in 1992, Jones was working in corporate sales. She made a complete career change after discovering the way Pilates finally brought relief from chronic pain that had plagued her from a decades-earlier car accident. In her 40s by then, because of Pilates her body was stronger than it had ever been. She wanted to help others improve their health too.

Jones trained with Romana Kryzanowska, which is as elite as it gets in the Pilates world, Jones notes. Because her teaching was so authentic and pure, Kryzanowska was named his successor by Joseph Pilates, the German native who immigrated to the United States with his unique exercise system.

“Pilates offers exercises for individuals at any level of physical fitness,” says Jones. Workouts are geared to help clients strengthen their core, the collective muscles of the abdominals, gluteals and lower back. Verbal cues help clients connect their minds and bodies for a mentally controlled workout, leading to conscious control of all muscular movements. Jones explains that Pilates believed that strengthening your body strengthens your mind and improves your quality of life.

Her clients include athletes ranging from bicyclists and triathletes to golfers and dancers to dressage and hunter-jumper riders. She also works with women who have had mastectomies and with clients who have multiple sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease or various injuries.

New group mat classes, which are offered in Leiper’s Fork and in Bellevue, begin in January. Visit www.ThePilatesPlace.us or call (615) 599-8700 for more information about group or individual classes.