About

Overview

A mutual love for fitness produced Element Pilates Studio. Opened in April 2006, owners Lisa Thompson and Monique Jutila have merged their expertise in various fitness modalities, emphasizing Pilates to create their light and airy downtown studio. Element offers group and individual Pilates instruction as well as massage therapy.

As a professional dancer for over 20 years, Lisa has an extensive background in movement. Her quest for knowledge in the healing arts and body therapies guided her to Pilates methods. Lisa holds a B.A. in Dance from the UW and continues her studies in Yoga and other movement techniques to bring a dynamic movement world into her teaching.

Monique obtained her B.S. in Exercise Science and Wellness from Bastyr University and has over 18 years experience working in the spa and fitness industry. She offers a wealth of knowledge and expertise in guiding her clients to a new level of well-being. In addition to her education and experience, Monique also draws from her personal fitness achievements as a top ranked triathlete and five time Ironman finisher.

Lisa and Monique are committed to developing programs that target each client’s individual needs. Their goal is to lead clients toward integrated movement that improves balance, flexibility, strength and ultimately a greater quality of life.

A Little History

The Pilates Method of body conditioning was developed by Joseph Pilates more than 80 years ago. For many years, Pilates training remained a well-kept secret in the world of dance and the performing arts. In recent years the growing interest in "mind/body" exercise has brought Pilates concepts to the forefront of fitness training.

The Pilates Method comprises more than 500 exercises, performed as a mat-based workout, or using special resistance equipment developed by Joseph Pilates.

The central concept of Pilates training is strengthening the core of the body: the transversus abdominus (deep abdominal muscles), multifidus (muscles surrounding the spine), and pelvic floor. These muscles encompass and support the torso like a corset. Every exercise is initiated in the core and flows outward to the extremities. Learning to use these muscles to stabilize the pelvis and lumbar spine is essential to counter the increased incidence of chronic back pain and postural alignment stressors. A training program based on Pilates will stabilize the pelvis and the shoulder girdle, stretching and strengthening the entire body with movement initiating from the core of the body.

It is this integration of movement from the core to the periphery that makes every Pilates exercise a whole-body exercise. Awareness of each body part in relationship to space, apparatus and skeletal structure brings physical harmony to movement, and balance to musculature. As awareness and understanding grows, strength and flexibility increase, the choreography becomes more complex, and the layering and nuance of the work deepens.

Joseph Hubertus Pilates was born near Düsseldorf, Germany in 1880. As a child, he suffered from a number of physical ailments including Rickets, Asthma and Rheumatic Fever.

Pilates, determined to overcome these health issues, began a lifetime dedication to physical fitness beginning with gymnastics, body building, and skiing. He also studied eastern methods of training such as Yoga and Zen meditation.

Pilates left his native Germany for England in 1912, where he earned a living in various ways: professional boxer, circus performer, even a teacher of self-defence courses to members of the police force at Scotland Yard. He continued to develop his system of exercise while he was interned during World War 1. The origins of the modern day "Reformer", using spring resistance and sliding carriage, are to be found in equipment that Joseph Pilates developed during this period to enable bed-ridden patients to continue to exercise and develop strength and flexibility, working with springs taken from their beds.

Pilates opened his first dedicated 'Pilates' studio in New York during the 1920's. From the start, his greatest fans were drawn from the world of the performing arts. Luminaries of the dance world such as Martha Graham, George Balanchine and Hanya Holm used Pilates’ technique to improve performance and prevent injury.

Pilates continued to teach and develop equipment and exercises with his wife Clara until his death in 1967. He was fond of saying that he was 50 years ahead of his time in his theories and ideas. Given the universal popularity of Pilates training around the world at this time, it appears he was right.

Mind/Body Exercise

This question is best answered by one of Joseph Pilates favorite quotes from Schiller –

"It is the mind itself which builds the body".

Joseph Pilates was fond of using this quote from Schiller. From this, Pilates formulated six basic principles for his exercise technique:

  1. Breathing
    The pattern of breathing is connected with the pattern of movement. It ensures a free flow of cleansing oxygen throughout the body, improving circulation and helping to avoid unnecessary tension in the muscles.
  2. Precision
    Pilates exercises emphasize quality of movement over quantity.
  3. Centering
    Centering refers to the practice of initiating and controlling movement from the center: abs, back muscles, and buttocks. This concept lies at the heart of Pilates work.
  4. Flowing Movement
    In combination with deep and relaxed breathing, the flowing movements in Pilates reduce stress on the body and the risk of injury.
  5. Control
    Control is vital. Momentum has no place in this technique.
  6. Concentration
    In Pilates, the mind and the body work as a team. Every exercise requires your full attention. Observe your body as it works, think about each stage of movement.

Traditional methods of training and developing the body tend to produce short, bulky muscles and this type of musculature is most prone to injury. Pilates promotes elongation of the spine, increasing the elasticity of muscles and range of motion in the joints. This balance between strength and flexibility drastically reduces the potential for injury.

Pilates emphasizes flowing movements requiring the use of multiple muscle groups simultaneously. Controlled breathing and concentration are essential, making Pilates truly a workout for the body and the mind. It avoids the tendency of many exercise forms to emphasize the muscles that are already stronger, while neglecting those that are weaker.

In this way Pilates can help your body to regain efficient patterns of motion, very beneficial to those recovering from injury, professional athletes and performers, or anyone seeking good posture and optimal health.

A STOTT PILATES Studio

"By taking the teachings of Joseph Pilates and updating them to include what we now know about the body and how it works, we can offer a highly effective and safe exercise regime," says Moira Stott Merrithew, who along with her husband Lindsay Merrithew, have released more than 30 STOTT PILATES video titles and 10 STOTT PILATES Manuals, making the collection the most comprehensive of its kind.

STOTT PILATES is the method taught by instructors at Element Pilates Studio. It involves controlled exercises performed on a mat or using specially designed resistance equipment, such as the STOTT PILATES Reformer, Cadillac, Stability Chair and Barrels. The repertoire of over 500 exercises is designed to tone, elongate and strengthen muscles, while improving body awareness and posture, and relieving stress.

The bedrock of Pilates training is in the development of strength without placing undue stress on joints and tendons. Students are intended to come away with long, lean, powerful muscles and a strong, supple spine. The technique can also promote control, stability, and coordination, along with improved posture, endurance, agility and balance, which begins with the stabilization of the pelvis. Students routinely characterize the work as "intense" and "subtle," at times claiming to experience movement "from the inside out."

Key Elements of Pilates Training

500 East Pike, Suite 201
Seattle, WA 98122
206.323.7905