Pilates by Bonnie now in Gunbarrel

Bonnie Egeland discovered first-hand the benefits of Pilates when it helped her to heal chronic injuries she had worked on in a multitude of ways. Her history of trying to beat the injuries resulted in a cycle of healing and then re-injury. But with Pilates, she’d hit on the silver bullet and has stayed strong and injury-free.

“I finally found Pilates and that was the one thing that helped me to strengthen and rehab old injuries,” Egeland said. “Then I found that I just loved it and what a great type of exercise it was. That’s when I decided I wanted to share it with other people.”

After partnering with her husband for over 20 years in the shifting wholesale sporting goods industry, the pair decided it was time to reinvent themselves professionally. For Egeland that translated into a new livelihood centered on what had rescued her from nagging ailments – Pilates.

Egeland earned her Pilates teaching certification at the nationally recognized Pilates Center of Boulder and started teaching the exercise modality eight years ago. She began her teaching career working for other studio owners. But now Egeland has her own business called Pilates by Bonnie, offering private instruction and classes for two or three people - which results in highly personalized attention at a reasonable rate.

“Some people don’t want to be in a big group or in a gym environment, and prefer the more individualized approach,” Egeland said speaking to her business’s uniqueness. “Also, I wasn’t starting out teaching in my 20s and I thought that people could relate to a more mature adult.”

Pilates is a method of exercise developed by founder Joseph Pilates in the early 1900s, which combined a variety of fitness approaches he had studied closely. His low impact moves improve core strength, balance, alignment, and flexibility. Different types of equipment specific to Pilates, with amusing names like the reformer and the tower, offer practitioners an array of ways to move. Pilates’ workouts result in improving enjoyment and performance in any sport and there’s absolutely no minimum level of fitness needed to start down the path.

Egeland’s description of Pilates is: “It’s a very safe, supportive way to pursue exercise and it allows you to strengthen the muscles at the same time you’re lengthening the muscles. And it’s catered according to your level as to how much of a challenge there is to it.”

“I just love to see people get where they want to be, whatever their goals are for whatever reason they come to Pilates. I don’t have an agenda, it’s just fun to see people progress or take it as far as they would like,” Egelend said. “They can make it as challenging as they would like or they can just stay within a comfort zone. I’ve had some clients who don’t progress by adding a lot of new exercises, but they just love their routine.”

She’s able to accommodate clients with sessions during the times that work best for them.

Daytime classes are available and, because Egeland heard that finding classes after work can be a challenge, she will be offering sessions to suit clients who are available after 5 p.m.

Egeland offers a free 30-minute introductory session. In addition, private and group class packages are available at affordable rates. Each class is an hour long.