Pilates Cedar Rapids Iowa Archives

Free Small Group Pilates Mat Class on February 8 at 11 am

Life Inspired monthly gathering, Pilates

Discover the Joy of Pilates at Our February Life Inspired Event

At Rivercity Pilates, we believe in fostering a sense of community while promoting health and wellness. That’s why we host Life Inspired Events — free opportunities for community members to try a class they’ve been curious about. These events are our way of giving back to the community and introducing people to the empowering world of Pilates and movement. Whether you’re a seasoned enthusiast or completely new to Pilates, our Life Inspired Events are designed to welcome everyone.

When is our next Life Inspired Free Session?

Mark your calendars! For our next Life Inspired Event, we’re offering an All-Levels Pilates Mat Class led by the talented Rachel Piper. This small group class is ideal for anyone looking to explore Pilates in a supportive, personalized setting.

Date: Thursday, February 8, 2025
Time: 11:00 AM
Location: Rivercity Pilates Studio, North Liberty, IA
Cost: Free!

Spaces are limited to just 5 participants, so you’ll receive individualized attention from Rachel, ensuring you feel comfortable and confident throughout the session. Small class sizes are a cornerstone of what we do at Rivercity Pilates because they allow our instructors to truly get to know you and help you work toward your wellness goals.

What to Expect in the Class

Rachel will guide you through a series of Pilates Mat exercises, offering modifications to suit your individual needs. Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced mover, you’ll feel right at home in this welcoming environment. Pilates Mat classes focus on building core strength, improving flexibility, and enhancing overall body awareness. It’s a fun and effective way to move your body and feel empowered!

Why Join a Life Inspired Event?

Our Life Inspired Events serve two important purposes:

Giving Back to the Community: We love creating opportunities for everyone to experience the benefits of Pilates, regardless of their fitness level or familiarity with the practice.
Introducing New Experiences: Have you ever wondered what Pilates is all about? This is your chance to try it in a supportive, small-group setting—completely free of charge.

And remember, you don’t need to be a current Rivercity Pilates client to participate. Everyone is welcome!

How to Reserve Your Spot

While the class is free, space is limited, so registration is required. Just click here!

To Sign up for this or other events on our Mindbody App:

Download the Mindbody App on your smartphone or visit our website.
Choose Rivercity Pilates
Under the classes tab, slide the dates to February 8.
Reserve your spot to ensure you don’t miss out!

Join Us and Move with Intention

We can’t wait to see you at our February Life Inspired Event. It’s a perfect opportunity to explore Pilates, connect with your community, and kickstart or enhance your wellness journey. Whether you’re trying Pilates for the first time or returning to the mat, this event promises to leave you feeling stronger, more relaxed, and inspired.

Have questions? Feel free to reach out to us at Rivercity Pilates. Let’s move together—we’ll see you on the mat!

Are you over age 60?

Pilates & Aging

We have a special class designed for YOU!

We are all aging. However, how you think about aging, and how you move as you get older is yours to decide.

You know that I recommend a regular movement practice as a way to keep your body feeling as strong and mobile as you can. If you know you need to move more in your life but feel like you might need some guidance and motivation to help you do it…I have some exciting news for you!

We have a small group training session on Thursday mornings at 10 am especially for you.

You’ll receive individual attention from our instructor while doing a variety of exercises (some traditional Pilates, some designed to help you build strength, some designed specifically to help improve your balance and most designed to improve your bone strength). Everything is more fun with a small group of people with similar goals — right?

You can expect to have stronger bones, increase flexibility, improve posture, improve your balance and overall strength if you attend these sessions consistently. The training session will include exercises done standing, it will include exercises done lying down, exercises done seated and your instructor will always help you adapt exercises to your body.

You’ll be a good fit for this small group training session if:
You are over 60 and looking for exercise to help you stay strong and flexible
You want to work on improving your balance
You need to move more in your life (ie – you spend more time sitting than you’d like to admit)
You like to have fun while you exercise (who doesn’t right?!!)
You enjoy and appreciate feedback from an instructor on how to do movements safely and most effectively in your body
You enjoy working with highly trained instructors, but can’t afford $85 a session for private sessions
You want to do everything you can to keep your bones healthy and strong
You are looking for something to motivate you to exercise regularly
You like working out with others but don’t want to be lost in a big group.
You love the idea of a workout customized to you!

Meet Your Instructor

Mary is a retired physical therapist previously working with people with orthopedic problems. She began practicing Pilates around 2006 and went on to complete the Stott Pilates training program in 2009.

Mary is a firm believer in the need to “keep moving and finds Pilates and its principles very helpful for maintaining flexibility and strength. She feels it is an essential form of exercise to manage aches and pains while maintaining functional mobility.

Mary teaches a customized session designed to strengthen your entire body help create balance and mobility.

Register for class!

Are you nodding your head yes? Do you want to take control of your body and how it ages?

Register for Small Group Balance Session!

Win prizes in our March MATness challenge!

March Matness

March Matness started back in 2013 when Pilates teacher Benjamin Degenhardt decided to create kind of a March Madness for Pilates enthusiasts.. He posted a picture each day of March with one of the 34 original Pilates Mat exercises bringing awareness to the exercises, the Pilates Method and to the people who love to practice Pilates. You can read the story of how it all started by clicking here.

Looking back through social media I found some March MATness videos from 2016 that I believe was the first year we officially started celebrating March MATness as a studio! I included the video below from the first day of the challenge in case you want to see some footage from the first year!

Funny things: Watching this video now drives me a little crazy because in the 2016 video I kept calling the exercise the Hundreds. The official name of the exercise is the Hundred and some time after that was recorded I realized that I was adding that extra s, making it sound like you might have to do multiple sets of a hundred pumps…

11 years after it all started and 8 years after we started participating, the Pilates community and RCP still celebrates March Matness as a fun way to bring awareness to the Pilates exercises and to share our love of the Pilates Method!

Join us in participating in March MATness by participating in our March MATness challenge.

We’ll share the exercise of the day on our social media sites and our Youtube Channel. The easiest way to earn entries into our prize drawings is to watch our daily video where I explain the exercise of the day and comment on the video so we know you watched it! Click here to see the entire playlist of exercises!

Try out the exercise of the day practicing it your way! Remember, it’s just practice…we don’t expect you to be able to do all of the exercises perfectly…the fun is in practicing!

Too busy (or too far away) to come to the studio?

Want to see what a regular Pilates Mat practice could do for you? While we’d love it if you came to the studio, we also have options if you’d like to start your Pilates practice at home!

From now until March 1 you can get 50% off your first month of our Pilates Mat subscription (normally $34.99/month) or our Have it all subscription (normally $39.99/month). Cancel your monthly subscription at anytime.

In March we’ll be giving away special prizes all month long to our On Demand Library subscribers! Win prizes for things like getting the most classes in, being the most consistent and completing our daily March MATness exercise of the day.

Purchase a Pilates Mat Subscription!

Celebrate March MATness with Carey

General News

Every March the Pilates Community celebrates March MATness! It’s a whole month dedicated to celebrating the Pilates Mat exercises that Joseph Pilates created. Each day of the month is dedicated to an exercise in the traditional Pilates Mat exercise repetoire.

What can you expect from Pilates? We each have our own distinctive body shape, size and dimensions. Keeping this in mind, there are a number of ways that Pilates exercises can improve the way you feel in your body.

Better posture
Increased overall muscle tone especially related to the torso and abdominal wall referred to as the powerhouse/scoop
Less overall bulk – you’ll move with more grace and ease

Pilates will also change the way you feel!

When your body is incorrectly aligned for sustained periods of time, it is not uncommon to experience fatigue, discomfort and irritability. Pilates exercises will give you more energy and stamina to enjoy life!
Lowers stress levels and increases overall sense of well-being
Fewer headaches and less incidence of back pain (when skeletal structure imbalance is posture-based)
Boosted immune system
Sharper mental focus

What our clients tell us they find most valuable is that Pilates has got them moving more and that they have changed the way they move.

They have improved flexibility
They have greater ratios of muscle tone leading to increased stamina for sports and leisure activities
They have better balance and less incidence of chronic injury

Want to learn Pilates and celebrate Pilates March MATness with Carey? She’ll be teaching a 4 week all levels Pilates Mat small group session on Thursday mornings at 6:30 am. Purchase the 4 week series for $99 or use any Pilates Mat, Strength or Yoga small group package

Each session will focus on practicing the traditional Pilates Mat exercises adapted to your body

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Simple, consistent movement has made a difference in my life!

Getting Started, Pilates

Carey Sadler, Owner of Riercity Pilates.

I often get asked what my Pilates practice looks like. As a studio owner I have access to all the toys and all the Pilates equipment but I have to tell you the Pilates Mat exercises are the bread and butter of my Pilates practice!

Over the years I have found personally that keeping my movement practice consistent is the key to me feeling great and the Pilates Mat exercises are easy for me to get in no matter where I am and with very little “extra stuff” needed.

In the morning when I wake up I start my day with a 15 minute meditation and then practice a simple Pilates Mat routine. I also get in workouts on the Pilates equipment and I play and move a lot when I’m at the studio but my Pilates Mat practice…is really my thing! I love that whether I’m at home or traveling I can always find time and space to get my Pilates practice in!

If you are looking for guidance on learning the Pilates Mat exercises and creating a practice in your life I want to encourage you to try one of our in studio small group sessions…you might just create a movement practice that you can continue for the rest of your life!

Schedule a session Sunday’s at 5pm, Wednesdays at 8 am or Thursday at 4:30 pm!