Today we’d like to introduce you to Elle Erdman.
Hi Elle, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
I started a Pilates studio because when I moved here from New York there were not a lot of Pilates studios that matched the quality of studios I was familiar with, it was hard to find the classically strong foundation of Pilates yet taught with a fun, contemporary flare that I feel Pilates has evolved to what it is today. Instead, I was seeing a lot of Lagree, or poorly instructed classes with a high-intensity push and larger format studios which made me feel lost and also totally unseen with little to no attention on the students. I was searching for more of the roots of Pilates and was not coming across a lot, at least on the east side of LA so I opened my own! In our fourth year of being open, L.A. Springs still holds a high standard of focus on small/semi-private classes that ensure the client has all the attention they need to feel the function and form of the method. And that each class delivers the goals of what Joseph Pialtes himself intended; alignment, strength, whole-body tone and activation of the deeper musculature to support our posture. We found a beautiful space on Sunset Boulevard and knew it was it!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Nothing is smooth when you’re opening a business. I also have an incredible life parter, and business parter who I have a family with and takes on half the challenges! It took way more time to actually open because of renovations. Then there was competition. There were challenges with finding instructors that truly aligned with our values and the studio’s philosophy etc. But hard work and dedication and staying true to yourself and the vision of the studio can really prevail!
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
We opened at six person group reformer Pilates studio in the heart of Echo Park with room for 1:1 privates as well! There is a magic when you walk into our lofty, spacious, and sunlit studio that sets us apart from some of the more corporate or uninspiring feeling studios around us that turn to Class Pass which makes for less community. What we wanted to reflect that through the space in that Pilates is more than a workout, it is about checking in with your whole body self, your level of wellness and alignment as a living, breathing thing part of a larger whole. People naturally have lots of muscle imbalances or discomfort they live with, so so we encourage not just a strength training class, but how to thoughtfully improve the way you move to better your daily life from doing Pilates, under the care of really informed instruction! Most of our instructors are dancers and movement professionals, they do other things than just Pilates; dance, choreograph, act, teach yoga and other somatic modalities, and that translates deeply though the classes as well because they are deep in their own bodies. Also these past two years we have started our own Teacher Training program for learning how to teach the reformer and it was been a really wonderful experience seeing the certified instructors now teach in other studios bring forth our knowledge and contribution to the Pilates landscape of LA. We also offer special Prenatal and Postnatal reformer classes, that no one else on the east side is really doing so that sets us apart, and as a mom of two with a deep passion for birth education, I strongly encourage strength training in Pilates resulting in a strong birth, delivery and recovery!
Pricing:
- Intro special: 2 classes for $50.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://laspringspilates.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laspringspilates/
Image Credits
Wrenne Evans (for personal photo)
Logan Rigg (for additional photos)
