Pilates Power
Pilates Style|May - June 2017

Lesly Levy taught aerobics, Spinning and yoga before discovering that Pilates combined them all in one neat little package.

Anne Marie O’Connor
Pilates Power

PILATES STYLE Tell us about your childhood.

LESLY LEVY I was born in Chicago in 1960, then moved to the south suburbs in 1968. Right before my senior year in high school, my father was transferred to Boston. I went to the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, where I studied English, communications and French. I met my future husband Alan during my first semester, and we were engaged by our last semester.

PS How did you get into fitness?

LESLY Soon after graduating college, I moved to New York City to be with my fiancé. I worked as a media buyer at Young and Rubicam advertising, where like me, everyone smoked. I quit smoking on my wedding day (after 10 long years) and gained 16 pounds within two months. That’s when I joined the Brooklyn Queens Racquet Club.

In 1986, Alan and I decided we wanted to start a family, so we bought our first home in Westchester. Our daughter was born in 1987, and our son in 1990. I became a stay-at-home mom, and got more and more into fitness. Immediately after we moved, I joined the Briarcliff Racquet Club. A year after I had my second child, I was working out in the weight room when a woman came up to me for guidance. Because I was not a trained professional, I did not feel comfortable helping her and referred her to a personal trainer who was on the floor. She told me that she would prefer to be trained by a woman more her age and suggested that I think about becoming a personal trainer. So I thought, Why not?, and in November 1992, I acquired my personal trainer certification with ACE.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May - June 2017 من Pilates Style.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة May - June 2017 من Pilates Style.

ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.

المزيد من القصص من PILATES STYLE مشاهدة الكل
Pilates Style

Finding New Momentum

Overcoming obstacles caused by the pandemic, the virtual version of this popular festival still achieved its goals.

time-read
3 mins  |
September - October 2020
Carola Trier's Extraordinary Journey
Pilates Style

Carola Trier's Extraordinary Journey

In his authoritative biography of the first woman to open a studio, Reiner Grootenhuis delved into her personal papers to tell the harrowing story of her time in a prison camp during World War II.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September - October 2020
Racism in the Pilates Industry
Pilates Style

Racism in the Pilates Industry

Incidents of police brutality and the ensuing Black Lives Matter protests have shed a bright light on systemic racism in the U.S., including in the Pilates industry. Here, Black instructors share their experiences.

time-read
10 mins  |
September - October 2020
For Self-defense
Pilates Style

For Self-defense

Moves of the Month

time-read
8 mins  |
September - October 2020
Comfort Food Made Healthy
Pilates Style

Comfort Food Made Healthy

This fall, cozy up to tantalizing comfort food that’s also healthy. A new cookbook from Kristin Cavallari shows you how.

time-read
9 mins  |
September - October 2020
Pilates Postcard
Pilates Style

Pilates Postcard

A Pilates teacher shares how the method is making waves abroad.

time-read
2 mins  |
September - October 2020
The Ultimate Gift
Pilates Style

The Ultimate Gift

One year ago, Kahley Schiller’s life was completely upended by an extreme health crisis. But thanks to her 20-year Pilates practice, the 40-year-old was able to recover quickly.

time-read
9 mins  |
September - October 2020
Revelations
Pilates Style

Revelations

For Sarita Allen, a star of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and a protégée of Kathleen Stanford Grant, Pilates was key to her decades-long career.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September - October 2020
Pilates Style

Meaning WITHIN THE Movement

The Five Elements of Chinese Medicine help you go deeper into your practice, promising plenty of play along the way.

time-read
10+ mins  |
September - October 2020
PILATES IN THE HOOD
Pilates Style

PILATES IN THE HOOD

Though she’s trained many top stars, Kim Carruthers says she’s most proud of her work as the founder and director of a nonprofit bringing the method to underserved communities.

time-read
3 mins  |
September - October 2020