Three years ago, Monika Halloran was playing soccer with her children in Miami when she tore both her ACL and meniscus in her knee.
It was while recovering from surgery, Halloran said, that she discovered her passion: pilates.
“I think [pilates] can benefit your body and your mind,” she said. “I think when people try it, [they will] really like it.”
Halloran said after her surgery she began taking three or four pilates classes a week at a studio in Florida because she felt that traditional physical therapy was not helping her.
After a little more than a month, Halloran said, her knee felt stronger.
Her thoughts, she said, soon turned to opening her own pilates studio.
On Nov. 9, Halloran’s dream was realized when she held a grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony at Art of Pilates LI, her new pilates studio in Roslyn.
Halloran said her family, friends and members of the Roslyn Chamber of Commerce attended the ceremony, which included champagne, cheese and crackers and other appetizers.
“It was really beautiful,” she said.
Located at 55 Bryant Ave., the studio, Halloran said, is a “boutique pilates studio,” meaning it is a small location where people can come and hang out, talk and get personal feedback from instructors about their workout.
“We wanted to keep it very personal,” she said, when talking about the experience a client would receive at her studio.
Art of Pilates LI is equipped with six STOTT reformers, Halloran said, which are machines that use springs, leverage and body weight as resistance while performing movements targeting specific muscle groups.
Clients can enroll in beginner, intermediate and advanced classes online through the Art of Pilates LI website, Halloran said.
An introductory class costs $20 for 50 minutes, Halloran said, and there is also a five class intro special for $99.
There is even a pre-natal class for pregnant mothers, she said.
Halloran, a resident of Stewart Manor, said Art of Pilates LI has five different instructors who each have between 10 and 15 years of experience.
Clients are also able to select which instructor they would like to take a class with, she said.
“I think [people] would enjoy the friendly staff [and] the small group feeling of pilates,” Halloran said.
Art of Pilates LI’s Roslyn studio is Halloran’s only location and she said she has no plans of expanding to more locations at the moment.
“I’m going to stay right here,” she said. “I’m putting [all of my] energy into it.”
Open for about three weeks, Halloran said, she usually sees three or four clients a day at the studio.
She said she understands that it will take time for her business to grow.
“It’s just the beginning,” she said. “I have a long road ahead of me.”
