Temescal Pilates and Bodywork

I went to see Anya Schmidt for several months for 1:1 pilates reformer work after the birth of my second child and after suffering some pelvic floor injuries during the birth. Anya patiently and skillfully helped me to gain back my strength. The studio is beautiful and the machines she uses are easy to use and great quality. I highly recommend 1:1 pilates with Anya for anyone recovering from an injury wishing to gain core strength or for anyone wanting reformer instruction from someone who is gifted, intuitive and attentive to the needs of your body.

A welcoming, organized, fully equipped studio in a lovely space, with a darling chocolate lab on-​site (as in labrador retriever, not a laboratory for making chocolate :)
But the best thing about this studio is Alyssa Conn. Her in-​depth knowledge of anatomy, exercise physiology, orthopedics, bodywork, and movement is tremendously helpful if you’re dealing with pain, injury, or asymmetry. What’s even better is that she explains things to me very clearly and patiently, which is important because I want to understand the underlying causes of my frequent injuries and how to treat and prevent them.

I am writing this review as both a health care provider and a client of Leah Paperno. Leah rocks! I couldn’t have asked for a better pilates instructor. I’ve been doing privates with Leah for a few months now and have noticed many positive changes in my body. My hamstring muscles (biceps femoris, intermembronosis and intertendonosis) tend to be tight, my groin muscles (gracilis) tend to be tight (and weak) and my abs (rectus abdominus, obliques) tend to be weak. Thanks to Leah’s observations, we have explored both stretching out these bad boys and making them stronger. My body awareness has increased dramatically under Leah’s instruction and I feel my body both open up and become stronger. Everyone should be so lucky to have a wonderful pilates teacher like Leah!
The nitty gritty: Cash or check, park in the lot that shares with Mariposa Bakery and get there on time to make the most of your sessions with Leah!
Find Leah here:

I am a lifelong runner and was in despair after I tore a meniscus in one knee and wound up unable to run for months afterward. No matter how long I rested between runs, even the shortest jog seemed to bring on the same pain and swelling. Clearly something had to fundamentally change before I could run again.
I went to an orthopedist, who referred me to a physical therapist, who gave me a scattering of exercises but didn’t seem to have any coherent strategy that would get me back to regular running.
I recognized that many of the physical therapy exercises actually came from Pilates, but I didn’t feel like I was getting the context and grounding to really understand how to do them with full awareness. My wife used to be a student of Jen’s, so I contacted Jen to see if she could pick up where the physical therapy left off.
My sessions with Jen turned out to consistently be one of the highlights of my week. Jen showed incredibly keen perception of how I stand, walk and move in general. She gave fantastic explanations that helped me understand my own body better. She also guided me through many different challenging exercises, both intellectually and physically, that also deepened my body awareness.
Today, I’m back to running every other day, and more than that, I’m running with greater comfort and fluidity than I have in many years. I am deeply grateful to Jen. If I ever hit the jackpot, one of the first things I will do is schedule a session with her every single day.

I went to see Jennifer with tons of overuse tightness from cycling and unfortunately just being old. She did a great job of stretching me out to relieve the pain and also teaching me how to be more mindful by strengthen and stretching BEFORE I get hurt. She is just great at this sort of work: very knowledgeable and good at communicating what is going on with your body and how you can work to avoid hurting in the future!
The studio is a comfortable and spacious. All in all a fun space to be in!

Jen is an amazing and gifted teacher. I have taken classes with her over the years and seen her practice grow and change, becoming more of an invitation into self awareness and exploration than a regimented exercise. Jen is grounded and giving and brings those qualities to her teachings. I give her the most heartfelt of recommendations.

Jennifer During is the best «body» teacher I have ever worked with, and I’ve worked with some great yoga, pilates, alexander, and aikido folks. In her sessions she is always 100% present, she knows the body, and responds creatively to whatever is going on. With me, as I was in the mid to later stages of recovering from a pretty serious injury, she could adjust how I was approaching an exercise or totally adjust her approach on the fly depending on what was going on with me. She is always both very careful and gentle with me, while pushing me to get the max out of everything that I was doing. No dogmas limit her perspective and she has a great intuitive feel for what is happening in the moment. Radiantly positive without being dopey, serious without being a bore, her sessions are fun, challenging, educational and dynamic. Yup.