Pilates Heights

Pilates Heights is a neighborhood gem and more!
The bright, upstairs studio is small, but they have all the equipment you could want or need. More importantly, they have excellent instructors. I’ve got a lot of injuries, and in both group classes and private sessions I’ve been learning both how to modify exercises and how to strengthen compensatory muscles. Plus, of course, core strength.
In addition, they have been very flexible with my schedule/​finance kerfuffle, never getting impatient and being more than fair.

I came here once a week for about a year after a car accident left me with a lot of back pain. Elizabeth was a great instructor and was so consistently kind.
When I started my lessons, I didn’t feel excited about the new exercise plan, the way I might have if I were signing up simply to get in great shape. Instead, I was feeling a lot of worry about the pain and whether I would be able to get it under control. At the same time that she showed me exercises and posture that helped me to feel physically better, Elizabeth was very sensitive to my emotions as well. I felt very comfortable spending time with her each week. While I often felt rushed in my visits at a physical therapy office, I found my pilates classes here to be calming and extremely useful in contrast.
This studio is such a nice part of a nice neighborhood!

This is a great Pilates studio and local business. I have been taking individual classes for three or four years, and I’ve never had a bad experience. I especially love Alisa and Elizabeth. They really know their stuff and are great with handling injuries, which is originally what brought me to the studio. The studio itself is sunny, clean, and well-​stocked, and it has a soothing, welcoming feel. I highly recommend it.

I have been going to Pilates Heights for a year now and LOVE it!
I injured my back and was having some mild pain. I hoped that Pilates could develop the core strength I really needed. I was right! I signed up for individual sessions with Valerie and she is amazing! My core is now so much stronger and more flexible than when I started a year ago — it’s wonderful! I love working with Valerie, she is very intuitive, has a great understanding of the body, and a warm personality. Can’t say enough good things! It is an investment, but a worthwhile one!

I have never been comfortable in group classes. I always felt out of place in the yoga studio.
Now, Pilates Heights feels like a second home to me. I love the group classes. The instructors are amazing and so supportive! I have tried several Pilates studios in the area and Pilates Heights is the only one that has an affordable membership program that allows me lots of flexibility and easy online usability.
Group classes include mat AND springboard for the same price. At other studios, you have to pay extra for springboard, which makes no sense to me.
The owner, Elizabeth, is very approachable and warm. The entire staff are constantly attending workshops to improve their teaching, form, and to pass on the newest and most effective Pilates workouts.
Love it!

At 52, I stated Pilates with ELizabeth in her original small studio space. I was a total novice, not even a yoga class under my belt. She taught me at the exact right pace and we almost immediately solved some immediate issues. I followed her to the new, bright upstairs studio space and I love the change. It is a walk into tranquility and trust just entering the building.
I have had many of the teachers, but my favorites are Elizabeth and Alisa. Now, as a woman of a certain age, I am stronger and more fit than I have been since I had children. I can crunch with the pack and revel in my improved balance and flexibility. I have recommended it to my older husband, my even older mom and my much younger and athletic sons. Even if you are middle aged and soft, try it. You’ll love it.

This is a wonderful studio, Knowledgable teachers and a beautiful space. I have changed the shape of my body by visiting Pilates Heights regularly.

Levels that can help a beginner start and challenges for those who think they know everything. Staff knows their stuff and are supportive in helping you learn and reach your goals.

About one year ago I signed up for two private sessions per week at Pilates Heights. My plan was to lose some weight and get into better shape and then move onto other things. I found the Pilates Heights studio to be very low key and a comfortable place for someone like me who really didn’t like how I felt or looked. The private and duet sessions are reasonably priced, but definitely a stretch for my budget. Well, it’s a year later and I reached my initial goals a while ago – I’ve lost weight, I’m much stronger, and I’m now able to hike, bike and do all the other things I planned. I’m still going to my private pilates sessions though, because I love them so much. My instructor, Eugenia, is knowledgeable, professional, flexible and basically just lovely. I’m sure all the instructors are equally terrific.

I love Pilates Heights. They are a neighborhood gem. The teachers are very knowledgeable, kind, down-​to-​earth, funny and their instruction is excellent.
Pilates has turned out to be a cornerstone in my fitness and self-​care and it’s a great counterpart to yoga and other training. One of the things I enjoy most is it’s is an awesome mental *and* physical workout. The mind-​body connection is very alive in this work.

Pilates Heights is a great studio right in my neighborhood so that was a plus for me when I was looking for a place. I went there for rehab pilates with Janine to work through some back issues that weren’t going away.
Little did I know that I would have such a great introduction to pilates.
Janine has a 6^th sense for understanding how to work with your pain issues and identifying areas to work on and outlining a path to recovery. I worked with Elizabeth a few times as well and she has a very gentle and comfortable communication style. She also introduced me to some new ‘moves’ on the reformer that worked muscles I didn’t even know I had!
Well worth the time and investment to get the personalized attention, especially for first timers and rehap!

I’ve been to other matt classes and I think Elizabeth is the best. She helped develop a 20 minute work out that I try to do every night. My back stability has improved greatly. The studio is also really cute and convenient.

Pilates Heights is Amazing! I first heard about Pilates Heights through a colleague in the healing arts. I decided to try the individual sessions for some one-​on-​one Pilates training.
Wow! I am hooked! This is one of the best things I have ever done for myself! I feel motivated and energized after EVERY session! And I always learn something new about my body.
I have now had private sessions with Elizabeth, Stephanie, Chris, and Janine. They all have different expertise and professional experience. I have enjoyed EVERY session thoroughly, and have been able to incorporate my knowledge into daily movements such as walking, sitting, standing, and stretching.
I can’t say enough about the benefits of Pilates. It has been a whole new world of body knowledge and training for me.
I now see Janine every Monday. She is just fabulous! VERY knowledgeable about the human body, muscle groups, and proper techniques.
I am always reassured that I am in professional hands, and I am not worried about injury. Janine pays close attention to my movements and gives excellent and immediate feedback to help me self-​correct and improve with each exercise.
I look forward to every Monday with Janine. She is a gem.
Elizabeth has put together a great group of teachers, and a quiet and clean space to practice Pilates.
I also recommend the group class with Elizabeth Walker at Bernal Yoga on Wednesday evenings. She is a refined teacher and even makes a beginner like me feel welcome and encouraged to practice more.
Thank you Pilates Heights!
Amy Petrarca, MS, RN, L.Ac.

Thanks to Elizabeth and the gang I have finally found a exercise I enjoy! I am a self professed Pilates retard and they totally put up with the fact that I forget everything between each session. They have the patience of saints and don’t mind telling me how to do things over and over again. They all make the sessions really fun!

I love this sweet spot. Christopher is my teacher and he is great — fun and supportive. Elizabeth, the owner, is great — super nice and really helpful.

Elizabeth, owner of Pilates Heights, is a miracle worker. I have scoliosis and suffered from intermittent back spasms for years. Yoga, Alexander Technique… nothing helped. Until Pilates. Elizabeth is an excellent diagnostician and as good a physical therapist as any RPTs I have encountered. She is always learning and growing in her field. Plus personable, friendly, and professional.

Pilates Heights is a great little studio right in the heart of Bernal Hill. Elizabeth and her staff are friendly attentive and skilled. Elizabeth is gentle and patient in her approach, with many years of training under her belt. Her rehab pilates work is a really good idea for anyone experiencing chronic or acute pain.

As i have two herniated discs, i was very leery about trying out pilates. i had heard that it would be helpful for strengthening my «core»; i.e., that it would help support my back and thus reduce the potential for further back injury in the future.
so I tried pilates somewhere else and the instructor was skilled but lacked the ability to help me. i left pilates alone for quite a while.
My therapist raved about Pilates Heights and Elizabeth Walker so i decided to give her a try. Am i glad i did — what a difference from my first pilates «instructor»! after just a few weeks i could feel my core getting stronger and my back stiffness subsiding.
Unlike my previous experience, everybody at Pilates Heights really cares about my injuries and my back rehabilitation. despite the frailty of my situation, i have made significant progress and am very much «on the mend». i wouldn’t be able to work out at my gym if i hadn’t gotten caring, attentive and competent pilates training first, and i attribute all that to the crew at Pilates Heights.
Thanks!

I’m all for local businesses. I’m all for walking in my neighborhood to get to everything I need. Pilates Heights is a great addition to our little main street on Bernal Hill.
I’m not a «Pilates Guy.» I started out training with Pilates Heights with no knowledge or what my core was I why I would want to strengthen it. I received great one on one attention with really patient, careful instruction. Now I am stronger, have less back pain and generally a nicer person.
Thanks, Pilates Heights, especially Elizabeth!

Pilates Heights might be one of the smallest Pilates places in SF, but don’t let that fool you as it has good credentials. Elizabeth Walker, one of the founders of PH and currently an instructor there, is a talented, knowledgeable gem of an instructor, and also a yoga practicioner. She holds her group classes down the street at Bernal Yoga and the PH studio provides the space for privates and duets for all levels.
If you are new to Pilates I highly recommend taking at least 5 – 10 group classes for beginners with a competent instructor like Elizabeth. Then, if you can swing it, get in some individual sessions (aka privates) and then add in or switch to /​alternate with duets. Keep doing the group classes all the while. You will really see results.
If you are already skilled in Pilates, PH can accommodate you. Also, even in this tiny space PH does have equipment, not just mats.
There are a number of other instructors at PH now, and the only reason I didn’t give 5 stars is becauase I don’t know them and, while I bet they are great, I don’t want to attest to something I don’t yet know enough about.
Once you find the PH sign, the studio is a few steps down the sideyard. It’s a cozy one-​room studio and perfectly suited to private or small group classes. You will get a personal touch here– It’s not a Pilates mill.