Flourish Pilates

Flourish Pilates is a first class studio offering group classes as well as personal training. My current favorite is a mat class with Scottie who is a «Pilates Perfectionist». Her continual feedback, catchy phrases and clever acroynms provide me with subliminal reminders that come to my mind and cause me to be mindful about my posture during the day. I have set some goals for a trip this fall and I have no doubt that Scottie and Clare (the owner) will provide excellent support to help me achieve my objectives. I am 58 years old and love that I am not surrounded by a bunch of hard bodies, but by women of all ages seeking to «stengthen and lengthen» and move throughout life in a pain-​free way.

Clare Baxter is a master of the Stott Pilates system and delivers a consistently stellar job with both floor work and on the studio’s many pieces of specialized equipment (such as the Reformers). I understand that all of the instructors and staff are top-​notch. Flourish is well decorated and in a lovely setting on West Linn’s main street. The workouts are nice and focused with great attention paid to the individual. The sessions are therapeutic and even relaxing at times. It isn’t until the next day that you feel what a perfectly thorough workout you have received! I have been to a good handful of other boutique studios and was delighted to find such a gem as Flourish.

The first time I walked in to Flourish Pilates for personal training, Clare Baxter asked me what my goal was. I told her that I planned on looking like Gabrielle Reece in just 10 short weeks! She laughed, nervously (I don’t stand a chance in hell of ever looking like GR) but she didn’t know if I was serious or not. Truthfully, it was January 2008, and I was planning a trip to Mexico for Spring Break. I was certain that 10 weeks of Pilates training could offset 10 years of overeating and drinking (um, the word you are looking for is, «Duh!»). While I thoroughly enjoyed my Pilates experience, Clare is not a miracle worker. So, I ended up sporting a pretty sexy sarong during my Spring Break Vacation.
Fast forward one year, I called Clare again to schedule some Pilates training sessions. When I walked in to the studio, she reminded me that my goal was to look like Gabrielle Reece! I knew I made the right decision to return to Flourish Pilates.
This Pilates studio is located in Historic West Linn. As the owner, Clare works along side other Pilates instructors to provide Pilates training in private, semiprivate and small group sessions (usually no more than six people). My personal training experience has been centered on the Pilates reformer, a intimidating (some may even call it barbaric) piece of equipment that provides (with proper training, of course) one of the best low-​impact workouts. If you are interested in trying out a new type of workout, I would definitely recommend a trip to Flourish Pilates.