Michel’Le Clairmont finds solace in her Pilates studio

Michel’Le Clairmont combines physical movement with mindfulness and breathwork at Pilates Mind Body Spirit.

When the father of actress, model and influencer Michel’Le Clairmont had double bypass surgery, she wanted to help him recover.

"His arteries were clogged 99.9%, and he almost died," Clairmont says. "He was recovering and going to physical therapy, but he was getting injured there."

Certified in Pilates, she developed a heart program for him — and it was a success.

"I could help him recover with the equipment," she said. "I helped him change his lifestyle and he made a full recovery. He became healthier and stronger. He had core strength, so he was happy."

That paved the way for Pasadena's Pilates Mind Body Spirit, which combines physical movement with mindfulness and breathwork. It will celebrate its fourth anniversary from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 3, with local vendors and brands such as Lerin Activewear and Ubatuba Acai passing out acai bowls.

The studio will host reformer Pilates classes as well as hot mat Pilates classes; DJ Noah Kickback will perform. Other goodies are courtesy of Petit Pot, Naked Nature and Ocean's Halo Seaweed.

"These four years have been amazing, helping different people with heart conditions, breast cancer, or pro athletes rehabbing from different injuries," she said.

Pilates Mind Body Spirit is a premier reformer Pilates and optional hot and non-hot mat studio that offers a variety of Pilates programs that are suitable for different fitness goals.

It has classes and one-on-one private reformer training with specialized programming.

The Pilates group classes have an array of Pilates reformer and mat classes at different levels, as well as Pilates reformer arms, abs and glutes, and reformer Pilates and reformer cardio. Pilates Mind Body Spirit is the world's first chromotherapy Pilates studio.

She was introduced to Pilates after tearing her meniscus and ACL, the latter of which occurred after returning to soccer too early.

"I played competitive soccer for 17-plus years, and I was a competitive gymnast for 15-plus years," she said.

"I was so hardcore into working out. It wasn't what I was used to. But it is hard if you do it right and it's so good for your body. That changed my trajectory from soccer to Pilates."

After graduating with a degree in psychology with a concentration in neurology from Azusa Pacific University, she was immediately drawn to the discipline's focus on mind-body connection.

"When I was certified, I was connecting Pilates with psychology and neurology and it encompassed more of what I wanted to learn and how I was teaching Pilates," she said.

Helping clients return to form is chill inducing for Clairmont.

"I have a client who was in a car accident," she said. "She tried chiropractic treatments, acupuncture, massage, she did private Pilates me and after the sessions, she just started crying. She said, ‘I have never been able to release and feel so good. Thank you so much. I don't feel the pain.’"

Soon, Clairmont is looking to expand her team and grow the business. She wants to create a one-stop wellness center with Pilates and nutrition, as well as massage, acupuncture, chiropractors.

"I want people to keep learning about their bodies," she said.

"A lot of people who come to us, they’re used to just working out to feel the burn. They’re not connecting with their body. They’re not understanding what they should be feeling, like the muscles releasing. What we’re focusing on is expanding our online platform. But with our fourth anniversary, we’re doing a rebrand and relaunch."

Pilates Mind Body Spirit

2982 E. Colorado Boulevard, Suite 114, Pasadena

626-460-8948

pilatesmindbodyspirit.com

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