After 17 years of core strengthening and posture perfecting, renowned Pilates guru Brooke Siler is closing the doors of her cozy Bleecker Street studio, Re:AB Pilates, today.
Siler trained with Joseph Pilates’ protege Romana Kryzanowska and was one of the first crop of teachers to popularize the method in the ’90s. She released the famed book The Pilates Body in 2000, and her studio was a go-to spot for Pilates devotees and teacher trainings, known for its quality instruction and homey, community feel.
“I loved that feeling. That’s what I wanted to create, and I created it, and I feel very proud of myself for having achieved that,” she says. “Now, I’m hearing all of these things about how much I’ve meant to people and how much Re:AB has changed their lives.”
Siler says that her business was thriving but that ongoing issues with the landlord made it impossible to renew the studio’s lease this year. “I’m sad to go, but it’s really what I’ve wanted for myself for a very long time, and this forced my hand,” she says. “It’s such a New York story.” (Read: Equally famous yogi Elena Brower recently closed her Tribeca studio, Virayoga, with a similar story.)
Of course, Siler took the time to make sure her clients and teachers were set-up before she turned off the lights, and many will be headed to Uptown Pilates,Grasshopper Pilates, and Pilates Challenge, where she’ll also be teaching occasionally over the next year.
After that, she’ll be moving to England with her family, where she says she’ll continue training teachers and spreading the Pilates gospel, although exactly what that next chapter will look like is still up in the air.
“If anything, there might be a slight pause so I can take a deep breath,” she says, but it won’t be too long before her breathing again involves The Hundred. “I don’t think I would function without teaching, it’s a part of who I am.” And while it may be much harder to book a session with her from now on, you can always follow her lead by doing Pilates while you walk. —Lisa Elaine Held
For more information, visit www.reabnyc.com
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