Yoga Shop Opens on Broadway at 109

Peter and Maxine Roël’s newly established Pilates Shop/Yoga Garage recently relocated to the stretch of Broadway between 108th and 109th Streets. It moved to Morningside Heights after its location in a private residential area on 96th and Columbus Avenue was purchased by a Buddhist organization.

Pilates Shop/ Yoga Garage brings to Morningside practices of physical workout, looking to appeal to a University-based clientele to add to a large group of regulars who are willing to make the trip up to their new spot. The shop opened in late September.

“I love this neighborhood, I love it. I always did,” said Roël, a former ballet-trained dancer who hails from Amsterdam. “I want it to be people’s local Pilates, where they can come in for a tune-up.”

Although students pay a discounted fee of $40, the regular price of Pilates sessions ranges from $55 to $125 per person, depending on whether one chooses to be in a small group or not. The price of yoga sessions, on the other hand, depends on the kind of training each individual requires.

“For New York, I guess that’s a reasonable price ... if I could afford it,” said Miriam Mack, CC ’10, who paid a total of $90 for a biweekly 10-week yoga program at Columbia’s Dodge Fitness Center.

“As an adult, it’s affordable, but as a student, I don’t think it’s affordable at all,” Mack said.

Yet the Roëls focus on the service they provide. While acknowledging the “serene, focused, and holistic” nature of yoga and Pilates, they emphasize the mechanically rigorous training behind the exercises.

“The idea is that you come in, get the teaching,” Roël said. “Then once in a while you come back, get tweaked, get the wheels aligned, and get new information. Somewhere where it is not about the pressure of your surroundings, but about you.”

The Roëls’ say their studio is distinguished by their emphasis on personalization of the instruction and guidance their customers receive, offering private sessions for Pilates and yoga, in addition to private yoga sessions in the comfort of one’s own home.

Each program is individualized before classes even start. Everyone must fill out an extensive questionnaire prior to their scheduled classes, which allows for the ten trainers to create a structured training tailored to each body.