A brand new Reformer Pilates, Mat Pilates and Yoga studio has opened in York.
MOVA Studios, which opened in May, offers small group classes across three disciplines, and a Run Club launching this month.
Housed on the first floor of Hargrave House on Boroughbridge Road in York, the space has been intentionally designed to be different from a standard gym setting – and aims to create a calm, warm and naturally lit environment.
MOVA was founded by qualified Pilates instructor Ruby McTough, with the aim of building a studio that welcomes every level.
“I always wanted movement in my life,” Ruby explained to YorkMix. “But I told myself that I couldn’t do something that was my passion, I thought I had to climb the corporate ladder in order to be happy.
“As I got older and older, I realised you choose to create the life that you want, and I absolutely love running, I love reformer, I love mat, I love yoga – so why don’t I do that?
“I can share the passion that I have done throughout my life, and help people with the knowledge that I have learned along the way.”
Community and connection are important core values at MOVA.
“I’m trying to focus on the word connection and bring that into a community, because it’s a really powerful word if used correctly,” said Ruby. “It took me a long time to try and figure out how can I make sure that is translated out from the core of MOVA.
“It had to start with me, then infiltrate into the instructors, who will then pass it on to clients, and then also working within the community with other small independent businesses.”
Classes are accessible to complete beginners and challenging enough for experienced regulars, with instructors trained to adapt every movement to the individual, as well as opportunities for one-on-one instruction.
“We’re getting quite a few people through who are wanting to build confidence, whether that’s just with the machine or confidence building being in a group setting, or they’ve had a sports injury, or they’ve just recently given birth and they’re just coming back into exercise,” said Ruby.
“So we’ll be doing a mix of one to ones and group classes, and then we’ll be doing specific types of class as well. We’re going to be introducing classes specifically for running, classes for pre and post partum, and hopefully doing some yoga classes too.”
Classes vary between 45 minutes to one hour. Individual classes start from £16 per class, with multi-class packs available, and memberships start from £72 a month.
Run Club will commence on Thursday 11 June and will run every second and fourth week of the month.
From Wednesday 10 June MOVA are also starting running-specific classes called Run Strong, and have partnered with community brand Decathlon to launch their run club and running events.
“We’re proud to be partnering with Decathlon, as they share our values of community, friendliness, and creating an accessible atmosphere,” said Ruby.
Ruby encourages anyone who might be interested in reformer and mat pilates to come down. “If you’ve got a little bit of curiosity about what this is, let that lead you to discover something that might be really great for you,” she said.
“That’s all it takes, is just that little bit of interest, and getting through the door, and then realising that there’s lots of other people that are here for the same reasons, and they’re also discovering something new about themselves.”
Find out more and how to book at the MOVA Studios website here.
Gallery
