Welcome to Our Studio
Our Story
At the Pilates Studio by Maria Larsen, the Pilates Method is taken to another level!
With 18 years of existence and 9 certified and specialized instructors, we are currently the largest and most reputable Pilates studio in Portugal, with a vast national medical network recognized for maintaining and rehabilitating its students' physical well-being.
We offer a wide range of Mat and Machine classes with a student-to-instructor ratio recognized by the Pilates Method Alliance (PMA), the global governing body for the method, and the Body Control Pilates (BCPA), to which we belong.
With the support of a team of national and international teachers, mentors, and healthcare professionals, our goal is to assist children, teenagers, adults, seniors, as well as athletes and dancers.
Access to the studio is granted through an Assessment/Introduction class following a specific protocol that aims to tailor the exercises and corrective training program to the needs and goals of each individual.
But that's not all – we've gone global! From valuable partnerships in London to a groundbreaking orthopedic rehabilitation project in India, our influence spans borders.
The Pilates Method
PILATES — The Emergence of a Consciousness Which Teaches Healthy and Natural Movement.
Pilates is a neuromuscular corrective training method that combines joint mobility, strength, flexibility, alignment, and breathing. It restores balance to the musculoskeletal system by developing body awareness, ensuring good posture, and promoting healthy and natural body movement, both in daily routines and in more complex movements associated with sports or dance.
The method consists of a rich repertoire of corrective exercises performed on equipment and on the floor, often using accessories to enhance training feedback.
Pilates is a mind-body discipline guided by rigorous ethical and professional standards, based on 8 principles:
Centering, Concentration, Breath, Control, Alignment, Relaxation, Flowing Movements, and Stretching.
The method has proven results in the realm of physical training, postural realignment, rehabilitation (contributing to injury prevention and recurrence), and in the areas of joint mobility, stabilization, strength, and flexibility.
Joseph Pilates
Creator and promoter of the Pilates method.
Joseph H. Pilates was born in Dusseldorf, Germany in 1880 and was a child with many health problems, suffering from rickets, rheumatic fever, and asthma. He became a true athlete, participating in skiing, gymnastics, diving, weightlifting, with boxing being his favorite sport.
He even trained boxers, but it was through training artists and dancers in his studio on 8th Avenue in New York that he became well-known. He worked with George Balanchine, Martha Graham, Rudolf van Laban, and trained the Hamburg Police and Scotland Yard before moving to the United States in 1926.
Together with his wife Clara, they were responsible for "The Studio," where all clients were individually trained.
His exercises became recognized for their effectiveness in treating injuries and postural problems.
