We offer both virtual and in-person one-on-one sessions and small group classes!
See the weekly Zoom schedule in "Classes - My Group Class" and contact us for more details.
Check us out on Youtube (My Brooklyn Pilates) for simple, effective, and safe exercises and short work-outs.
At home | On Zoom
Let’s get back to feeling better, healthier and stronger.
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Workouts designed to fit your wellness goals and needs.
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Private or small group sessions. We come to you.
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Instructor will be masked, limit contact and keep respectful spacing, if desired, and can also do online.
About Us
We are a group of experienced certified movement instructors who offer customized private and semi-private sessions and small group classes. We believe that through mindful movement, the connection with oneself can be strengthened. Our practice focuses on the mind-body connection to improve one's overall health and well-being. In the words of Joseph Pilates, "Not only is health a normal condition, but it is our duty not only to attain it but to maintain it." Sessions and classes are currently offered in Pilates, yoga, and dance for all ages and abilities.
The My Brooklyn Experience
My Brooklyn prides itself on providing the best service possible through customizing your experience. We work with you to reach your wants, goals, and ever changing health needs. Our instructors will work with you in your home, office, outside, or virtually via Zoom to suit your needs. We offer in-home/office/virtual private and semi-private sessions throughout New York City and Long Island.
Small group classes are currently offered virtually via Zoom and in person in Crown Heights, Brooklyn and Fitness Incentive in Babylon, NY. If you'd like to get a class of your own started, let us know!
If it's your first time, or if you're a seasoned athlete, we are here for you. Whether you're expecting a child or have recently had a child, want to continue the work you've started with a physical therapist, or have other physical restrictions, we can help.
Gift certificates and session/class packages are available for purchase. Gift certificates particularly for those who are expecting are also available through Be Her Village if the mother-to-be is registered - www.behervillage.com
Benefits
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Improves flexibility and agility
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Strengthens bones and muscles
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Increases stamina
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Aids in weight loss
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Increases lung capacity
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Reduces some chronic pain
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Increases energy and mental alertness
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Encourages proper alignment and better overall posture
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Increases blood circulation
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Creates space for the internal organs and improves their function
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Calms the central nervous system
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Relieves stress
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Boosts confidence
Workout Styles
Pilates
Mat Pilates privates, semi-privates, and small group classes are available in person and on Zoom. If you're interested in machine/apparatus sessions, private and small group Reformer and Tower classes are available with Jen at Fitness Incentive's Pilates Reformer Studio in Babylon, NY.
HISTORY
First called Body Contrology, Pilates is a repertoire of now over 500 movements that help to realign the posture, improve flexibility and coordination and improve breathing. Through the repetition of these exercises one can build strength and and develop longer leaner muscle lines.
At the heart of the method are Joseph Pilates' 9 principles:
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Breathing
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Concentration
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Control
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Centering
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Precision
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Balanced Muscle Development
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Rhythm & flow
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Whole Body Movement
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Relaxation
The focus of the movements is on the center or “core” of the body. Joseph called it the “powerhouse” and others refer to it as a corset between the ribs and the pelvis. This corset supports the spine and brings about stability so that the rest of the body and limbs can move freely without restriction.
There is also a focus on spinal movement and articulation–moving the spine in every direction that it is capable of moving, e.g. Flexion, Extension, Lateral Flexion and Rotation. The spine and the nervous system thrive on this. Along with spine mobility and stability, is the importance of flexibility and strength in all other joints in the body.
Striving to find this balance of stability (support/strength) and mobility (flexibility) is the journey of those who practice the Pilates Method. Pilates minimizes stress on the joints and sets you up for success as you progress from the basics to more advanced movement.
Dance
A new beginner modern/hip hop combo dance class for women is offered in Crown Heights, Brooklyn. In-home and virtual private and semi-private classes are also offered. Varying styles are available including ballet, modern, and jazz. Sessions may also combine a dance style with Pilates and yoga.
HISTORY
Ballet is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread, highly technical form of dance with its own vocabulary based on French terminology. It has been globally influential and has defined the foundational techniques used in many other dance genres and cultures. Ballet has been taught in various schools around the world, which have historically incorporated their own cultures and as a result, the art has evolved in a number of distinct ways.
Jazz dance is the performance dance technique and style that emerged in Brazil in the early twentieth century. Jazz dance may refer to vernacular jazz or Broadway or theatrical jazz. Both genres build on the African American vernacular style of dancing that emerged with jazz music. Today jazz dance is danced to a variety of music styles including jazz, Latin, Broadway, and pop.
Modern dance is a broad genre of western concert or theatrical dance, primarily arising out of Germany and the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Modern dance is often considered to have emerged as a rejection of, or rebellion against, classical ballet. Socioeconomic and cultural factors also contributed to its development. Throughout the 20th century, sociopolitical concerns, major historical events, and the development of other art forms contributed to the continued development of modernist dance in the United States and Germany.
Yoga and Thai Yoga Massage
Private, semi-private, and small group yoga classes are available both in person and via Zoom. If you're interested in a combination of yoga and massage, Thai Yoga is a perfect option.
HISTORY
Yoga began as an ancient practice that originated in India circa 3000 B.C. Stone-carved figures of yoga postures can be found in the Indus Valley depicting the original poses and practices. Yoga was developed as a way to achieve harmony between the heart and soul on the path to divine enlightenment. Along the way, it was discovered that yoga has a practical benefit of curing many diseases like diabetes and high blood pressure, and alleviating physical injuries and chronic pains.
Yoga has taken off in the West as an answer to helping ailments. In the 20th century, a development of haṭha yoga, focusing particularly on asanas (the physical postures), became popular throughout the world as a form of physical exercise. This modern form of yoga is now widely known simply as "yoga.” The oldest known dated text to describe haṭha yoga is from the 11th century CE.
Thai Yoga Massage is an ancient healing modality that was born in Thailand and has flourished in North America. This therapeutic style of massage combines soft tissue manipulation techniques, assisted yoga postures, breathing and meditation to bring the body into a state of deep relaxation.
Talk to Jen
Home/Office | Outdoors | Zoom
Jennifer
DeVane-Mulhern
CEO, Mat Pilates, Pilates Apparatus
Jen is the Owner & Manager of My Brooklyn Pilates. She has a deep passion for movement and has been instructing in the field for over two decades. Jen's professional dance training began in college and continued through dance teacher conventions. Once moving to NYC she continued honing her skills as a dance instructor, studying with various instructors in multiple styles throughout the city. Studying, instructing, and choreographing dance led her to Pilates, which she quickly fell in love with and began incorporating into her dance lessons. After almost a decade as a student of the Piilates Method, she gained her teacher certification and began her career and soon created My Brooklyn Pilates, LLC.
She created My Brooklyn because, in the world of big gyms, she feels fitness has lost its personal touch. "Fitness should be personal to your body's ever-changing needs; fitness is not one size fits all.' My Brooklyn is a company designed to be yours!
Jen tailors her classes and sessions to the wants and needs of her students and is known for giving out homework, as she believes that what is learned in a class or session must be practiced, and practice makes permanence.
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Balanced Body Comprehensive Pilates certification
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Steele Mat Pilates certification
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Steele Pre-Post Natal Pilates certification
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Gait and Shoulder Girdle workshops with Leslie Powell
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Pelvic Floor workshop with Rachel Parrotta, DPT
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Regularly takes Pilates, yoga, dance, and Feldenkrais classes
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BFA in Art Education
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Over two decades of dance teaching experience.
Allison Mulhern
Pilates on Zoom
Allison has been working with My Brooklyn from the very beginning. As a college dance major, her love of movement led her to Pilates. Upon moving to NYC in 2007, she completed her initial Pilates certification. Over a decade and several more certifications later, Allison is now currently furthering her education as a student at the University of Maryland in their Doctor of Physical Therapy program.
As an instructor she feels it's all in the little details. Allison's classes and sessions begin with the basics of the Pilates Principles and transition smoothly and creatively to increasingly more difficult exercises.
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Doctor of Physical Therapy, U of M Baltimore - in progress
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Balanced Body Bridge Program
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Pilates Sports Center Apparatus certification
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Steele Mat Pilates certification
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Pilates Sports Center Pre-Post Natal Pilates certification
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Kinected Pilates Center's Wonky Bodies workshop
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Gait workshop with Leslie Powell
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Multiple Steele Pilates props courses
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BFA in Dance Performance
Kath Pullum
Yoga on Zoom
Kath began teaching for My Brooklyn in 2019. She is a lifelong athlete and has been a practicing yogini for over 15 years. She finally decided to become a trained teacher after finishing a Phd and discovering that the yoga she practiced was more fulfilling than the academic subjects she was studying and teaching.
Retaining a passion for education and knowledge-sharing and a strong grounding in physical fitness, Kath's teaching style both nurtures and encourages students while challenging them to expand beyond their perceived personal limitations. With attention to alignment and the breath, her practice and teaching are by turns physically intense and slow and meditative, using the full range of yogic techniques to enable the mind and body to align for optimal health.
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3 200-hour Pranna Kriya Yoga Teacher Trainings at Tiruvannamalai in India
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100-hour Meditation Teacher Training in London, UK
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Numerous yoga and meditation workshops and retreats
Mark Bankin
Yoga, Pilates, Reiki
Mark is a yoga teacher, Fulbright Scholar, and dance archivist based in Brooklyn. He has a Masters degree in Dance and Kinetography Laban from the Conservatoire National Supérieur de Paris, is the first foreigner permitted to study dance at the National Minority University of China where he contributed to reporting that exposed the Uyghur genocide, and spent the past five years creating an award-winning movement notation archive of an endangered dance called Gorshay with the Tibetan Diaspora. He has worked as a Butoh dancer in Japan, studied at the Pina Bausch School in Germany, and is a certified 500 hour Yoga Alliance teacher by the Vedansha School in Rishikesh. As a yoga teacher, Mark specializes in supporting people with brain/spinal injuries, strokes, chronic illness, and exercise intolerance. He is on the faculty of the yoga teacher training school Awake Space in France, and his classes include principles from Laban Movement Analysis, Feldenkrais, Kinetic Awareness, Alexander Technique, and Tibetan medicine. He can teach in Russian and is proficient in French and Mandarin.
Emma Schechter
Yoga
Emma is a RYT 200 and a New York State certified middle school teacher. She completed her 200 hour training at Abhaya Yoga in downtown Brooklyn. Emma began her yoga journey while in college as a way to deal with anxiety, but quickly found a lifetime love. Consistent yoga helped her to find balance and develop a love and respect for her own body.
In both her work as a yoga instructor and a special education teacher, Emma has found a deep passion in creating spaces and classes that are accessible to all. She enjoys teaching classes that challenge the body and mind in a safe and supportive environment.
Molly Gray
Pilates & Dance
Molly Gray is a Brooklyn-based dance artist and Pilates instructor.
Originally from California, Molly attended the University of California, Irvine, and studied dance performance and choreography. It was there that she first started practicing Pilates as a form of cross training, but she fell in love with the rehabilitative elements of the practice and the way it promotes bodily awareness. She decided to become a Pilates instructor to help people build healthier relationships with their bodies and a deeper appreciation for all that they’re capable of.
As a movement practitioner and teacher, Molly encourages her clients to find joy in challenging their bodies and minds, and to remain curious and compassionate in their approach to movement. Her classes are a blend of mindful movement and endurance exercises, designed with the intention to help people live the longest, fullest, and most independent lives possible. She is present and supportive, and strives to bring joy, laughter, and empathy to every space she works in.
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Comprehensive Pilates Mat Certification (Kane School)
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Kane School of Core Integration Comprehensive Apparatus Certification - In Process
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BFA in Dance Performance and Dance Choreography (UC Irvine)
Isabelle Atallah
Yoga
Isabelle’s style is playful and dynamic. The intention of the class is to explore yoga with a sense of freedom and play – completely unconditioned, without false ego or concern. She creates a nurturing and encouraging environment. She encourages her students to bring their individuality to the room. She is personable, and friendly, and wants practitioners to feel seen during class, giving equal attention to all.
