Be Beautiful Pilates

What a gem in the city! Absolutely loved my class with lovely Flavia. The pilates approach was one the most satisfying as her understanding how the body works and what it needs was on point. The respect and intuition towards the body is so much needed and Be Beautiful Pilates is in abundance of it all. I will be back!

Working with Flavia was my first time experiencing Pilates and I don’t think I’ll be able to go any where else! Flavia is not only so incredibly well versed in correct alignment and technique, but she is just an absolute joy to spend time with and has an incredibly warm and encouraging nature. She taught me that movement doesn’t need to be draining to be effective and that I could get quick results in my body by focusing on the correct form/​alignment rather than adding more time. She has absolutely mastered effecieny in movement which created very quick results for me. I not only slimmed down, but my muscles and body really lengthened which was always very tough for me as my body tends to easily bulk. More importantly, my posture, which has been terrible ever since I was a child, has drastically changed to the point that people are commenting on how straight and tall I stand! That to me is the ultimate win. The best part is that I haven’t ever had to strain myself or feel uncomfortable to achieve these results. Don’t get me wrong, pilates is definietely challenging, but it works with your body, which is actually much healthier and more effective. Having someone like Flavia, a former ballerina and lifetime student of movement/​the body, is essential when doing this kind of work. I absolutely reccomend her to anyone looking to lose weight, tone up, and walk and be more graceful!

I went to Flavia because I’d been experiencing pain in my shoulder area for months and had limited range of motion. I know Flavia has years of experience not only as a Pilates instructor but also as a dancer, so I trusted her to give me the right exercises to help me loosen up the muscle. I’d only done Pilates once in a group class so I wasn’t sure what to expect. What I got was a VERY personalized class to address my specific issues. Flavia has great energy and is fun to be around, but what she has that so many others don’t is the ability to focus in on your body and quickly assess what you need. There’s nothing «cookie cutter» about her class. After just the first class, I had a noticeable increase in motion in my shoulder and decrease in pain. The core exercises she had me doing were extremely effective yet unlike any others I’d previously done with other trainers. I HIGHLY recommend Flavia!

Flavia’s «BE BEAUTIFUL AM PILATES» at home personal training is like nothing I ever tried before. I chose her for my PERSONAL TRAINER because she was Best of New York Pilates studio in 2013 and I was curious to try her «Be Beautiful» customized AT HOME morning class that promised to help me starting my day with energy, class and elegance as well as keeping me in shape and releasing me of all the tensions.
Flavia’s class delivered that and much more. As a teacher she’s THOUGHTFUL, precise, and really in tune with my needs. She’s also a lot of FUN: showing up with new props every day (balls, straps etc) to help me realigning and findind out new things about my body without ever getting bored.
The energy and open posture I gain from the private session with Flavia last all day long. I work on TV and a a lot of what I do depends on what I communicate with my body and appearance. Her pesonal training and tips helped me immensely. Now i know how to EFFORTLESSLY carry my body just the right way. Thank you Flavia!!!

I’m a 62 year old woman who belongs to a gym, but hates it, have tried a trainer that left me uninspired, goes to yoga and have had good and not so good teachers, but had found no way to be active and strengthen my body that I am motivated to do regularly — until I met Flavia.
She met me where I was at with my body, never pushing me uncomfortably beyond my endurance, or in a way that made me feel I wasn’t doing enough. Almost without my knowing it she gently eased me forward, expanding my strength and capabilities in a very natural, pleasurable way. I am standing taller, feeling stronger, and my movements are more fluid. I feel she has inspired me to want to keep moving.
Flavia is a very gifted teacher, who has studied many modalities of movement and healing, knows the body deeply, and is very intuitive. She is an absolute joy to work with and I can’t recommend her enough.

Do you know that Flavia was on the Best of New York this year as Best Pilates Instructor? I bet she is the best Pilates instructor ever. I have been doing Pilates with her so many times and all my body changed in a great and strong way.
Breathing, moving, flexing, extending but the most important thing Flavia is able to talk to your muscles, fascia, nerves and tissues. You will be able to find your center, your beauty and your power. Thank you Flavia.

I’ve been working with Flavia for about 6 months. I have worked with many trainers over the years but she is by far the best. She understands the body and how it works in a far deeper and better way. She knows the difference small changes in form can make. And makes those very tiny corrections you to get there. I have watched my body change in very big and very subtle ways. I stand better, move more elegantly, hold my shoulders differently. I notice it and everyone else does, too. it’s been an amazing experience for me.
Each session with her is a joy. Her positive attitude is infectious and I always walk out of her studio in a great mood. I so highly recommend her.

I’ve never written a review for Unilocal before but after working with Flavia for the last few weeks I felt compelled to! For the last year and a half I have been dealing with sciatica pain. After months of physical therapy that did next to nothing to help me I stumbled upon Flavia and I’m so so happy I did! She has been so great at adapting a program for me that focuses on what I would like to improve long term as well as working with how my body was functioning in the moment. I am currently in an intensely physical, theatre school program and after just a few sessions with Flavia there was a marked improvement in my performance in class that not only I noticed but my teachers noticed as well! The best thing is that no matter what mood I am in when I go an work with her, I always leave feeling exhilarated! Flavia’s energy and positive attitude are infectious! I think everyone could benefit from her coaching!

I had tried pilates before and thought it wasn’t for me… until I met Flavia! I have been going to Flavia for several months now. She was changed my posture and the way my body moves. Her excitement and encouragement makes working out fun. I look forward to seeing her each week!

Flavia is so much more than a Pilates instructor! When I went to the studio of «Tools for Grace» for an individual session, the techniques she taught me were supportive for both balance and strength, but Flavia also radiates such peace and femininity that I walked out feeling like I’d had a spiritual coaching session, as well as a physical attunement!!! With her intuitive wisdom and joyful spirit, Flavia will help you to feel both more grounded and free~!

I started taking private pilates classes with Flavia while training for the New York City marathon in 2011. I was experiencing a lot of pain in my psoas and hip flexor. In desperation to get out of pain and back to running I started to visit a series of physical therapists, chiropractors, osteopaths, and sports medicine doctors.
Flavia was so different from everything I had experienced. She equipped me with the skills to actually understand my body and move it in the way that it was meant to. Instead of being prescriptive, her practice is incredibly restorative. For the first time I felt my body relaxing and learned to use my muscles properly. Her method translated beyond pilates to every movement I made. I learned how to run and walk by grounding my feet. I learned how my movement could become long and lean and graceful. And beautiful.
She is an incredible gentle and patient teacher. You can tell how much she believes in the practice and how invested she is in your own transformation.
I would not have been able to run the marathon had it not been for Flavia. I continue to see her now and consider her one of New York’s most precious holistic and integrative trainers.

Flavia is a master of identifying what makes Italian women so sexy and graceful and teaching it to all of us.
Flavia focuses on pilates as a way to encourage graceful movement from a tight core. I just finished a month long program with pilates and feel stronger and leaner than ever.
I have done many pilates mat and reformer classes and privates before but no taught me as much about pilates as it integrates into everyday movement as Flavia.
Thank you!

After hearing for years that I «walk like a truck driver» from my mother (thanks mom), and continually rolling my ankles (3 sprains & 3 breaks in 3 years!), I was told to see a movement coach. I didn’t know what that was and figured I’d be fine just finishing the physical therapy. 2.5 months later… I re-​broke my ankle in the same spot. Clearly, I didn’t know how to use my feet!
Not any more! Flavia taught me how to walk.
She taught me how to sit.
She taught me how to pick things up.
She taught me all these things I seemed to have forgotten how to do correctly and were giving me lots of pain and making it easy to injure myself.
However, that’s not the best part… Flavia taught me how to do these things ELEGANTLY. Not only am I less likely to keep reinjuring myself or straining my shoulders all the time… Flavia patiently points out how to do move your body in a graceful, lady-​like way.
All I can say is wow. I expected to get some help with preventing injuries and I got SO much more! Flavia teaches you how to «move like a dancer» and teaches your body to do subtle nuances that make the difference.
I’m so excited about what I learned that I am bringing a troupe of girls I am bridesmaids with to come to her Elegant Body class so that we learn to walk the aisle and stand accordingly in a beautiful, elegant, subtly sexy way.