Pilates and Beyond

Pilates and Beyond Located in Emeryville California, Bayside Pilates is private Pilates studio. Bayside Pilates is a Pilates studio located in Oakland, California.

In 2000, Jodie Colone started a small business in Berkeley, CA teaching Pilates. When she left the Bay Area for England, she contacted Kerri Gonen and asked her to open a studio in the East Bay so that her clients would be able to continue their Pilates practices. One of those clients was Faye Stevenson. Faye had been working with Jodie in preparation for entering the Romana's Pilates Certificatio

n Program. Once she opened Bayside Pilates in Alameda, Kerri became Faye's second Pilates Guild trained teacher and saw her enter the program. In 2004, Kerri and her family left the area at which point Kerri sold Bayside Pilates to Faye Stevenson. In 2011, Faye was expecting her first child. She and her husband decided to close the studio in Alameda and relocate to Oakland so that Faye could better balance her roles as studio owner, Pilates instructor, and mom.

MELT is good for the body! Tough times make self-care all the more essential. Full info and registration on website wh...
05/20/2025

MELT is good for the body! Tough times make self-care all the more essential. Full info and registration on website which is linked in bio.

It’s been right around ten years since I started MELTing my feet and I love it just as much today as then. I’ve been le...
04/25/2025

It’s been right around ten years since I started MELTing my feet and I love it just as much today as then. I’ve been learning since then and love to share the whole-body goodness that comes from just a little time caring for feet. It’s a big result for a little bit of effort - very worth the time! Website with info is in the bio.

is a wrap. I missed one day of Pilates (yesterday) for an entire month and I’m totally patting myself on the back for...
04/01/2025

is a wrap. I missed one day of Pilates (yesterday) for an entire month and I’m totally patting myself on the back for that accomplishment. I’m feeling a little more alive for my efforts and that’s really encouraging. I’m not really sure what exercise to pick for the closer, and there are a couple in the mix that are just plain fun so I thought of going with for my last hashtag. But then I turned to my left and saw Uncle Joe’s mandate to act like an animal where it hangs in my work space. I’ll declare unabashedly that barking like a seal has always been okay in classes that I facilitate. Years ago I had a client differentiate the personality of teachers with one word - hard. She appreciated that I wasn’t hard because that was not at all what she wanted. At a time when I still thought that being slightly mean and sadistic was what people were looking for in a teacher and I spent a fair amount of time feeling inadequate because I just couldn’t deliver that. I realize that some people do indeed good teaching with being bossy and mean. Like that client, I’ve realized that I’m just not willing to spend my time subjecting myself to the likes of that. Life is hard enough, I prefer to lean into kindness, lightness and compassion as a matter of course and definitely as a teacher. Our bodies don’t need hard, bracing, training vibes - we need to feel safe and supported in order to thrive. I can’t think of a better way to celebrate the end of this month of Pilates than with some celebratory foot claps and barks.

I have another thank you for Reforming Foundations teachers today - thank you Angela for the work this morning. Even ...
03/29/2025

I have another thank you for Reforming Foundations teachers today - thank you Angela for the work this morning. Even if it wasn’t the RTL version, it got the right muscles firing and I feel complete. Learning MELT assisted plank in my L5 training has changed my experience of this particular move for the better. Yesterday, I was also registering all the micro enhancements that MELT has brought to bear on my Pilates practice. So I guess this is also a gratitude post for MELT. Aside from being grateful that a childhood friend took a photo of me performing side bend with a twist that was to soon become the central marketing image that would follow me through 3 iterations of my business, I don’t have much more to say about this particular move except a tangental aspiration because I’m realizing that I also have unanswered questions about this move. Now that I’m training to become an SEP, and experiencing the case consults model, I’m lamenting how my training consistently lacked supportive and collaborative inquiry. I wish that there were more arenas in which Pilates instructors could ask emergent practice questions to their trusted teachers. I’m probably missing out on this for other reasons soon to be remedied, but I still think it bears reflection - there is too much competition in the world of Pilates. I’ve never liked it, nor wanted to participate in it. I admire professionals who have deliberately created collegial spaces in which collaboration and mutual support are nurtured. More of that please! As , I’m feeling so grateful for this time in which I have reinvigorated my love for Pilates. It was just what I needed.

After losing track of which exercise goes on which day this , it took me an extra day to post. The important thing is ...
03/27/2025

After losing track of which exercise goes on which day this , it took me an extra day to post. The important thing is that I’m moving everyday and having a great time reminiscing and philosophizing. I just checked “Return to Life” and figured I might as well match the date with the number of the exercise so I landed on the second . I know that most people think holding a plank is a great idea but aside from the fact that I’ve heard contrary thinking on that, it’s not something I particularly relish. But I do love long stretch and both Leg Pulls so perhaps my approach ensures that I’m well buffered against missing out. I’ve had delicate wrists as long as I’ve done Pilates and there was a solid year when even though I was young, capable, and much lighter, holding myself up by my hands was nearly impossible for the discomfort of it. The ganglion cyst was the least of my troubles in that regard and was resolved with a swift kick by a fellow dancer in class one day. Luckily the other issues resolved somewhat too. Anyway, the point is that that I came to understand how important managing one’s relationship to gravity is during that time and I appreciate the regular reminders practicing Pilates affords me. The leg pulls have given me two other very important lessons - in how I engage from feet to seat, and the importance of my spine spring. Those physical memories are baked well into my physical memory, even though I’ve long since sorted out the basic how to’s of the moves.

I woke up feeling like complete crap yesterday. It lasted all day. John Barnes is one of many who talks about healing ...
03/25/2025

I woke up feeling like complete crap yesterday. It lasted all day. John Barnes is one of many who talks about healing crises. Yesterday was not my first nor my worst, and I doubt it will be my last. These things are just part of the process. As the day neared close, I had a blue thought - I haven’t done my Pilates yet and this would be the first day of that I miss. I found that I couldn’t let that happen and so I rallied. Especially given that is one of my favorite exercises, I’m glad that I pulled through. And today, I woke up well rested, and feeling much better. It took me a while to appreciate swimming. The way it takes us a while to realize what’s good for us. This is a reward for sticking with a practice for long enough to find all its gems as they are not all apparent at first go.

I’d like to thank Jenny at Reforming Foundations in Berkley, MI for ensuring that I properly celebrate day this . Ad...
03/21/2025

I’d like to thank Jenny at Reforming Foundations in Berkley, MI for ensuring that I properly celebrate day this . Admittedly, it’s not a favorite move of mine, though this reflection is helping me to rethink that. Partly because I do appreciate the myriad of options that we have when it comes to this particular move - I think it’s fair to say that it may have the most options of any exercise in the classical repertoire, but that’s nothing more than a guess. (As I’m rounding in on my 25th birthday practicing Pilates, you’d think that I’d be old and weathered enough to not hazard guesses anymore, but it’s one way that I retain a touch of youthfullness). And partly because, there’s levity to be found in the teaser. What I especially appreciated this morning was that Jenny picked a favorite variation (since I have mostly anchored in dislike for this exercise, I haven’t given enough thought to which is my absolute favorite) - the teaser with the push through bar. I do love a good surprise and this one always comes through for me - who would have thought that pushing up with the arms would make the challenge of defying gravity so much easier? Marveling at that never gets old for me.

Among many reminders that are surfacing this , one that is coming clear is my core repertoire as a Pilates person. i...
03/21/2025

Among many reminders that are surfacing this , one that is coming clear is my core repertoire as a Pilates person. is definitely in my regular mix. As that idea came into focus I’m reminded of my 3rd trimester Pilates routine. In a way, there’s something important in that framing - the essentials for keeping a body in form while it’s in the midst of a highly unusual and very demanding endeavor. Pregnancy doesn’t pair well with flexion and neither do tailbone injuries, so that has become a defining characteristic of my Pilates life. While obviously, we each have unique experiences and not everybody has a broken coccyx, I think that we would all be wise to consider the shape of ourselves for the majority of our time and whether or not a good deal flexion while exercising serves us well. Once my musculature began to cramp in shapes while I rolled like a ball and performed the ab series, I had to give that serious thought. As time goes on and I consider the experience of compression vs decompression, I’m developing a bias toward the latter. Of course, I strive to find a de-compressive element in every Pilates move, but the overall shape of each move certainly has an influence on that.

What with starting massage school, I’m having very full days away from the computer lately. And I’m putting a lot of at...
03/19/2025

What with starting massage school, I’m having very full days away from the computer lately. And I’m putting a lot of attention toward getting routines in place so that I can keep up with my various endeavors (there are a lot of them). With all that, yesterday was another day without a post even though I did practice Pilates (every day this month so far!) I can totally forgo a post on . But is an old favorite that has too many great aspects to ignore. The maxim ‘rotation facilitates’ extension was a gift from my teacher Nora St. John that has kept on giving. Now that I’ve dipped into the MMIA waters, it’s taken on whole new significances. For years, I figured out a way to include some sort of twist in every session that I offered but that was just based on my own inclination and little tidbits that I’d picked up from various teachers (Jennifer Stacey being another source on the topic). Now I’m very careful to find a way to twist every single day. Twisting is good for the body!

There are some things that I’m not doing this . I have a variety of reasons for this but I think that a good sum up is...
03/17/2025

There are some things that I’m not doing this . I have a variety of reasons for this but I think that a good sum up is motherhood. As is to be expected, motherhood ushered in many changes for me. It forced me to learn many hard lessons about my physical reality living with the aftermath of a broken coccyx, which in turn led me to learn many things that I wouldn’t have learned otherwise. While figuring out how to lesson my own challenges, I’ve ended up learning all sorts of extra information. I was on track to be a card carrying member of any local health nut club when I was a teenager. 30+ years later, I’ve gone beyond what I thought that might have meant more times than I can remember. When I was young, slender, and cheerful, telling people I was a Pilates instructor was met with a lot of enthusiasm and interest. Now, not so much. And the beyonds part of my professional life - the MELT, the MMIA, the SE, all the extra trainings that I take that don’t fit neatly into any particular category - that’s just blank stare territory. I say all this to make the point that my reasoning for what moves I leave out on the mat is based on a fair bit of learning and experience. Not all of us are going to do every move and that is by design. All that said, I do have daily practices for supporting my long spine, decompressing my cervical vertebra, and among other things, AT has informed how I monitor my neck tension while exercising. The MELT neck release has improved my life immeasurably. In fact, today’s decompression session gave me the same sort of release I used to only achieve via hanging off the end of the cadillac. Same principles with the same result, different approach. Uncle Joe was right about the importance of a healthy spine and I remain committed to that pursuit.

I remember the most strenuous I ever did under the guidance of an apprentice at Romana’s retirement studio in Texas. ...
03/15/2025

I remember the most strenuous I ever did under the guidance of an apprentice at Romana’s retirement studio in Texas. I was probably making a grimace as if I’d just eaten a full lemon slice and I’m sure there was lots of groaning going on. I simply don’t make myself work that hard. This is to say that perhaps, my bar is a bit low. Even so, I’m enjoying this exercise anew after working elements in the MELT and MMIA repertoires. Suddenly what was hard feels breezy. This is the beauty of taking time to reflect on the same old moves as time goes by, we make new discoveries and affirm our love of Pilates. Hooray for I’m a day or two behind on posting and am opting out of posting (but I did do my exercises both days). Breaks (mental and physical) are good for the body.

It’s been a long time since I witnessed my son’s first years of development. Now as he towers over me to engulf me in a...
03/13/2025

It’s been a long time since I witnessed my son’s first years of development. Now as he towers over me to engulf me in a hug and I feel like a little old lady, I reminisce about his days as a wee babe. Beverly Stokes’ writings enriched my experience of those early years and also gave me an insight into my Pilates practice that I don’t imagine I would have ever had if I hadn’t become a mom - by design, a significant aspect of our center strength development happens when we are lying on our bellies. That little nugget changed everything for me, especially because I have lived the past 34 years with my coccyx bone squashed up against the front side of my sacrum and extension feels like a great relief. is good medicine for the body - taken in just right doses.

Address

Emeryville, CA

Opening Hours

Monday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Tuesday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Thursday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Friday 9:30am - 5:30pm
Saturday 9:30am - 7pm
Sunday 9:30am - 5:30pm

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Pilates and Beyond posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Shortcuts

Share

It all began at the University of Michigan...

Faye first saw Jodie Colone dancing in the spring of 1996 when she was exploring the city of Ann Arbor in anticipation of joining the U of M student body in May. They knew each other over the years, but struck up a friendship in 1999 when they’d relocated to the East Bay as college graduates. In 2000, Jodie started a small business in Berkeley, CA teaching Pilates. She taught a wonderful mat class twice a week at The Works Exercise Co-op. In 2003, she graciously took Faye on as an aspiring apprentice once it became clear to Faye that training with Romana Kryzanowska was the next step in her Pilates journey (she’d already completed a training at Turning Point Studios in Walnut Creek).