Since Clare Baxter opened Flourish Pilates in historic Willamette about six months ago, she has added three more Pilates instructors and a number of classes as well as three massage therapists.
And next Tuesday, she and her instructors and therapists will not only have an open house, but also they will be assisting a local non-profit animal shelter.
Pet Adoptions West Side, 1741 Willamette Falls Drive, (503-650-0855) needs about $4,500 every month to provide shelter, insurance, telephone, food, litter and veterinary services for lost, strayed or orphan cats in the shelter.
PAWS owner Sharon Murphy will be at the Flourish Pilates studio during the 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. open house to receive donations to keep the shelter open and serving the needs of local animals.
For people who would like to donate in addition to financial help, Murphy has a top-10 “Wish List” of items such as cat litter, string mops, old wooden chairs, plastic grocery bags, cat food and volunteers.
“I think the cats in our shelter are the lucky ones,” Murphy said. “If I was a homeless cat, I would want to live at PAWS. But there simply is not enough room to take in all of the cats who need a place to stay.”
Murphy gets between 300 and 500 calls each month from people who want to bring a cat or kittens to PAWS. She says she would like to open other locations to house homeless cats, but she is not financially able to do that yet.
During the open house Tuesday, four Pilates instructors along with the three massage therapists will join Murphy in the modern studio on Willamette Falls Drive.
They will serve wine, cheese and chocolate to visitors as well as give free mini sessions on the Pilates Reformer and complimentary mini chair massages.
One of the ways that Baxter’s business has expanded is its collaboration with Elysium Body Therapies, a business operated in the Flourish Pilates studio by Laura McCorkle, LMT. Serving on her staff are licensed massage therapists Marie Blacklidge and Larry Wolfe.
McCorkle’s specialties are Swedish relaxation massage and deep tissue massage, but she also does pregnancy and Reiki massage. Also available at this studio is Thai massage from Wolfe and Swedish and deep tissue massage from Blacklidge.
A certified Stott Pilates instructor and certified group fitness instructor, Baxter has been teaching since 1999. In her recent expansion, Baxter has hired certified Pilates instructors Elizabeth Payne, Nissa Windsong and Michelle Kinkade.
The additional instructors give Baxter the chance to offer more and different classes because of the specialties of each instructor.
“My instructors can offer personalized Pilates training and sport-specific workouts for golfers, tennis players, runners, cyclists, equestrians and skiers,” she said. “They are also trained to work with clients who are rehabilitating from an injury or have Parkinson’s disease as well as women who are pregnant or post-partum (visit www.pilatesmommy.com).”
Three words summarize the benefits of regular Pilates practice, Baxter says: thrive, prosper and flourish.
The benefits include improving posture, balance, lung capacity, flexibility and strength as well as tightening abdominal muscles and decreasing neck and back pain.
Baxter says the studio not only offers personal training by appointment, but also will be open for anyone to observe Pilates classes during the farmers market every Tuesday evening throughout the summer.
Flourish Pilates is located at 1785 Willamette Falls Drive, between 13th and 14th streets. Take the path through the white picket fence, behind the rose arbor and alongside the 1895 Victorian home to the modern studio near Knapps Alley. McCorkle is available by appointment and may be contacted by calling 503-201-8333 or visit www.elysiumbodyther
apies.com.
For more information, attend Tuesday’s open house, visit www.flourishpilates.com or call Baxter at 503-869-8295.
