Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Elabdi.
Hi Sarah, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in Lakeville, but have only moved back to Minnesota in my recent adulthood. I graduated from Columbia College in Chicago and spent the following 8 years moving back and forth between London and Chicago. Coming back to Minnesota was never part of my plan, but the pandemic and a divorce brought me home in 2020, and it’s been a wildly pleasant surprise feeling so comfortable back in my home state.
Pilates is my second career path, but the first one to feel totally right. Straight out of college, I began working in a fast-paced marketing & entertainment job. It was fun, exciting, and I saw so many parts of the world I otherwise would not have seen. But I overworked myself and burnt out by the age of 26.
My obsession with success took importance over my health, which had already been a struggle since childhood. I’ve had chronic pain and other issues since elementary school but did not receive a diagnosis for my chronic illness until I was 27. Taking the time away from my career allowed me to fully pursue answers and a path forward to care for myself. The decision to become a Pilates teacher was somehow both totally sudden and several years in the making.
I had taken Pilates classes from teacher friends for years, but I never saw myself working in the world of fitness. I knew I wanted to move away from the corporate world and focus on something that would allow me to care for both myself and others. A sense of empathy and communal care was always lacking in my “past life” and I’m naturally a caretaker. Part of what inspired me was seeing the way Pilates was being implemented in my Physical Therapy sessions.
I also felt so cared for by my Pilates teacher friends, Jacquelyn Brennan (Pilates + Coffee, Chicago) and Keary Ann Bixby (The Body Process, Los Angeles) who always worked to educate themselves on my body’s specific needs, more than most doctors I’d ever met. Then one day, while discussing my unknown future with a friend, without thinking, I said “Maybe I’ll study Pilates.” She stared straight at me and said, “THAT’S IT!” Within a week, I signed up for my friend Keary’s teacher training program.
From the very beginning, I knew I wanted to serve people who don’t otherwise see themselves represented in the world of Pilates or fitness in general. Particularly folks who have a hard time connecting with their bodies, because I know I can offer both technical expertise and, more importantly, personal experience. My chronic illness is a dynamic disability–meaning it fluctuates in severity, often unexpectedly. This can make it really difficult to build and maintain trust with my own body.
I often say that my work is to help people harness their intuition to build body awareness–to listen to their body’s needs, so we can slowly build that trust and make movement & exercise feel safe and rewarding. It was important to me that I was able to bring my philosophy and vision to life without compromise, which is why I started my own business–Aïn Pilates. I have a small one-reformer studio in Powderhorn where I teach private sessions, and during the warmer months, I teach mat pilates around the Minneapolis parks.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey have been a fairly smooth road?
Most of my journey–from deciding to study Pilates to opening my own space–has been kismet. Lots of pieces fall beautifully into place, thanks in huge part to the wonderful and supportive community I have around me. The main challenge I have faced, and will continue to face, is my own health. The reality of being a small business owner with a disability is that some days my body makes the decisions for me.
While I do everything I can to keep myself healthy, flare-ups of my chronic symptoms are often unpredictable and I have to make the decision to slow down or take a step back. But, I think this challenge keeps me true to what I teach my clients: that listening to the signals our bodies send us is a vital part of building self-trust. It’s an ever-evolving relationship to health, wellness, and self-compassion that I navigate alongside my community of clients.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
The thing that sets me apart from other Pilates teachers is my personal experience with chronic pain and movement limitations. Pilates is for EVERY body, and I will work tirelessly to ensure that my clients feel capable and safe moving with me. I find that lots of people are fearful of Pilates because they are not flexible, strong, or young “enough” to do it.
This couldn’t be further from the truth, but I understand how people may feel this way based on how Pilates is often marketed. I want to work towards a more inclusive Pilates community everywhere, starting in my little Minneapolis studio. While my main focus is working with people who have chronic pain, disabilities, or movement limitations, I want Aïn to feel safe and accessible to all marginalized folks. As a queer Muslim woman, ensuring that my services are available and accessible to people who identify as BIPOC and/or LGBTQ+ is of extreme importance to me.
I am SUPER excited to announce that I am launching a Community Movement Fund, supported by my recent grant from Reclamation Ventures. This fund will allow me to offer free or reduced Pilates sessions to people who would otherwise have barriers to this type of service. The Community Movement Fund is an ongoing project, to which people can donate. On my website, you can contribute any amount to helping marginalized folks in our community access this healing movement modality.
If you’re unfamiliar with Pilates, there are two main ways to exercise: Reformer & Mat. In my studio, I offer one-on-one reformer Pilates sessions. The reformer is a large piece of spring-based resistance equipment, which I love for my clientele because it provides excellent feedback when you’re learning about how your body moves through space. In these sessions, we often implement other props to help increase muscle awareness during exercises.
During the warmer months, I offer outdoor mat Pilates classes and workshops. Mat Pilates uses variations of many of the same exercises done on the reformer, but using your own body weight for resistance. To some, this may look similar to yoga, but the exercises, cues, and overall exercise goals differ. I also offer virtual mat Pilates sessions for individuals, couples, or small groups.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
I have many favorite childhood memories, but almost all of them revolve around visiting my family abroad. My Irish-American mother met my Moroccan father in the Peace Corps in Northern Morocco. Growing up, our summer vacations were usually spent visiting my paternal grandparents in Tetouan, a small city near the Mediterranean. Hot days were spent running to the corner shops to buy popsicles and sweets or packing 13 people into a 5-seater for a trip to the beach.
One summer, my brother, mother, and I joined my Nana for a trip to Ireland. Despite all the differences between the two cultures that make up my family, our free time was spent very much the same–running to the shops for candy with cousins and friends. I suppose the overlapping joy was in finding youthful independence and adventure in those brief moments, then running home to the bustling, food-filled homes of our populous families.
Pricing:
- Private Reformer Session: $75
- Virtual Private Mat Pilates: $65
- Community Movement Fund: $1+ Donations
- Outdoor Mat Pilates Class: $25
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.ain-pilates.com/
- Instagram: instagram.com/ainpilatesbysarah
Image Credits
Megan Allen
