Aligned For Life Pilates: A space for mindful movement

Tucked away just off Lygon St in a bright, airy space that used to be the old Carlton Movie House’s projector room, this Pilates studio offers individually tailored programs in private, duet and small group settings.

Aligned For Life Carlton opened its doors on Faraday St in 2021.

It’s the third Aligned For Life location, with the original studio opening in Moonee Ponds in 2001.

For Carlton studio owner Chantel Viksten, Pilates has been a life-long passion and an important tool for supporting her career as a ballet dancer.

After training at the Victorian College of the Arts and the Australian Ballet School, Chantel’s 15-year-long career in ballet began at the age of 19 when she got her first job with the Hong Kong Ballet. There, she danced for nine years.

She then joined the English National Ballet in London where she spent five years and danced in numerous principal roles.

One performance saw Chantel dancing in a production of Romeo and Juliet in the ballroom of Buckingham Palace for the Queen. She also performed at Glastonbury in what was the first-ever ballet performance at the iconic music festival.

“It was really tough on my physical and mental strength. We did about 170 shows a year, half of the year on tour. So really, really tough on my body, so Pilates was, yes, for my physical strength, but also for a mental sort of space,” Chantel told Inner City News.

“If I was having a really stressful day or rehearsals were taking their toll, I knew I could go into the Pilates studio, do some breathing and get into that mindful movement, back into my body.”

“Ballet is like being an athlete, really. Yes, it’s art, but you're also an athlete.”

While she was still dancing in London, Chantel started training to teach Pilates and eventually began teaching group mat classes.

“Then I decided, okay, I think this is it. It's time to hang up the pointe shoes and move into my second career.”

After completing further Pilates training, she made the decision to move back to Melbourne. She started teaching at Aligned For Life’s Moonee Ponds and CBD studios before opening her own studio in Carlton in 2021.

She now works with 10 staff who all hold Diploma or Advanced Diploma-level training in Pilates instruction, teaching private sessions, duets and small group sessions which include a maximum of four participants. Even in the small group sessions, the studio emphasises personalised programs with exercises that are tailored to each client’s individual goals and needs.

“Most people come to us because they are in some sort of pain, or have been told, you know, you're in pain because you have poor posture, or you have a weak core,” Chantel said.

“Yes, we deal with that, and we try to assist in building that strength. But also, really, we just teach confidence again. Confidence in your body, confidence to be able to move, you know, and not be afraid that something's going to hurt or you're going to get injured.”

“What Pilates can help do is rebalance your body to then create a more ideal posture,” she said.

We look at the body and we go, okay, what looks tight in the body? We need to sort of stretch and mobilise that area. And then, what looks weak in the body? We’ll try and strengthen that area, to then bring the body back into better balance. So that means less pain and more confidence in how you move.

New clients at the studio begin with the initial consultation bundle. This includes two private sessions. In the first session, the instructor introduces clients to the basic concepts and principles of Pilates on both the mat and using equipment. These principles include breathing, centering, alignment, precision, concentration and control.

The instructor starts with a template program for the session which they then adjust and tailor to the client as they discuss any specific goals, conditions or injuries they’d like to address.

“In the second private session, we will have devised more of that specific program from what we assessed in the first session,” Chantel said.

Chantel says there’s a Pilates program to suit any goal, need or lifestyle.

“A lot of people look at Pilates and go, ‘I'm not fit enough’, or ‘I'm not flexible enough, I'm not strong enough to do that’. You don't have to be any of those things to come to us. That's what we work on.” •