Carpentersville pilates business booming

A few years ago, Julie Williams began teaching Pilates classes out of her Carpentersville home.

The business quickly grew, and she realized she needed to open her own spot, away from home.

"I was seeing 90 people in my home, and there were too many people walking in and out to have a life with my family," Williams said.

So at the end of last year, she opened Body and Mind Pilates Plus in West Dundee. By the end of March, she had 200 different clients, and Williams decided she needed a second location.

So on July 1, she opened a spot just off of Randall Road in Crystal Lake at 1500 Carlemont Drive.

"We opened the Crystal Lake business in hopes that some of the people that were driving to us in West Dundee from that area would go there instead because it was closer and free up some space," Williams said. "But what we're finding is there are a whole lot of new people in that area who are now coming to us. We are already seeing so many new people.

"I think it's really such a great form of exercise. People are not going to pay money for something unless they see results, and they are seeing results with us," she said. "I've been doing this five years, and I have yet to see someone not lose an inch in six sessions."

At her Randall Road area business Williams offers a full-service Pilates studio, with apparatus and mat Pilates classes, and individual training, all of which are taught by certified instructors, she said. The studio also offers yoga classes.

With the Pilates training, you can sign up for an individual session, or even have three friends join you, she said. The group classes are for up to eight people. All classes, whether they are on equipment such as the reformer or towers, or the mat, focus on strengthening your core, Williams said.

People can also sign up for unlimited classes at the club, she said.

"It works so quickly and teaches you a different way to do things," she said. "Anyone can do it. I have clients from (age) 9 to 73."

As part of the grand opening of the Randall Road area studio, Williams is offering introductory classes for free, if you sign up for classes at the time of the session.

To find out more about which classes the club offers and the prices, Williams recommends people visit her Web site at www.bodyandmindpilatesplus.com.

Try it on: Stop into Coldwater Creek in Algonquin Commons on Sept. 21, and try on anything you like.

For each customer that tries something on at the Randall Road business, Coldwater Creek will donate $1 to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, even if you don't buy anything.

Also, 10 percent of anything you buy that day also will be donated to the cause.

Spooky news: Just in time for fall, Spirit of Halloween superstore is opening in Algonquin Commons along Randall Road. You'll find everything from costumes to decor in the store.

Amy Williams' column covers all the news of business along the Randall Road corridor from South Elgin to Crystal Lake. Contact her at randallbiz@comcast.net or at (847) 894-5036.