We start teaching from the reality of what our bodies are, not from an imitation of how we think they should look. We will not encourage our clients to build muscle on top of a self already confused by an out-of-whack cultural ideal.

We see teaching as a collaboration between client and teacher. Therefore, we make sure our students understand, from a body level, why they are doing what we ask them to do. We are dedicated to teaching exercise in a new way: one that recognizes not only the power of building strength, but also the necessity of learning how to let go of tension and allow the body to use the economic and architectural integrity of the skeletal structure. The paradox is that by learning this way we arrive, anyway, at a graceful, esthetic, toned and more confident body.

In addition to teaching traditional Pilates, which builds both core strength and tone, we work with our students to change the habits that misalign and constrict.

Generic Pilates as taught in most gyms and spas applies the same exercises across the board, disregarding the holding patterns of each unique body. We avoid building a muscular system on top of a chronically twisted or overly tightened body. Core strength is nothing without a fluid body to benefit from it.

You will find your sessions tailored only for your own body. According to each client's needs, a session might include a sweat-filled power workout, identification and release of chronic tension spots, and/or passive bodywork.

The end result will be an understanding of the Pilates form that you can take into any Pilates studio in the world. And the physical changes in your body will be self-evident.

Mackenzie Chambers began her Pilates training in 1983 with first generation Pilates master Robert Fitzgerald. She has been an adjunct professor at Hofstra University and has received advanced certifications from the American College of Sports Medicine. Mackenzie has been teaching Pilates in New York City for 23 years and pioneered the technique in the Hamptons in the mid 1990s. In addition, she has traveled the world to work with clients, from a trip down the Amazon with Jimmy Buffett to a month in a chateau in Provence with Courtney Love while she recorded a recent album.

In addition to her client work, Mackenzie Chambers is in the process of codifying her new and more effective approach to Pilates and other exercise models.

Her clients have included:

Susan Sarandon

Mary-Louise Parker

Julianna Margulies

Katie Ford

Andre Balazs

Josh Hamilton

Eva Herzigova

Randy Quaid

George Condo

Mackenzie Chambers' work has been featured in Instyle Magazine and Inside Edition.