ABOUT THE FACILITATOR
SOFIA ENGELMAN
My job is to listen, collaborate with, and support you. Together, we will get you moving, revitalizing your relationship with your body by deepening your awareness and knowledge of self. My classes are both sweaty and contemplative. I know that each person is unique so I don't use words like "neutral" or "normal" and I reference action, intention, and orientation rather than shape, result, or appearance. I understand and approach "queer" not just as a label pertaining to gender identity and sexuality but also the action of queering: to question, reorient, and make strange. I facilitate Pilates queerly.
I am a dance artist, educator, writer, and certified Pilates instructor. I fell in love with Pilates while navigating chronic illness and then healing from and returning to dance after a subsequent invasive, emergency surgery. Pilates supported me in finding stability, joy, deep + tonic muscles that I had never intentionally engaged previously, breath, and appreciation for myself.
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With curiosity and eagerness, I have trained via several contemporary Pilates programs in order to engage with a multiplicity of experiences, approaches, and perspectives: The Kane School (Mat), East River Pilates (Reformer), and Ellie Herman Pilates (Springboard, Cadillac, Barrel, and Chair). I am in a continual practice of finding ways to make this work accessible, decolonial, evidence-based, fear and harm-reducing, and consensual. My facilitation is grounded in my practice as a dancer and inspired by the teachings of my dance, somatics, and anatomy/kinesiology teachers. I also hold a BA with Highest Honors in Dance from Smith College. I live in Brooklyn / Lenapehoking with my spouse Em, three cats, and about 40 plants.
Image Description: Sofia, in a blue t-shirt and green pants with white stripes, guides a client whose feet are in straps with a bumpy ball between them.
YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED
WHO IS WELCOME HERE?
Queer Body Pilates offerings center queer and trans folx. Allies are always welcome unless otherwise noted.
I, Sofia, am also comfortable and experienced in teaching fat individuals, people over 70, teenagers, blind and vision-impaired movers, people with neurological conditions, those navigating cancer, pre- and post-op, prenatal and postnatal, and disabled and chronically ill folx. I have personally found Pilates highly effective in reducing my own pain and a joyful, process-oriented, and potentially radical movement practice for embodied healing.
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No experience is required unless noted; I love when I get to facilitate someone's first Pilates class. QBP welcomes those who haven't felt safe attending Pilates classes in the past. Don't hesitate to contact me with your access needs.
WHERE ARE IN-PERSON SESSIONS?
Private sessions are held at my home studio in Bed-Stuy, as well as a space I rent on Tuesdays and Saturdays in Boerum Hill. Exact location will be shared upon registration. We can also meet virtually on Zoom.​
WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE SLIDING SCALE?
The low end of the sliding scale is intended for those preparing for or recovering from gender affirming or emergency surgery, BIPOC, and people without a financial safety net who couldn't otherwise access Pilates.
The high end is for those who are able to invest such resources into this exchange, supporting QBP and subsidizing classes for those who need to pay less.
Please be honest about what you can afford.
WHY IS GENDER AFFIRMING SURGERY PILATES LISTED SEPARATELY?
This service is listed at a lower cost to make Pilates accessible to those who can't otherwise afford it during recovery. These one-on-one sessions also require a different kind of attention and preparation as the facilitator (and I may communicate with your surgeon, PT, care team, or other medical providers) so I like to have a heads up in advance.
WHAT IS THE ADVANTAGE OF WORKING ON THE PILATES APPARATUSES?
This specialized equipment facilitates a unique sense of full body connectivity, giving movers amazing, subtle feedback about where they are and what they are doing. Also, working on a moving surface with resistance is just super fun and facilitates new, often delightfully surprising embodied pathways. Movement is low impact and kind to the joints.