Do you need to exercise after prolonged inactivity or an injury?

: Published: 27 September 2026

When Mila Aleshina, founder of SANA Studio, a Pilates and functional mobility studio in Founex contacted us, we thought this was the perfect season for some self-care. These classes are for those who need to exercise after prolonged inactivity or an injury, people dealing with back pain or stiffness, and women over the age of 40, who need to train for bone health and muscle strength as they enter perimenopause or menopause.

Why did you start SANA Studio?
After teaching private sessions at Physio Santé Founex for several years, I decided to expand into group classes because my clients who were ready for them simply didn't have anywhere good to go. Despite the Pilates boom, studios are popping up like McDonald's, and the quality of instructors, and therefore studios, has tanked. Pilates has always been known as an effective, safe method for people returning to exercise after injury or prolonged inactivity, and doctors recommend it to patients managing back pain and stiffness. But it's spiraled away from serving those people. Instead, it's become booty and abs classes, misleading weight loss claims, and whatever an instructor found cool on Instagram, offering zero real value to the client.

My inspiration, and my mission, even though it feels like swimming against the current, was to be there for people returning to exercise after injury or prolonged inactivity, and for people managing back pain, stiffness, and bad knees, and the things that stop them from trusting their bodies. I call this the "McDonald's era" of Pilates, and I want people who need real, restorative exercise to have somewhere they can actually train for lasting recovery, get stronger, and work on long term health. Exercise should evolve with science, not regress into a trend.

Did group classes come about more recently?
I've been a Pilates instructor for over ten years, and I've been giving private sessions at Physio Santé Founex since I moved to Founex in 2020. The idea for group classes was actually born late last year, when I started testing the market to see if there was real demand. Earlier this year, I launched my studio, because people deserve so much better than what's currently available in the market.