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.
What's been the biggest challenge in building SANA, especially with Pilates booming right now?
My biggest obstacle is being drowned out by a sea of marketing garbage that Pilates is trying to sell right now.
- Booty and abs classes: you can't spot train your glutes to grow and your abs to shrink at the same time. That's not how muscles work.
- The Pilates body": you don't "tone" anything. Toning is a myth people associate with having very little fat, and strong muscle, but Pilates is one of the least effective methods for weight loss or muscle building.
- Instagram inspired exercises: most instructors look for inspiration on Instagram because they want to stand out with the coolest, trendiest move. Instagram is a terrible source for quality training.
- No real training for real conditions: most people come to Pilates believing it's a safe, effective way to rebuild their bodies, which it can be. But most instructors have no idea how to accommodate osteoporosis, disc protrusions, frozen shoulders, or meniscus tears. Most group classes have a mix of exactly these people, all attempting whatever exercise the instructor found "cool" while scrolling social media.
My goal is to reach the people this Pilates boom has failed, and show them they can rebuild their bodies with a methodology rooted in science, one that actually works.
Where do you see SANA going?
I want to change the narrative around how we exercise. Pilates needs to evolve with the research, not drown in trends. I want people to start demanding more than mediocre fitness fads. Most instructors teach choreography, how an exercise is supposed to look, without understanding how to adapt it to the person actually in front of them.
What's your favorite class or approach to teach, and why?
My favorite approach combines restorative movement, mobility work, and progressive strength training.
What clients are saying
"Mila has magic fingers! My achilles tendon is almost no more painful and my other foot is fine again!"
"Mila is a magician. I wole up this moring and felt amazing. The pain in my leg and shoulder have gone."
"I finally felt like I was doing something good for myself. Something I haven't felt in a long time... between full time housework, being a full-time mom of 2, and full time manager."
"After class, my back was completely unblocked and I felt great."
SANA Studio
Grand-Rue 38A
1297 Founex, VD
www.sanastudio.ch
Mila Aleshina
079 645 49 37
SANA operates in collaboration with Physio Santé Founex, a physical therapy practice, and is located inside their center.
Clients can get partial reimbursement through their complementary health insurance. Check with your's directly for information.
Discovery Pass: CHF 78 for 2 weeks of unlimited classes.
