If you’ve never tried Pilates or are looking for a new class, allow me to make a personal recommendation.
Pilates is one of those “anyone can do it,” low impact-big results types of programs that people of any age, fitness level, gender, physical ability or body type can, theoretically, do.
With a great instructor, Pilates students can achieve notable results in strength, balance, injury recovery and so much more.
Iva Mazar is that instructor.
Mazar has been practising and teaching exercise classes for many years and she continues to upgrade her knowledge of both teaching methods and body mechanics.
As a teen in Croatia, she worked as a step aerobics teacher in a small studio and then as an instructor in larger gyms. After moving to Toronto in 2017, Mazar received her certification to teach Pilates and has never looked back.
Pilates was not her first career, however. While Mazar is devoted to her work as an exercise instructor, she holds a Master’s degree in civil and environmental engineering.
For several years, Iva worked in Toronto in engineering during the day and taught Pilates in the evening.
As an instructor at Leaside Pilates on McRae, she came to love her “other life” so much that she left engineering to became a full-time instructor.
When Covid hit, Leaside Pilates did what many companies did and pivoted to a virtual format. Clients were so devoted to the studio owner and the other instructors that they continued to “attend” classes regularly.
After the world began to reopen, the owner of Leaside Pilates decided to sell her space. Mazar jumped at the opportunity to have her own studio. But as regular clients flocked back and new customers began looking for classes, Mazar realized the studio was no longer large enough to accommodate the growing demand.
She got “very, very busy, very quickly,” she says.
And while she was working long hours on her Pilates business, Iva also enrolled in the Canadian Academy of Osteopathy to learn more about body systems as a whole and is currently in her second year of a four-year program.
She has also opened a modern, larger Leaside Pilates studio at 28 Industrial Rd. which can accommodate the group classes the old location could not.
Mazar and her staff offer private one-on-one, semi-private two-on-one, and group five-on-one classes at the Industrial Rd. studio, which offers ample parking.
“Iva takes great care to know her clients, from personal goals to injuries,” says regular student Sharon Castelino. “No two classes are the same and individual exercises can be adjusted to one’s comfort level and experience.”
Want to check out Leaside Pilates? Visit www.leasidepilates.com to learn more.
