Six Keys To Health and Happiness

Some would call the contraptions at the rear of Jennifer Cybulski’s business devices. Others would say they’re machines.

But Cybulski calls them apparatuses. Machines, she’s fond of saying, do the work for you.

At her Pilates studio, you’re going to be doing the work yourself–guaranteed.

Cybulski runs , located on the second floor of the Mills, an artist community off of Leverington Avenue and Baker Street.

The business just celebrated its year anniversary. The name refers to the six key principles in Pilates: centering, control, concentration, precision, breath and flow.

The business was featured in a Patch back in October.

During an interview at her studio Thursday morning, Cybulski talked about the history of the exercise routine that dates back to the mid 20^th century, but that started gaining more popularity in the 1990s. 

Cybulski, 33, said Pilates can help cure whatever ails you, from stiff joints and arthritis to muscle pain and sports injuries. She’s become a believer, and now aims to open up others to the wonderful world of Pilates.

Pilates, Cybulski said, “is good for anything. Anybody can do it. Pilates, it is not mind or body, it’s mind and body.”

Cybulski may be a first-time entrepreneur, but she’s not new to the fitness world.  

The Roxborough resident, who is married with a 6-year-old daughter, has a background in dance and gymnastics.

She originally planned to enter the world of fashion design professionally, but was urged to get into this line of work by her mother, who once asked, “Why aren’t you dancing?”

It turned out her mother was right; Cybulski was meant to do something with some sense of physicality as a career choice given her true passions.  

After taking some Pilates classes herself, and studying the history of the technique, she decided to give it a go, and open up her own studio.

Cybulski is also an adjunct professor at Montgomery County Community College, teaching primarily younger people how to live healthier lives.

“There’s endless benefits,” to Pilates, Cybulski said. “This is my Motrin. This is what I do. Everybody should have a dose of it.”

Cybulski, who has lower back problems, said the stretching techniques provided by Pilates can help anyone feel good again.

At her studio she offers group “matt” classes, meaning students are only using their bodies, but Cybulski also offers one-on-one sessions that comprise the pieces of equipment found in the back room.

To the untrained eye, the apparatuses look rather old fashioned, (one is, after all, modeled after a hospital bed), but they do wonders for people experiencing a whole host of bodily issues, Cybulski said.

The Pilates instructor even encourages those without any health issues to give the technique a try; it helps to simply keep the body fit and in good working condition.

“Physical fitness is the first requisite of happiness,” Cybulski said, quoting one of her favorite lines by Joseph Pilates.

It seems Cybulski has made a believer out of some; her client base has increased nicely since she started the studio two years ago.

She doesn’t do much advertising, and her clients mostly find her through word of mouth, Cybulski said. But the Internet has helped, and social media has done wonders as well when it comes to spreading the word about 6 Keys.

Cybulski offers a variety of packages, and the price depends on the service. For example, clients can chose a package containing a certain number of group classes and a certain number of individual training sessions.

To learn more about 6 Keys Pilates, visit the business’s Web site.