Inspired Motion

When Balanced Pilates & Yoga opened in Glen Cove, N.Y., there wasn’t a client in sight. Regardless, the owner — a former prosecutor and mother of two — was determined to use an intimate approach to a popular form of exercise to help New Yorkers get back in shape and feeling good!

Krystallo Halikiopoulos-Hoffman has spent her entire life in love with motion. Her passion began at an early age with dance, cheerleading, track and a myriad of other sports. In college she pursued her love by joining the crew team, but also found more to her passion than just playing.

During college and law school, Halikiopoulos-Hoffman started teaching step, aerobics and African dance. “I realized that I not only loved to exercise, but also to teach others to love it,” she said. “I always maintained my love for fitness, even as a lawyer, and so the decision to get into fitness when I stopped practicing law was natural because I loved it.”

After Halikiopoulos-Hoffman graduated from law school, she worked in a private law firm and then as a prosecutor fighting crime. But after having her second child, Halikiopoulos-Hoffman decided to leave law and become a stay-at-home mom. While taking care of her children, she started exercising with yoga and Pilates and became fascinated by the range of motion and the vast array of movements. “Because I had a dance background, the love of movement came naturally,” she said. “I surrounded myself with different books in order to learn more about Joseph Pilates and his exercises, as well as the yoga postures that felt good for my body.”

Halikiopoulos-Hoffman’s interest grew and she eventually obtained a personal training certification and decided to open her own studio, Balanced Pilates & Yoga. “The lack of built-in clientele, was challenging at first” she said. “I opened up the studio near my children’s school so I could drop them off and go straight to work. I thought practicality would be best!”

Halikiopoulos-Hoffman used what she knew to develop clients. She had befriended other mothers in her children’s school who exercised and focused on their health. “I told a couple of them about my new business and started with one, then two, then three clients,” she said. “The few clients told their friends because they began to see and feel changes in their bodies very rapidly. My days began to get longer, and now there is a waiting list. Word of mouth was everything to the success of my studio!”

At Balanced Pilates & Yoga, Halikiopoulos-Hoffman uses foam rollers, BOSU balls, medicine balls, physio-balls, body blades, kettlebells, bands, dyna discs, tubing and other pieces of equipment to make each client feel great. “I have some clients who come to me to get rid of pain and others who need assistance in training for various reasons,” she said. “Creating a program tailored for each individual is an incredible process and learning experience.”

Halikiopoulos-Hoffman only instructs classes of up to six clients. She also has a wide variety of private students that range from dancers, athletes, moms, professionals, seniors and children. “The key to my studio’s success is empowering my clients, both physically and mentally,” she said. “One of the things that is most important to me as an owner is providing knowledge for everyone who comes to the studio. The knowledge can come about in many different forms. It could be about how the body works, how the body is affected by each exercise or how each exercise contributes to their overall strength and alleviates any imbalances.

“As an owner who is also an instructor, it is my obligation to make each client ‘better’ in some way. It is my goal to make each person feel better, move better, look better or think better. In the end, the studio is about growth and empowerment. I learn just as much from my clients as they learn from me.” -CS