Galaxy Pilates offers antigravity experience

It's not just Cirque du Soleil performers who get to hang in the air and do striking poses. With the opening of Galaxy Pilates, 1970 Village Center Circle, Suite 5, regular people can do it, too.

Galaxy offers AntiGravity yoga and Pilates. Erected inside the 1,400-square-foot studio is a steel frame to support a dozen non-professional aerialists.

Owner/operator Agnieszka Koziarska also has a studio in Corsica, an island of France, but said she will devote the bulk of her time in Las Vegas.

"When I tried AntiGravity for the first time, I fell in love with it," Koziarska said. "I wanted to make a place here for an AntiGravity (studio)."

She said Trails Village shopping center fit her needs as a "beautiful spot with plenty of traffic to (spur) the business."

AntiGravity fitness instructor Kelly Millaudon went to New York City to work with Christopher Harrison, who developed the AntiGravity Aerial Pilates program.

"This technique, we're taught to invert people safely," Millaudon said. "The key to being safe is progressions. There are progressions to each inversion, and there are modifications for every single person."

She said the benefits of the classes include joint mobility and muscular tension release. Hanging upside down from the "hammock" allows for zero compression of the spine, she said.

Galaxy's staff members have plenty of experience.

Instructor Delphine Gaillard attended circus school at the age of 8 and and has performed with Cirque du Soleil. She's been in more than 3,400 shows.

"One day, I decided, 'OK, it's time to slow down.' So I decided to get certified in AntiGravity. I went to New York and got six different certifications in this technique. For me, it's important for me to share my knowledge, my passion. ... Most people, they come in and say, 'Oh, I'm not flexible; I'm not in shape,' and I say, 'Yes, you can.' It takes time and practice. I like helping people feel better with their body."

The delicate-looking hammocks can each hold up to 1,000 pounds. People new to it are upside down about three minutes; experienced people can be upside down for up to eight.

Koziarska said people who are apprehensive can observe first, but once in the apparatus, tend to take to the hammock quickly.

Annie Cook, who lives in the Paradise area, was there for her first class. She had one-on-one time before other students showed up.

"I've been doing yoga and Pilates for years, and this sounded like something different," she said. "I was looking for a new way to exercise, and this was a full-body workout. I can feel it in my arms, my abs, my legs."

She said she had back issues, and hanging upside down helped ease them.

"We care about each person," Koziarska said. "It's not a class where I'm putting on a microphone and there are 30 people. We look at what each person can do."

Classes can have one harness a few inches off the floor or hanging at waist height. The moves are a mix of yoga, Pilates and stretching.

"There are definitely aspects that become artistic, for sure," Millaudon said. "People can go see a show on the Strip and come here and touch the apparatus, create the shapes safely that they saw on the stage. Where the performers are 40, 60 feet in the air, here, they're only a few inches off the floor. There's definitely a curiosity aspect that brings people in, but once they get the feeling of it, that's what keeps them."

One move is called the savasana, aka the cocoon, where the fabric encloses one for a very relaxing, peaceful experience. Think of a meditation pose but hanging in mid-air.

"If you get them in the cocoon, they'll come back no matter how many times you asked them to do sit-ups," Millaudon added.

She said new students who are fearful can be taught through floor exercises before moving on to the aerial aspect. Even then, their introduction is taken through a series of modifications to approach the discipline gradually at a pace with which they feel comfortable.

"I have people say, 'Oh, I'll be fine,' and then, on their way down (to be fully inverted), they start to shake," Millaudon said. "But once they get into full inversion, they're so pleased with themselves. It's an amazing feeling to see them open up and go, 'Wow, I really did that.' "

Visit galaxypilates.com or call 702-576-4798.

— To reach Summerlin Area View reporter Jan Hogan, email jhogan@viewnews.com or call 702-387-2949.