Love the beach? But hate the thought of getting in a bikini?
Come out and firm up your beach bod at, where else -- the beach.
Bal Harbour has launched a new health and wellness initiative and is offering free pilates classes on the beach three times a week. The classes are taught by Naomi Lowit, owner of Nomi Pilates in North Miami.
"I teach basic mat pilates... the roll down, the hundreds..." Lowit says. "It's so great to step out of the studio and be out in the sun, it's incredibly beautiful here and teaching pilates on the beach offers a heightened sense of well being." The class has only been running for about two months, and already it's grown to about 15-25 participants per class.
Carrie Gitts of North Miami was taking the class for the first time on Friday.
"I think it's energizing, it gives you a boost for the day," she said. There are people of all fitness levels who attend the class. According to the Director of Tourism for the village of Bal Harbour, Carolyn Travis, that's the number one goal.
"We're doing an entire wellness series, starting with pilates. It's an initiative from the mayor and the council and it is really important to us to offer this to our community and our guests."
Travis says now that the beach pilates classes are off and running, the city plans to expand the wellness series. Eventually they'll offer fitness classes for kids, bring in speakers to lecture on health and wellness, and work with the Bal Harbour Shops to run promotions on spa treatments and healthy menu items.
The pilates classes take place at ONE Bal Harbour Resort, 10295 Collins Ave. The class is offered Tuesday from 9 to 10 a.m., and Friday and Saturday from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Classes are free to the public.
For information, go to www.nomipilates.com or visit http://www.balharbourgov.com/.
