A Pilates studio, massage therapy center just opened in Gig Harbor. Here’s what we know

Two Tacoma wellness businesses have expanded to the other side of the Narrows.

The Studio Modern Pilates and Flow State Body Work have taken over the former Pro Sport building in Gig Harbor.

What used to be a sports rehabilitation space, with green walls and a large mural inside at 5125 Olympic Dr., is now a Pilates and massage therapy center.

Doors opened Monday, March 13.

Pro Sport moved to the former Pier 1 building on Borgen Boulevard.

“I’m always looking at empty spaces to expand to,” Lindsey Naglieri, owner of The Studio told the Gateway Thursday.

The tall ceilings are what sold her, she said.

When she saw the building had additional space with private rooms, she thought of Kelley Johnson, owner of Flow State.

The two have supported each other through the years and always talked about doing a workshop together, they told the Gateway Thursday.

Now they’re business partners.

The large rehabilitation room downstairs, which once had a gym and turf field, now has 12 X-former Pilates machines.

“A standard Pilates reformer machine uses your body weight, plus spring tension, to create resistance,” Naglieri said. “So you’re working on several things all at once: strength, flexibility, stability, mobility, coordination and balance.”

At The Studio, they use X-formers, which have a few more bells and whistles than the standard reformers.

The former private treatment rooms downstairs have been converted to body work rooms for Flow State. Inside each room is a massage bed and diffusers filled with essential oils to promote relaxation, Johnson said.

“To melt away any aches and pain, the Flow State Signature Massage uses a variety of modalities to ease tension while guiding you into rest and digest mode,” Johnson said.

Flow State also offers deep tissue body work and lymphatic drainage.

The Studio and Flow State see each other as sister businesses that compliment one another, Naglieri said.

“I knew she’d be the perfect person to do this with, because we have a lot of the same values,” Naglieri said about Johnson. “The mind-body connection is important to both of us.”

Pilates

In 2016, Naglieri was commuting from Tacoma to Seattle, teaching Pilates.

“I was trying to convince the Pilates studio I was teaching at to come to Tacoma,” Naglieri said. “They were dragging their feet and I eventually decided to just do it myself.”

The Studio opened in Tacoma in 2019 and is still open on Pacific Avenue.

At The Studio, they practice modern Pilates and mindful movement, Naglieri said.

“It’s a full body, fun exercise modality that leaves you feeling more connected to yourself,” she said.

The Studio primarily offers a variety of 50-minute group X-former classes.

“Foundations class is where we suggest people start,” Naglieri said. “It takes you through the beginning principles of Pilates on the reformers.”

Visitors can work up to a High Intensity class that consists of slow movements with quick transitions.

More information is available at thestudiomodernpilates.com.

“It’s an enjoyable experience where you feel refreshed and energized from your workout,” Naglieri said. “You don’t feel like you have to be picked up off the floor afterwards.”

Naglieri used to hate physical exercise because it felt like a punishment, she said. Pilates keeps her physically and mentally engaged.

“The equipment we have is creative and interesting,” Naglieri said. “You’re never bored.”

The Studio also offers private sessions.

Naglieri emphasized that Pilates is about longevity.

“Our classes are for anyone looking for a complimentary exercise to help them in the things they enjoy doing, whether it’s skiing, golf, or tennis,” Naglieri said. “A lot of the exercises we do to make those other hobbies more successful. But our classes are also for someone just looking for something fun to do that gives them endorphins, physical and mental benefits.”

Naglieri and her family moved to Gig Harbor during the height of the pandemic. She’s excited to expand her business into Gig Harbor, she said.

She is also expanding into University Place. That third location for The Studio will open later this year, she said.

Body and breath work

Johnson dove into the massage therapy industry about five years ago after a series of major car accidents.

While receiving body work for some of the pain she was experiencing, she learned it was more than just a massage or spa experience, she told The Gateway Thursday.

“I saw that there’s a lot we can transform through tapping into the body,” she said.

In 2018, Johnson went to massage therapy school and started her own body work business, Flow State.

Her business started as a mobile service. She went to clients’ homes across the state.

“People have ailments in the body and can’t lift their arm up past a certain point. .... For a lot of those people, those injuries have been with them many years and they don’t even know it may be possible to regain mobility in certain ways,” Johnson said.

In 2020, she moved into a shared space in Tacoma on North Pearl Street.

This year, Johnson decided to move out of the Tacoma space and into the Gig Harbor building.

Naglieri and Johnson converted the upstairs office space into a large breath work room.

Somatic breath work is meant to regulate the nervous system, Johnson said.

“Something like somatic breath work is an amazing modality to work through some of those deeper reasons why people aren’t able to get past that story of being broken and not being able to use their body,” Johnson said.

During a breath work session, visitors will be guided through exercises to work with the nervous system where stress and trauma is stored, Johnson said.

In Tacoma she was only able to offer private breath work sessions.

The upstairs breath work room allows her to expand and offer group sessions, Johnson said.

“I really wanted to create this space and the ability to be in a room with other people who maybe have walked a similar life path or experienced similar things to be able to heal together and to feel empowered by one another,” Johnson said.

For more information, visit vagaro.com/flowstategigharbor.

Flow State prices range from $150 to $250 per treatment or session.