Core Movement was founded by Claudia Martin, a Pilates educator with nearly two decades of experience teaching, training instructors, and building Pilates communities from California to Pennsylvania.

Claudia's approach was shaped early in her career by two distinct methods of movement. She trained and certified under Sebastien Lagree, (creator of Lagree Fitness) gaining a foundation in endurance, intensity, and athletic movement, and was later personally mentored and certified by Mari Winsor, whose classical Pilates teachings deepened her understanding of precision, control, alignment, and the mind-body connection.

Those two influences became the foundation for the way Claudia teaches today: classical Pilates at its core, thoughtfully evolved with modern strength and athleticism.

FROM CALIFORNIA TO PENNSYLVANIA

Born and raised in California, Claudia’s Pilates journey—and her love for creating intimate movement spaces—began at home. Literally.

In 2009, her husband built her first private Pilates studio in the backyard of their West Hollywood home. It was a small, personal space where Claudia could work one-on-one with clients and develop the teaching style that would eventually become the foundation of her career.

In 2013, she opened her first public studio in Old Towne Orange. Two years later, she expanded to a second location on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood—conveniently right around the corner from home.

Then came the coast.

In 2019, Claudia and her family moved to Laguna Beach, a place that quickly became home. That same year, she opened her third studio just down the road in Corona del Mar/Newport Beach.

THEN CAME 2020

When COVID temporarily closed studio doors in 2020, Claudia did what so many in the fitness world had to do—she adapted.

She took Pilates outside and began teaching mat classes outdoors. What started as a way to keep her clients moving and connected during a temporary studio closure unexpectedly reignited her passion for mat Pilates.

Without reformers or a traditional studio setting, the focus returned to the fundamentals: intentional movement, great instruction, and the energy created when people move together.

When the studio reopened, Claudia continued teaching, but the experience had shifted something. Her love for mat Pilates—and the community that formed around it—stayed with her.

Looking back, those outdoor classes became an important part of the story. They planted the seed for the small-group, mat-focused community that would eventually become Core Movement.

A NEW COAST. A NEW CHAPTER.

In 2023, life brought Claudia and her family from the California coast to Western Pennsylvania. After being born and raised in Southern California and building her Pilates career there, the move marked a completely new chapter—both personally and professionally.

But Claudia brought nearly two decades of experience with her, along with a growing vision for what she wanted her next studio to become.

After years of owning studios, working one-on-one with private clients, training instructors, and rediscovering her love for mat Pilates while teaching outdoors during COVID, she knew she wanted to create something different: a small-group Pilates studio centered around exceptional instruction, intentional movement, and genuine community.

In 2025, Core Movement Pilates opened in New Wilmington, Pennsylvania.

Core Movement became a culmination of everything that came before it—the precision of classical Pilates, the strength and athleticism that shaped Claudia's teaching, the personal connection of her private studios, and the sense of community she discovered teaching mat Pilates outdoors in California.

And the Core Crew grew.

THE NEXT CHAPTER

In October 2026, Core Movement expands to Poland, Ohio, bringing the Core Movement experience to a second community.

From a backyard studio in West Hollywood in 2009 → Old Towne Orange → Melrose Avenue → Corona del Mar → outdoor mat Pilates in Laguna Beach → a private Laguna Beach studio → New Wilmington → Poland, every chapter has helped shape Core Movement into what it is today.

What began in a little backyard studio in California has grown into a Pilates community spanning states—but the heart behind it has never changed:

Intelligent movement. Genuine connection. A community that feels like yours.

Two studios. One method. One Crew.

Find your Core. Find your Crew.