Nestled in the heart of West Hollywood, California, Harmony Studios is a full-service, private instruction facility specializing in personalized Pilates regimens.
Using methods evolved from the work of Joseph Pilates, the studio has developed its own philosophy by blending the mind-body connection with old-fashioned get-in-shape, stay-in-shape sensibility.
Karen Schwalbe-Jones is the owner of Harmony Studios, and has built Harmony from the ground up, whilst earning a reputation for results that have helped to establish her, and her staff of trainers, as go-to gurus within L.A.’s celebrity and professional athlete circles’ –and all those seeking a slim and supremely strong figure with overall improvement in their health and quality of life.
Karen attributes her passion for her craft to the fact that; “Pilates is the most complete approach that encourages people to connect their minds with their bodies.
“All of what we do as human beings begins with the neurological and appears in the physical. Therefore, how well we condition
our brains to create physical responses is how strong we can become.”
With two degrees from UCLA, in Science of Kinesiology and Psychology, and over 19 years of weight training and rehabilitation experience, Karen is able to provide friends and clients with well-rounded physical, mental and emotional health.
As a Pilates practitioner, Karen has enjoyed fine tuning her education with special populations such as pre and post natal, geriatrics, MS and stroke patients.
Teaching Pilates for over 13 years, she has taken many women to term practicing Pilates. In fact, Karen exercised the day she gave birth to her now 6 and 3 year old children! She believes Pilates feels the most organic, especially to the pregnant body. As the hormone Relaxin surges thru the pregnant body, Pilates teaches it control, balance and coordination as well as helping with its postural muscles for the always-evolving pregnancy.
An owner with a very involved and hands-on approach, Karen has hand-picked each trainer on her team and she also personally sees to it that each new client receives the best possible assessment to ensure they are paired with their ideal trainer and receive a workout plan that caters to his or her specific needs.
All of this and more is offered at Harmony Studios within a spacious, zen-chic and eco-friendly, tranquil environment surrounded by treetop balconies and sun-dappled gardens. Harmony’s one-on-one instruction uses only state of the art Pilates equipment, all of which is supplemented by a Gyrotonic Expansion System™ and a variety of cardiovascular machines and weights.