A student of the Pilates Method, a strengthening and flexibility-building exercise regiment developed in the early 20th century by Joseph Pilates, Hoerster found that her future lay not in her studies, but in the recreation she’d come to love.

"I knew within a month this was what I wanted to do," Hoerster said.

So on Aug. 8, Hoerster, 25, opened Village Pilates Studio at 436 S. Ridgeland Ave., hoping to turn her passion into profit.

The Oak Parker walks to work, after having completed a year-long, 1,000-hour training course at a Hinsdale studio to become certified, and after having taught Pilates classes at the West Cook YMCA for another year and counting.

Fran Ahrens, the instructor who opened her Hinsdale studio when she was about Hoerster’s age, was instrumental in getting Hoerster to make opening her own studio seem like a reality. Hoerster was encouraged by other women who had started their own businesses, too.

So she underwent a self-taught crash-course on business.

"I don’t have a business background, so I was at the library a long time," Hoerster said. She developed a business plan, then got a bank loan to finance the build-out of space (a former barber shop) and for the Pilates equipment.

The more than 500 exercises in the Pilates Method can be done lying on a mat or on one of the machines Pilates designed.

Hoerster demonstrates the Universal Reformer, the most popular of the machines. She reclines on a carriage that moves back and forth to do the "Short Spine," an exercise designed to decompress the lower back.

Swinging her legs up and over her head, Hoerster concentrates on coordinating her breathing and movement, making deliberate, graceful motions. She says that when training newcomers, she looks for the body working as a whole, every muscle "turned on" and "glowing with energy."

German-born Joseph Pilates, who was living in England, was interned during World War II. He became a medic and developed exercises to help bed-ridden German soldiers rehabilitate themselves.

He originally called the method "The Art of Contrology," referring to the way the mind guides the body and spirit.

Pilates is foremost a restorative routine, Hoerster said, strengthening muscles uniformly (rather than by isolating major muscles groups, as in many strength-building routines) and balancing muscles around joints.

The result is a more limber body whose forgotten muscles have been strengthened, causing it to move more gracefully, which is why Pilates is so popular with dancers, said Hoerster, who minored in dance in college.

Most who already know of Pilates or who have practiced it have done so without the use of machines, Hoerster said. But beginners are better off starting with the machines, which help the exerciser do the movements effectively and efficiently.

Springs on the machines ease the effects of gravity and help balance and support the body in movement.

"On the mat, you’re all by yourself," she said.

In addition to the main exercise space, Hoerster added a dressing room with a television, VCR and DVD players. Videos help teach and re-teach the method’s exercises, and the room doubles as a babysitter for Pilates parents.

Fifty-five-minute classes cost from $15 for a group mat class to $65 for a private session on the machines. Hoerster is offering a 20-percent newcomer’s special, and has package plans to help people save money.

"My idea when I opened this studio was to make Pilates accessible and the equipment understandable to people," she said.

Hoerster continues to teach Pilates classes at the YMCA.

CONTACT: dcarter@wjinc.com