Meet Your Trainer
Niia Bishop
Niia Bishop began her movement journey at age 5 as a dancer. She earned a scholarship to the Alvin Ailey School of Dance, where she trained in ballet, modern, African, and jazz — until a knee injury at 16 altered her path. She continued dancing and studying movement while earning her BA at Amherst College (taking courses at Mt. Holyoke and Smith Colleges as well), and later attended the University of Michigan to pursue a PhD in Comparative Literature.
It was in Michigan that she discovered Pilates — starting with Windsor Pilates at home and finding the results so profound that she pursued formal certification. She earned her mat and machine Pilates credentials in 2007. She also received a scholarship through the National Dance Institute to certify as a dance instructor. In 2009, she created Mamilates — a mother-and-baby Pilates class blending movement and bonding — which she taught in New York City, Long Island, and Buffalo.
Niia went on to teach at Club Pilates before deepening her expertise in the Gyrotonic® Method, one of the most effective and least available movement systems in the country. She brings over a decade of Pilates experience, a lifetime of movement knowledge, and an academic's precision to every client she works with.
What sets Niia apart isn't a single method — it's the way she sees a body. She reads patterns, compensations, and history. She understands that a teen athlete and a post-operative senior may need very different things, but both deserve the same quality of attention and care. This studio exists because she couldn't find anywhere else that felt like this.
