About Bela
Courage is taking the first step.
“I am a domestic violence survivor who took that first step. I was terrified, but once I knew I wanted to begin a new way of living, there was no looking back.”
Rebecca Cook has taught Pilates for more than 25 years, in Carmel, Fishers, Broad Ripple and now Plainfield. She believes a health journey takes the same kind of courage, and she opened Bela so people could take that step in a small, private studio where no one is watching.
Why people wait
The most common reasons hard-working people put their health last
- Struggling with chronic pain like back or hip pain
- Working through chronic disease like autoimmune diseases
- Caretaking for an aging family member or children
- Going through tragedy or loss that pushes your own health to the bottom of the list
Rebecca remembers a client who had lived with back pain for over three years. She walked into her first appointment bent over, with an ice pack in hand. Driving hurt the most, so she never left the house without it.
They started with easy movements to lengthen her hip flexors and deep rotators and explored pre-Pilates exercises for her core. Slowly her posture improved, her hips and back got stronger, and she ditched the ice pack. The episodes of pain came less and less often.
“Everyone walking into the studio is someone capable of health and healing. Take courage and let’s move together!”
Credentials
Training you can trust
- Degrees
- Bachelor of Music in Musical Theatre and Dance, Baldwin-Wallace University
- Sports and Medical Massage degree, Indiana Wellness College
- Therapeutic Massage degree, Indiana Academy of Massage
- Pilates certification
- Balanced Body University, Comprehensive Pilates Certification
- The Pilates Center, Comprehensive Training
- Licensed Massage Therapists
- Rebecca Cook, Indiana LMT #MT22408377
- James Cook, Indiana LMT #MT22608972
- Continuing education
- Manual lymph drainage, Dolphin NeuroStim, pre and postnatal, neurological conditions, PNF stretching and more
The team
Who you'll work with
Rebecca Cook
Owner, Master Pilates Teacher, Licensed Massage Therapist, MLD-C
Comprehensively certified through Balanced Body University and The Pilates Center, with massage degrees from Indiana Wellness College and the Indiana Academy of Massage. Rebecca also teaches mat Pilates at IU. LMT #MT22408377.
James Cook
Licensed Massage Therapist, Intra-Oral Massage Specialist
James is certified in intra-oral massage for jaw tension, TMJD and headaches, and leads the studio's sound bath evenings. LMT #MT22608972.
Brooklee Bratcher
Certified Pilates Mat Teacher, Comprehensive Pilates Teacher in Training
Brooklee is a Certified Pilates Mat Teacher enrolled in our Comprehensive Pilates Training Program. She is a sweet, patient teacher who pays close attention to every client.
Andrea Robinson
Apprentice Yoga Instructor, Mat Pilates Teacher in Training
Andrea joined the Bela team as an Apprentice Yoga Instructor and is training to teach Pilates Mat. She is originally from Puerto Rico, speaks Spanish fluently and loves teaching movement.
Abi Cervantes
Pilates Mat and Reformer Teacher in Training, Social Media Manager
Abi is training for her Pilates Mat and Reformer certifications and wants to specialize in pre- and postnatal Pilates. She also speaks Spanish fluently.
Client stories
What clients say
After multiple back surgeries
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I found Pilates and Bela in particular because I've had a number of back surgeries and my back surgeon told me that the best thing I could do is Pilates otherwise I'd be looking at a spine fusion. And so I started looking around and Bela was just getting started. And I think I was one of the early clients after I got the release from physical therapy after my back surgery and so I've been at it for about four years and I have never felt better. My back doesn't hurt any longer. I used to walk around with chronic back pain and hip pain and that was one of the first things that we started working on and I can tell you today, I don't even think about it. It's just fantastic.
Senior center student
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I like that it works my muscles, but yet through learning to breathe better and more correctly, I'm not sore the next day. So I think it's a testimony to listening to what the instructor says, following the instructions, and then trying to live it. Because then you can come out doing the exercise but not being in pain. And I've read a couple of books and I've tried a couple things, but it's not like being instructed where you feel like the things that you might be doing wrong are getting corrected. And I'm a believer, if I'm going to do it, I want to do it right.
Came from a big chain studio
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So I thoroughly enjoy Bela. I previously was in a larger corporate setting with Pilates. I kind of felt like I was moving through the motions and with Bela I do feel like it's more personalized and I feel every movement and I walk away really just feeling stronger and more personalized instruction. Rebecca does a great job just helping us and teaching us so we make sure we hit the moves correctly and so we can feel it and like I said sometimes it's just tiny tweak that we might not notice but she notices it and then you sure feel it.
Client and dog groomer
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I found Bela Pilates through my boss. We're dog groomers and she came to Bela for kind of like occupational therapy type stuff and she said that it would really help me as a new dog groomer to take care of my body. It was much more difficult than I anticipated. I'd never used a reformer before so I didn't really know what to expect. You really don't have to do a lot of exercises to feel like you got a complete workout so that's what I was most impressed by.
Greg
Reformer class regularRead transcript
Yeah, I found Bela Pilates just doing a Google search in my area and found that it was a locally owned private studio in a house, which meant to me that it was a little more, it was less franchise-y, so to speak, and that, you know what I read on it was definitely a very classic Joseph Pilates studio, and that's what I was looking for. The instruction is very clear concise Rebecca, our instructor, does a great job in correcting our positions if we're off a little bit, and again, it's a very classic Joseph Pilates so everything here is very very classic, very fine-tuned and we're all very clear about what our exercises are that we're doing.
Greg
Reformer class regularRead transcript
Well, my favorite part about Bela Pilates and Massage is the family feeling when you come in for each class, the people that are here and they're just, it's like family. You start to know what they're going on in their lives and they share and they talk and we're all here to get a great exercise in, but at the same token, we're starting to become family members. So it's the close knit family tie that works really well here.
Reformer class regular
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You're missing out. No, it's fun. It's very fun. The girls in class are wonderful. Everyone's at a different level so don't be nervous that you aren't going to be as good as the next person or the person on the reformer next to you or the mat next to you. Everyone's at a different level and they're focusing on bettering themselves. Everyone is here for a different reason. I'm here for a different reason than the girl next to me. So if you think you want to do it, do it. It's great. You'll love it. I've been doing it for a couple years now and I can't imagine not doing it.
“I have lived with chronic lower back pain for a long time and have found that Pilates has made a positive change for me in the amount of pain I deal with daily.”
“Rebecca is amazing and I love her so much for helping me enjoy my life more pain free and to the fullest.”
“Rebecca helped me to overcome my shoulder pain and helped me to improve my posture, flexibility and strength. She also made doing Pilates fun!”
Ready to feel like yourself again?
Book an Initial Private and we'll look at how you move, talk through your goals and give you something to take home.