Pilates Elementals

“Jost is incredibly graceful, lithe and strong. With a well-earned reputation for offering incredibly challenging, yet light-spirited classes, Jost is a role model for the men and women who attend the advanced classes. The depth of his ability as an instructor emerges, however, not only in his personal skills in performing complicated and difficult Pilates movements. Instead, his instruction is marked most notably by his ability to notice and respond to individuals around the room, to demonstrate options as necessary.

As a former aerobics instructor and aerobics center director, I find the kind of balance of extraordinary expertise in the discipline that Jost demonstrates, with the willingness to step away from his own performance to help others achieve at their level, crucial to the success of an exercise class. Unfortunately, it is also rare.

I have joined health clubs everywhere I have lived, and have gravitated to the most challenging instructors of aerobics and other forms of group exercise to complement running and swimming. It is with honesty that I say, Mr. Jost van Dyke is the most effective and talented instructor with whom I have had the pleasure of taking classes. He is a teacher first–then, an absolutely amazing example of the beauty of Pilates. He encourages us all to move from one point to the next on what he refers to as ‘the journey’.”

Dr. Pamela S. Carroll

Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, Mack and Effie Campbell Tyner Distinguished Professor College of Education Florida State University