Returning Longboater opens new Pilates studio

Julia Yesler recently opened Paradise Pilates with the aim of helping people achieve their lifelong health and fitness goals.

By Dana Kampa
| 5:00 a.m. July 1, 2026

Paradise Pilates owner Julia Yesler, left, and Paulina Peralta, a certified personal trainer and Pilates instructor, demonstrate one of the stretches possible on the studio's new Cadillac reformer. Yesler recently opened the studio at The Centre Shops.

Longboat Key
Business

Julia Yesler, a certified personal trainer and Pilates instructor, said she has shared many meaningful moments with experienced and novice students. But one recent instance struck a chord — when a new client achieved the first unassisted pull-up of his life.

Success stories like those were a main motivator for Yesler's decision to start a new Pilates studio on Longboat Key, her hometown.

Paradise Pilates owner Julia Yesler, a certified personal trainer and Pilates instructor, demonstrates some of the assisted strength exercises her team teaches.

She opened Paradise Pilates last month at The Centre Shops, taking the place of a previously closed Pilates studio. Yesler, after connecting with her would-be business neighbor Michael Garey, the well-known owner of the Lazy Lobster and a previous employer of hers; decided to go all in on opening a new studio.

"We did a complete remodel," she said while pointing out the five new reformers, including a Cadillac reformer; dumbbells, stretch bands and other tools in the studio. "It was a huge project, but we wanted a whole new identity and fresh look."

While the new equipment is a plus, Yesler said she also wanted the studio to become a place clients could see as their own. She embraces the principle that the best form of exercise is the one you actually do and enjoy, so creating a space where students feel comfortable was imperative, she said.

"We're really close with our people. Sometimes, we see our clients more often than their family members do," she joked.

Yesler said Pilates is ideally suited to the Longboat Key community, considering lessons can be easily tailored to students starting from many different levels of experience, flexibility and endurance.

One of her main goals for opening the studio is to help residents with their long-term healthy journeys, with a particular focus on physical therapy and building balance.

Yesler has brought on board two fellow certified trainers, Paulina Peralta and Lisa Cavanaugh, to expand weekly class offerings.

She said the studio welcomes solo and small-group walk-ins. It currently offers a summer special of $55 for a drop-in lesson. The by-appointment classes are great for couples or small family groups, Yesler said.

author

Dana Kampa

Dana Kampa is the Longboat Key neighbors reporter for the Observer. She first ventured into journalism in her home state of Wisconsin, going on to report community stories everywhere from the snowy mountains of Washington State to the sunny shores of the Caribbean. She has been a writer and photographer for more than a decade, covering what matters most to readers.