By Trudy Whitman

It’s on all of our minds, so why not meet and discuss it. And, indeed, we will. The focus of the Cobble Hill Association Fall General Membership meeting is “Surviving the Economic Downturn in Cobble Hill.� The meeting notice observes that many in the neighborhood work — or worked — in the hard-hit areas of finance, media, and law. It is no surprise, then, that the impact on these industries has filtered down to local restaurants, real estate, and retail businesses.

The panel will be made up of business owners Henry Zook of BookCourt and Michelle Mannix of Ted & Honey who will be joined by William Ross, director of development marketing for Halstead Property, and Lauren Young, personal finance editor for BusinessWeek.

Join fellow Cobble Hillers at what is sure to be an interesting evening. The meeting will be held on Monday, November 9, at 7:30 p.m. in the first-floor conference room of Long Island College Hospital, 339 Hicks Street.

The Pilates craze. Some say actress Jennifer Aniston started it all. Unapologetic about her larger than obligatory Size 0 frame before she was tapped for a lead role on the wildly popular “Friends� TV series — now in perpetual rerun — Aniston appeared to morph overnight into the slender yet buff television personality Rachel. The actor attributed the change to Pilates, and the exercise method that emphasizes working the core muscles of the back and abdomen took off like a B52.

Pilates instruction can be found in clubs and studios all over the Hills & Gardens, but those looking for a class to suit their specific needs should know that Pilates instructors range from those who have taken weekend workshops to those who have committed to years of study. So says Jan Phillips, whose inviting Cobble Hill studio, Henry St. Pilates, opened in September. Statuesque and lithe, the former classical ballerina is a walking advertisement for the exercise regimen. She was introduced to the discipline, an almost century-old series of strength and flexibility exercises devised by body builder and circus acrobat Joseph Pilates, when she was the recipient of a gift of a class series. Attracted by the focus on control, concentration, and alignment so similar to her ballet training, Phillips became a devotee and soon found herself commuting to New York City from her home in Boston to work with Joseph Pilates’ chosen successor Romana Kryzanowska. She was awarded Pilates certification after 700 hours of training.

It was then that the stars wiggled themselves into perfect alignment for Jan and her husband, Arthur Phillips. Through her exercise network Jan Phillips learned one day that France had caught the Pilates bug and was in need of instructors to teach the method. She called her husband to bemoan the fact that they did not have the freedom to leave their jobs and follow this dream. But her call was made the same day Arthur Phillips learned that he had sold his first novel, Prague, for which he was to receive a hefty advance. Jan bagged French working papers in three months and the couple packed themselves and their young son up and left for Paris.

When they returned to the U.S. two years later with another son, they decided to make Cobble Hill their home. Jan became the manager of a Manhattan Pilates studio, and Arthur continued to publish successful novels. But Jan was continually on the search for a space to launch her own studio, and found it when a Henry Street laundry near Warren closed and the landlord divided the large space in two.

If you visit Henry St. Pilates, Jan Phillips will take you to The Tower. There are seven of them here composed of springs and bars and straps and designed by Pilates himself. (“Think of a trapeze act without the Spandex and altitude,� says Phillips.) Participants position themselves on cushy orange elevated mats and are guided by the instructor through a series of resistance-based, continuous full-body conditioning exercises. “Pilates is a thoughtful, concentrated form of exercise that produces results,� Phillips maintains.

And with a class model, rather than the individualized instruction offered at many other neighborhood Pilates venues, Henry St. Pilates is affordable. A single class is $25, with discounts available for series purchases.

Call 718 873-5302 to set up an appointment to speak with Jan and tour the studio, or visit www.henrystreetpilates.com.

Questions? Comments? Sound off to the Editor

© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2009 All materials posted on BrooklynEagle.com are protected by United States copyright law. Just a reminder, though -- It’s not considered polite to paste the entire story on your blog. Most blogs post a summary or the first paragraph,( 40 words) then post a link to the rest of the story. That helps increase click-throughs for everyone, and minimizes copyright issues. So please keep posting, but not the entire article. arturc at att.net