About Pilatesatelier Gent
Pilatesatelier Gent is a team of professionals ready to help you get the best out of yourself. Discover our team here!
FREYA – MANAGER and FULL CERTIFIED COMPREHENSIVE PILATES INSTRUCTOR
“A man is as old as his spine is flexible.” – Joseph H. Pilates
My passion is responsible movement and making people aware of their bodies and teaching them to take care of it. Pilates is the method for this. I have been practicing classical pilates for over 20 years and people who know me know that I am a walking billboard for classical pilates 🙂
How it started in the early 2000s
As a teenager, I discovered pilates during a ballet summer intensive course camp in Antwerp. I was amazed and surprised by the positive effect of the exercises on my body. After the one-week camp, my abdominal muscles were greatly strengthened, and I noticed that I was more self-aware of my ‘core’ (also known as the ‘powerhouse’ or ‘center’ in pilates) and paid more attention to my posture.
I wanted to know more about this…
Since my teenage years, I also suffered from frequent lower back pain. Thanks to pilates, I noticed that I had significantly less lower back pain: with a lordosis (‘hollow back’) you definitely need to focus on strengthening your abdominal and back muscles, pay attention to strong and flexible hip flexors, and constantly lengthen your spine. I was sold!
Around 2000, there were few places outside the ballet scene where pilates classes were given. A pilates book by Brooke Siler offered some guidance and help, until pilates as a ‘sports’ regimen came to Europe and I could practice at various gyms in Ghent. The hype has remained, and rightly so: the controlled, precise pilates exercises require deep concentration, help strengthen your muscles, and bring your body into balance. That’s why it’s often called a body & mind workout. But watch out: the pilates hype in flashy fitness studios nowadays is mostly not the classical, authentic pilates method Joseph Pilates invented (and intended).
Now, 25 years later
After more than 20 years of training, over 10 years with Full Certified Senior Master Instructor Yves De Moor (YPilates in Vinderhoute) and since summer 2022 with Els Lobbedey (Pilatels in Snellegem) and since early 2024 with Simone Hörster (Corepilates in Berlin), it was time to turn this passion into more. Through Pilatesatelier Gent, I can combine my love for pilates with my love for higher education (I also worked for 15 years at Arteveldehogeschool in Ghent). In 2017, I chose to follow the certified and internationally recognized Peak Pilates® Comprehensive (= mat + all Pilates equipment) training. After 7 years of intensive training, I have now completed all three levels, and therefore have a Full Comprehensive Pilates Certification.
- Peak Pilates® Comprehensive I – completed with Yves De Moor (Belgium – certification January 2018)
- Peak Pilates® Comprehensive II – completed with Yves De Moor (Belgium – certification April 2018)
- Pilatels School workshops – completed with Els Lobbedey (Belgium – monthly workshops in spring, summer, autumn 2023 – spring and autumn 2024)
- Prenatal workshop Ido Studio – completed with Lien Verheggen (Belgium – September 2023)
- Peak Pilates® Comprehensive III – completed with Simone Hörster (Berlin – summer 2024)
- Women in all her Life Stages: prenatal workshop, postnatal workshop and menopause workshop – completed with Els Lobbedey (Belgium – autumn 2024 and spring 2025)
- Vintage Pilates (VP) Class and VP Workshops with Sandy Shimoda – completed at Pilatels (Belgium – autumn 2024)
- Vintage Pilates (VP) Class and VP Workshops with Sandy Shimoda – completed at CorePilates Berlin (Berlin – spring 2025)
- Pilates Vintage weekend with Miguel Silva, Fernando Sadir, Noam Gagnon, Joel Crosby – completed at Pilatels (Belgium – spring 2025)
- Teachers Clubhouse with Sandy Shimoda – ongoing at Vintage Pilates (USA – summer 2025)
With the motto ‘standing still is going backwards’ I also train several times a week with Simone Hörster (CorePilates Berlin) and monthly with Els Lobbedey (Pilatels).
What is a full comprehensive pilates training?
A comprehensive training means that during your training you learn to work with all classical pilates equipment: this includes the Reformer, the mat, but also the Tower/Cadillac, High Ladder Barrel, High Chair, Wunda (low) chair, Arm Chair, Ped-o-pull, etc. Each device has its specific exercises and challenges, and depending on what you want to achieve with your client, you choose the right pilates equipment.
A full comprehensive training means that you master and can teach the intro, basic, intermediate, and advanced exercises on all of the above equipment. During the full comprehensive training, you learn to scan bodies, recognize imbalances, and bring the body back into balance with the appropriate exercises, building strength and flexibility. You do not reach this level as a teacher in a weekend, and honestly not in a year either. It takes years of study, self-practice, observation, and teaching experience. If you follow the three levels at Peak Pilates (PPC (Peak Pilates Comprehensive) I, II, and III) then you are full certified. This means you have completed a minimum total of 600 training and education hours (usually much more ;-)).
Every day I continue to practice my own pilates and knowledge, so that I can teach you as a client all the nuances and depths of each exercise and help you feel them.
I look forward to meeting you during a group class or a Private Training session (PT)!
Feel free to contact me at pilatesateliergent@gmail.com.
VALERIE – LEVEL I COMPREHENSIVE PILATES INSTRUCTOR
Valerie and Freya got to know each other during their PP Comprehensive education level I, back in 2017. Valerie embodies classical Pilates with the grace of a true Frenchwoman – and has done so for over 15 years!
After her PP Comprehensive certification level I to deepen her knowledge, she successfully completed an additional mat basic and intermediate Pilates training in 2025.
Every Tuesday evening, Valerie is happy to guide you (in English) through the open-level group mat class at 7PM as well as the semi-private basic class at 8.15 PM. Next to that, Valerie can be booked for Personal Trainings (in English or French) on Tuesday and Friday afternoon.
ILKE – LEVEL I MAT PILATES INSTRUCTOR
For more than five years, Ilke has been taking Personal Trainings at Pilatesatelier Gent, where her love for pilates only grew. Anyone who has seen her in the semi-privates or the group mat class knows her level! In 2025, she took the next step and joined the PA Trainee Program, with one clear goal: to share her knowledge and enthusiasm with others.
With a background in healthcare, Ilke brings a warm, people-oriented approach to every class. She listens, motivates, and guides you with care and expertise. Ilke believes pilates works for everyone – and she is happy to help you discover what it can mean for you. Ilke teaches the open-level group classes on Wednesday evenings.
TARA – LEVEL I MAT PILATES INSTRUCTOR
Tara discovered the power of classical pilates when she lived in Paris eight years ago. After returning to Belgium, she found her place at Pilatesatelier Gent, where she deepened her pilates knowledge and skills on the mat. Since early 2025, she has also been training on the equipment through semi-privates.
In 2025, Tara joined the PA Trainee Program, where her passion for pilates fully blossomed. Tara’s classes are energetic, motivating, and always with a smile. Thanks to her experience on the mat, she knows how to challenge you every time, in a way that is both effective and energizing. Tara teaches the open-level group class on Wednesday mornings at 9am.
Freya Roosens
Studio owner
Full Certified Comprehensive Classical Pilates Instructor
Why Pilatesatelier Gent is your best choice
Read inspiring stories from our clients about their growth and well-being thanks to our studio. More testimonials via Google or via this page!
Freya is a true professional and you absolutely notice that when you take her class. It’s hard work during the lessons, because she always raises the bar a little higher.
Maja
I used to often suffer from shoulder and back pain. Thanks to what I learned from Freya, I am much more conscious about certain movements, so I now use my muscles in the right way.
Glenn
Freya is an absolute top professional in her field. With her enthusiasm and clear cues, she always gets your body to go that ‘extra mile’.
As a pilates teacher, I love taking her classes every week.
