WELCOME TO CHEZ NOUS
Chez Nous is a private, fully equipped Classical Pilates studio dedicated to one-to-one teaching. We are based in Stoke Newington, Hackney, N16, just moments from Dalston.
It’s intentionally small and personal. There are no rows of Reformers and no one-size-fits-all approach. Instead, you have the complete classical apparatus, and my full attention for the duration of your session.
The studio is equipped with the complete classical system, with apparatus from Legacy Pilates built to Joseph Pilates’ original specifications. From the Reformer and Cadillac to the Chairs, Barrels and smaller apparatus, each piece has a particular purpose within the method.
Rather than working on one piece of equipment, we move through the system — choosing the apparatus that will best support, challenge and progress your body.
About elsie
I’m Elsie Martins, a Level V certified Romana’s Pilates teacher and founder of Chez Nous Pilates.
My own journey with Pilates began through rehabilitation from a back injury. What started as a way to manage pain became something much more: I experienced first-hand how Pilates could change the way I moved, building strength, improving alignment and bringing greater balance to my whole body.
That experience eventually led me to train as a teacher.
I first completed my comprehensive certification with STOTT PILATES®, developing a strong foundation in anatomy, biomechanics and movement. But I wanted to understand Pilates more deeply — not simply as a collection of exercises, but as the complete system Joseph Pilates created.
DEEPENING INTO THE CLASSICAL WORK
That led me to Romana’s Pilates International, where I completed its rigorous comprehensive teacher-training programme at Kinetic Pilates in London, becoming a Level V certified teacher.
Romana Kryzanowska was a direct protégée of Joseph Pilates and taught alongside him for many years. Her teaching preserved and passed on his work as an integrated system.
Training in that tradition transformed both my own practice and the way I teach. It taught me to see how the exercises and apparatus connect, how the system progresses, and how to select the work for the individual body in front of me.
That depth of classical training is at the heart of the teaching at Chez Nous today.
NO TWO BODIES MOVE THE SAME
Why should they be taught the same?
For me, good Pilates teaching is about much more than knowing the exercises.
It’s knowing what to look for. When to challenge. When to support. When to change an exercise or choose a different piece of apparatus. And sometimes, when the smallest adjustment can make the biggest difference.
Every session is a conversation between the method, the teacher and the body in front of me.
My aim is to help you develop strength, control, mobility and confidence in the way you move — building a Pilates practice that progresses with you and makes a difference beyond the studio.
ALWAYS A STUDENT
Certification is the beginning, not the end.
Continuing education is fundamental to the way I teach. I regularly take seminars and workshops, study privately with senior teachers and teacher trainers, attend teachers’ classes and maintain my own practice.
Classical Pilates is a lifelong practice, with extraordinary depth. The more I study it, the more I learn — continually refining my understanding. That learning comes directly back into the studio and informs the way I observe, teach and progress every client at Chez Nous.
QUALIFICATIONS
ROMANA’S PILATES INTERNATIONAL
- Comprehensive Classical Pilates Teacher *Level V
(Kinetic Pilates Teacher Training Programme)
CPE (Continuing Professional Education)
JUNE 2026 Sari Mejia-Santo & Daria Pace
Workshops with Michael Levy (Pedi-Pole & Arm Chair) Marjorie Oron (Barrels & Extensions) & Rebecca Convey (Magical C-Curve)
STOTT PILATES®
- Comprehensively Certified (Mat/Reformer/Cadillac/Chair/Barrels)
- Pre & Post Natal Pilates (Mat & Reformer)
COME & EXPERIENCE CHEZ NOUS
If you’re curious about private classical Pilates, start with a conversation.
Book a complimentary 15-minute virtual consultation to tell me a little about yourself, what you’d like to work on and ask any questions you might have.