U Strive Pilates

Serene is an A+ instructor. Absolutely the best!
She visits us each week for team pilates at our office and is a welcome guest who kicks our butt every time– cheering us on as we go. She teaches a challenging class, adjusts to our energy or capability level when needed, and is very knowledgeable about the body and pilates practice.
Serene is wonderful– so sweet and fun. She makes class fly by! She leaves us well worked and feeling great. We unreservedly recommend her!

Serene offers so much to her clients! She is a talented professional with truly encyclopedic knowledge of physiology and anatomy. In addition, she is a caring and sensitive trainer/​coach with a genius for motivation. What more could anyone want?

When my semi-​private class at a different studio ended in early December, I needed to find another studio to maintain training over the holidays and decided to give Serene a try. I’m impressed with her knowledge of kinesiology and her ability to cue the movement sequence she wants. She is patient and meticulous. The one-​hour sessions are well-​structured and challenging. Highly recommended.

I was brand new to Pilates when I started at U Strive Pilates in July 2014. I arrived at the private studio, which is bright, clean and conveniently located in Mountain View. I was a bit nervous — I wasn’t sure what to expect and Serene, the owner/​instructor, immediately made me feel comfortable. We chatted some about my goals and then started my first session. I had no idea what I was doing and Serene explained everything as we went along. I was a little surprised at how easy the workout seemed; I barely worked up a sweat but the next day I was feeling muscles I didn’t even know I had! Serene is an excellent instructor — she is so inspirational and is always so positive, supportive and patient with me, which is appreciated because I still consider myself a novice (and I’m very un-​coordinated!). Serene is very attentive, making sure that my form is correct to ensure I’m achieving maximum results from each series. Her sessions last a full hour (which flies by!) and vary from session to session, which keeps it fresh and interesting. I would recommend Serene without hesitation to anyone who is looking for a new instructor.

I couldn’t recommend Serene more. When I left NYC, I thought I would never find a great instructor again and I tried several other studios until I found Serene (who is actually a better teacher than my original instructor in NYC.) Things that make Serene unique: 1) she’s very personable and easy to chat with. 2) she’s very patient and meticulous — really takes the time to train you on the correct positions. 3) That’s not to say that her classes are not fast-​paced and challenging though… I’ve got lots of long/​lean muscles after 3 months working with her!

I’ve been practicing Pilates for several years in the past, in several studios, and after a 3-​years break I recently started practicing with Serene at her private studio in Mountain View.
What an awesome experience! Serene is a highly professional, capable, patient, and caring instructor. Every session with Serene is comprehensive (full body workout) and challenging, but at the same time very safe and never over-​straining.
She has a very wide perspective on various Pilates techniques and other methodologies (such as Yoga), and she does an amazing job in explaining the different positions and series. One great thing that stands out for me about Serene is that there’s never a boring routine — every session there’s a new set of exercises and incremental raising of the bar.
It’s amazing how just a single hour a week with Serene has such a noticeable on my body. The whole Pilates experience with Serene is enjoying and rewarding: the studio is great — rather on the small size but well equipped and in perfect condition; the location is convenient, the price is very reasonable for a private lesson, the sessions last a full hour, and Serene is extremely friendly, personal, and hard-​working. After practicing with about 10 – 15 instructors in the past, I can say that Serene is one of the best that I had and I whole-​heartedly recommend practicing Pilates at her studio.

I’m currently taking private Pilates classes with Serene (owner of U Strive Pilates), and she’s so great that it’s hard to know where to start. First and foremost she is an excellent Pilates teacher and is incredibly knowledgeable. She is excellent at explaining, and helping, how to get your body in the right form. She is also really great at cueing you as you go through a specific sequence, and – this is so important in Pilates – using different analogies to get the student in the right position. If one explanation doesn’t click, she seems to have endless ideas on how to explain different positions. She is so warm, friendly, and kind. She gives you an incredible workout, and is very motivating and always positive and encouraging. I am so happy that I found her!

love all her sessions at Moffet Club, Sunnyvale. The best instructor I’ve had so far. Feel refreshed and agile after each class. Thank you Serene.

I’ve not been big on Pilates in the past, but I am now. Serena really seems to know her stuff. it’s amazing how much we can work our core muscles with such simple postures and movements.

I’ve been attending the Sunday Mat Pilates class for the last 3 weeks and absolutely love it! Class is always a little different and is both challenging and relaxing at the same time. Like Ana said — class is doable, but I feel it for the next couple of days.
Serene is a great instructor and very motivating. She’ll help you get through the ‘side-​series’ with a smile on your face! It’s a great way to start your Sunday!

Awesome class on Sunday at the park. Serene focus’ a lot of work on our core which is where I need it. Last week she brought some equipment that brought a new dimension to the workout. This class is a great follow up to my Saturday cross-​fit training. Thanks Serene!

Had an amazing Pilates class in San Veron park today with Serene. I haven’t done much Pilates before, but I do have reasonably strong abs and legs because of the other exercises I do. Still, I could feel the burning sensation in my muscles during class. I guess with Pilates, regardless of your fitness level, you can always benefit from it. And I also found out I am a bit weaker with certain poses since they use muscle groups I don’t normally use in my other exercises, which makes Pilates a good addition to cover those ignored areas. Serene is really fun to workout with, I love how she goes around to help everyone correct their poses and pushes us just a bit further than we probably willing to go on our own :)

We had a great time at her Sunday Pilates class in the San Veron park. I swear I will feel everything the next two days, but during class it was totally doable. I was surprised at how I could do it even though I am not as fit as I would like to be, I can definitely see how Pilates can get you into shape! Serene is extremely up-​beat which makes her classes awesome to attend when you are trying to hold a pose and can’t think you can do it. She turns the «I can’ts» into «I cans» and my husband and I are so grateful that we were able to attend! We highly recommend Serene to anyone in Mountain View or Silicon valley, if you are looking for the best instructor, then she is the best one we know!