Today we’d like to introduce you to Lindsay Grymes.
Hi Lindsay, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
LG Movement is a Pilates and movement studio based in the DMV area focused on intelligent, high-level training for dancers, athletes, and adults. My goal in creating the studio was never to simply open another fitness space. I wanted to build an environment where people could feel challenged, understood, educated, and inspired all at once. A space where movement is approached with precision, awareness, artistry, and care. A place where someone can walk in as a complete beginner or as a professional athlete and still feel equally seen and supported.
Throughout my childhood, I was on the path to becoming a professional dancer. At 18 years old, I spent several months living in Los Angeles working with a professional dance company before later moving to New York City to attend Marymount Manhattan College, where I earned my BFA in Dance with a concentration in choreography and a minor in Arts Management. During that time, I was exposed to some of the highest levels of dance and movement training in the country. I trained within contemporary concert dance environments connected to artists and institutions including Alonzo King LINES Ballet, Vim Vigor Dance Company, B12 in Berlin, and other influential contemporary programs while simultaneously developing my own choreographic voice in New York City.
At the time, I believed my future would remain solely within professional dance and choreography. However, after graduating during COVID, I learned that I had unknowingly been dancing for years on a completely torn labrum in my hip and needed surgery as soon as surgical centers reopened during the pandemic. I genuinely did not think I would ever dance again.
During recovery, I spent significant time rehabbing through Pilates within my physical therapist’s office, and it completely changed the way I viewed movement and the body. For the first time, I realized how my dancer self, choreographer self, injured self, and Pilates-loving self could all coexist within one philosophy. Pilates opened my eyes not only to strength and rehabilitation, but to awareness. For the first time, movement patterns that once felt abstract became understandable. I became fascinated with biomechanics, proprioception, progression, and how movement could empower someone physically and mentally.
I knew immediately that I wanted to pursue Pilates seriously, so I completed my comprehensive 500-hour Pilates certification across all apparatus within a year while simultaneously freelancing in choreography across the country. During that time, I had the opportunity to choreograph professionally, including commissioned work for Joffrey Concert Group in New York City, while also continuing to teach and work throughout the DMV area.
Shortly after earning my certification, I underwent another major surgery, this time jaw surgery. Unlike my hip surgery, this recovery challenged me more mentally than physically. I was unable to speak for two months and unable to eat solid food for an extended period of time. During those months of isolation and recovery, I spent a great deal of time reflecting on what it was that truly drew me so deeply to both dance and Pilates.
I realized that what had always drawn me so deeply to both dance and Pilates was the ability to bring people together through growth, discipline, and transformation. Both worlds gave people the opportunity to become stronger, more aware, more connected versions of themselves, and I knew I wanted to build a space centered around that feeling.
That realization became the foundation of LG Movement.
LG Movement was intentionally built differently from most Pilates studios in the area. The studio is currently the only studio in the DMV offering group Reformer and Cadillac apparatus classes rather than limiting Cadillac work to private sessions alone. I chose to structure the studio this way because I noticed the Pilates community becoming increasingly educated and curious about the full method, while most studios remained centered almost entirely around reformer-only fitness classes. As someone comprehensively certified across all apparatus, it was important to me to create a space that reflected Pilates as a complete system rather than a single machine workout.
The reformer and Cadillac offer entirely different movement experiences and benefits, and I wanted clients to have access to both. Because of this, the studio was intentionally designed with only five machines, allowing for an extremely hands-on teaching environment. Individualized correction and detailed cueing are a major part of the LG Movement experience. Many clients tell me they have taken Pilates for years without ever truly being corrected, which honestly surprises me because I believe those nuances are where real transformation happens. The smallest adjustment can completely change how someone understands and experiences their body.
I wanted everyday people to experience movement with the same level of care, precision, and understanding that professional athletes and dancers receive. At the same time, I wanted dancers and athletes to begin understanding their bodies earlier so they could avoid some of the injuries, burnout, and disconnect that are so normalized within high-performance environments.
For the past several years, I have taught at C Unit Dance Studio, where LG Movement is now situated. During that time, I simultaneously developed my Pilates practice while also working closely within physical therapy settings, collaborating with physical therapists and learning how to work with clients across all demographics and backgrounds. Those experiences deeply shaped the way I teach today and strengthened my interest not only in rehabilitation, but in progression: how to safely challenge people, build true strength, and create movement systems that are both intelligent and demanding.
What makes the environment at C Unit so unique is that dancers are not only pushed artistically and technically, but are also taught to value the health and longevity of their bodies from a young age, something I rarely experienced growing up in dance training myself. LG Movement offers adult Pilates classes throughout the day as well as specialized training for competitive and pre-professional dancers in the evenings, helping support the intense physical demands these dancers face throughout their training and performance schedules.
Though the dancers and adult clients train separately, it has been incredibly rewarding to watch the two communities inspire one another through the studio and through the work I share online. Competitive dancers see videos of adult clients building extraordinary strength and body awareness, while many adult clients are inspired by the athleticism, discipline, and artistry of the dancers.
I believe movement should be both intelligent and challenging. In today’s fitness climate, classes often become either overly cautious to the point where people never truly progress, or they become fast-paced workouts lacking education, awareness, and intention altogether. What I love about Pilates is that it develops an incredible level of proprioception and self-understanding. It teaches people not only how to move, but how to understand why they move the way they do.
My goal is never simply to give someone a workout. It’s to help people build a relationship with their body that feels informed, empowered, and sustainable.
Over the years, I’ve had the opportunity to work with professional and aspiring dancers, elite and professional athletes, Olympic-level athletes, clients recovering from major surgeries and injuries, parents, grandparents, and individuals rebuilding strength and confidence within their bodies. One of the most rewarding aspects of my work has been helping dancers develop healthier relationships with their bodies and their training. I want them to understand their bodies, not criticize them. I want them to know why something hurts, how to strengthen it, how to care for themselves, and how to pursue excellence without destroying themselves in the process.
At its core, LG Movement is about far more than fitness classes. My goal is for it to feel like a home for many different types of people. Of course, a major part of the studio is the meticulous attention to detail within the teaching itself. I am incredibly hands-on with corrections, alignment, progressions, and nuance because I believe those details are what truly transform movement. But equally important to me is the community.
During both of my surgeries and recovery periods, one of the things I missed most was community. I missed having a place that felt inspiring, motivating, and human. That became one of the biggest priorities when building LG Movement. I wanted to create a space where people felt welcomed immediately, whether they were experienced or brand new. So many people leave class saying, “Everyone was so nice to me,” and that means everything to me because I know firsthand how intimidating dance and fitness environments can feel. I’ve experienced both the beauty and the harshness of those spaces, and I believe culture always starts from the top down.
My goal is not only to teach physically and mentally challenging classes, but to do so while remembering what it felt like to once be a beginner myself. There is something incredibly exciting about introducing someone to Pilates for the first time or hearing from someone who has trained all over the country or world say, “This feels completely different.”
I officially opened LG Movement in January 2026, and even within these first few months, I feel incredibly grateful every single day. Meeting new clients daily who tell me how much stronger they feel, how much they look forward to class, how much more connected they feel to themselves physically, or how they finally feel like they’ve found their Pilates home has been one of the most fulfilling experiences of my life. Watching my dancers grow stronger, mature artistically, and begin understanding their bodies in healthier and more intelligent ways has been equally rewarding.
LG Movement ultimately became the intersection of every stage of my journey: dance, choreography, injury, rehabilitation, education, community, and the belief that movement has the power to completely transform how someone experiences themselves.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
One of the biggest challenges throughout my journey has honestly been learning how to trust timing and process. Coming from the professional dance world, I was very familiar with discipline, repetition, and pushing through difficult environments. Dance teaches you very quickly that growth does not happen overnight. You fall, fail, repeat, refine, and eventually something that once felt impossible becomes second nature through consistency and exposure. That mindset ended up carrying over into every stage of my life and career.
Physically, my injuries and surgeries were obviously major turning points. Discovering that I had been dancing professionally on a completely torn labrum and then navigating a major recovery during COVID was incredibly difficult mentally and physically. Later, undergoing jaw surgery and spending months unable to speak or eat normally challenged me in an entirely different way. Both experiences forced me to slow down, reevaluate my priorities, and rebuild not only physically, but emotionally as well.
Professionally, opening a business at 27 years old came with its own challenges. There are so many moving pieces behind building something from the ground up that people often never see: creating systems, developing a teaching philosophy, building trust within a community, managing schedules, marketing, finances, and simultaneously continuing to grow as an instructor yourself. I think one of the hardest parts was learning how to balance being both highly ambitious and patient at the same time.
Even at the beginning of my Pilates journey, there were moments where I felt overwhelmed learning such a detailed and expansive method. But something I constantly remind both myself and my clients is that mastery comes through repetition and exposure. Sometimes you do not fully understand a movement or concept the day you learn it. Sometimes simply sleeping on an exercise and revisiting it the next day creates clarity. Progress is rarely instant. It is built through consistency, curiosity, and willingness to keep showing up.
That philosophy has become a huge part of how I teach today. I never want clients or dancers to feel discouraged by not immediately “getting” something. Whether in dance, Pilates, rehabilitation, or life, growth often happens gradually and quietly before you suddenly realize how far you’ve come.
At the end of the day, every challenge I’ve experienced ultimately pushed me closer toward building LG Movement into the kind of environment I always wished existed: one rooted not only in excellence and ambition, but also in education, patience, resilience, and community.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
LG Movement is a Pilates and movement studio in the DMV area specializing in intelligent, high-level movement training for dancers, athletes, and adults. What sets the studio apart is its blend of elite-level movement education, rehabilitation knowledge, artistry, and highly individualized teaching within a boutique environment.
As a former professional dancer and choreographer who later transitioned into Pilates following multiple major surgeries, I built LG Movement from both lived experience and professional training. My background in contemporary dance, choreography, physical therapy environments, and comprehensive Pilates training deeply shapes the way I teach. The studio was intentionally designed to bridge the gap between high-performance movement training and sustainable, educated body awareness.
LG Movement is currently the only studio in the DMV offering group Reformer and Cadillac apparatus classes rather than limiting Cadillac work to private sessions alone. As someone comprehensively certified across all apparatus, it was important to me to create a studio that reflected Pilates as a complete system rather than just a reformer workout. The studio was also intentionally designed with only five machines to allow for an extremely hands-on experience with individualized corrections, detailed cueing, and thoughtful progression.
One of the things clients mention most often is the level of attention and education they receive during class. Many people come to the studio after years of taking Pilates classes elsewhere without ever truly understanding what their bodies were doing. My teaching philosophy centers around helping clients not only move well, but understand why they move the way they do. I believe movement should be both intelligent and challenging, and that true strength comes from awareness, precision, and consistency rather than simply intensity.
LG Movement serves a wide range of clients including professional and aspiring dancers, elite athletes, Olympic-level athletes, post-rehabilitation clients, parents, grandparents, and adults simply looking to feel stronger and more connected within their bodies. The studio also offers specialized evening training for competitive and pre-professional dancers through its partnership with C Unit Dance Studio, helping support the immense physical demands these dancers face at a young age.
What I am most proud of, beyond the movement itself, is the culture and community that has developed within the studio. I wanted LG Movement to feel welcoming, inspiring, and deeply human while still maintaining an extremely high standard of training. Whether someone is stepping into Pilates for the first time or has trained all over the world, my goal is for them to feel challenged, supported, and genuinely seen.
At its core, LG Movement is about far more than fitness. It is about helping people build stronger relationships with their bodies, develop confidence through movement, and experience the kind of care, precision, and education typically reserved for professional athletes and dancers.
Can you tell us more about what you were like growing up?
Growing up, I was always deeply connected to movement. Dance became the center of my life very early on, and although I was naturally more reserved and introverted outside of the studio, dance was the place where I felt most expressive, confident, and fully myself. Once people got to know me, I became much more outgoing, but growing up I was definitely someone who observed a lot, listened carefully, and threw myself fully into the things I loved.
One of my earliest memories of realizing how much I loved the process of training was after taking a guest class as a kid. I came home exhausted, completely drenched in sweat, with my hair frizzed from working so hard, and I remember telling my mom, “That was the best day ever.” Looking back now, I think that moment says a lot about who I’ve always been. I became obsessed not just with dance itself, but with the feeling of pushing past what I thought I was capable of. I loved being challenged. I loved leaving class feeling transformed by the work.
I was also never particularly motivated by competition in the traditional sense. Dance can often have a reputation for being extremely cutthroat, but I genuinely loved being surrounded by people who were better than me because it gave me something to strive toward. Even in high school, I intentionally sought out environments where I felt challenged or behind because I knew those were the spaces where I would grow the most. I was inspired by excellence rather than intimidated by it.
I think that mindset shaped not only the dancer I became, but also the teacher and business owner I am now. I became deeply invested in process, consistency, repetition, and long-term growth. My teachers growing up were often very demanding, but I learned early on not to take correction personally. If a teacher pushed me hard, I understood it usually meant they saw potential in me and wanted me to reach it.
That mentality continued into college and my professional training years in New York City. I was surrounded by some of the most talented dancers of my generation, many of whom went on to dance professionally with incredible companies, and I felt grateful simply to be in the room with them. I spent years waking up before sunrise to cross-train, spending long days in rehearsal and class, and staying hours after school to continue researching choreography, improvisation, and movement exploration. Even outside of school, my weekends were often spent collaborating creatively with friends because I genuinely loved the work itself.
Looking back now, I realize those experiences shaped not only the dancer I became, but also the way I teach Pilates today. I still believe growth comes from curiosity, consistency, and being willing to stay in the room even when something feels difficult or unfamiliar. Whether I’m teaching a professional athlete, a competitive dancer, or someone stepping into Pilates for the first time, my goal is always the same: to create an environment where people feel challenged, supported, and excited by their own potential.
Pricing:
- Introductory 3-Class Package: $100
- Single Group Apparatus Class: $50
- 5-Class Package: $225
- 10-Class Package: $400
- Private Pilates Sessions: Starting at $125/session
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.lgmovement.com
- Instagram: @lg.movement
