Jason Priestley and wife Naomi Lowde-Priestley are giving props to their frequent Pilates classes for aiding them physically and mentally.
“All exercise should focus around form. But Pilates, they’re very, very strict about it,” Naomi, 48, exclusively told Us Weekly on Tuesday, July 2, while promoting their new Studio Pilates International location in Nashville. “And it starts from the core, right? And so for me, I have a bunch of warring injuries.”
Naomi shared that she has a “slipped vertebrae” in her back which prevented her from going into certain extensions. While struggling with the injury, Naomi realized she needed to strengthen and train her core to treat it.
“It wasn’t until I found Pilates and did the Pilates training that I really understood what it was to have core strength, right and then through that, like strengthening my core and just learning to where to hold posture correctly in alignment and correct like muscle imbalances that I had that was causing me to have this like ongoing injury,” she explained. “I saw the light at the end of the tunnel because I was no longer in pain.”
She shared that after making the change in her workout, her body started “to heal itself” as some of her back “protrusions came back” which ultimately “stopped the sciatica.” In addition to healing her ailments, Naomi, who now teaches the workout course itself, credited Pilates with giving her “more range of motion” which has subsequently improved her self-esteem and mental health.
Like his wife, Jason, 54, also struggled with back pain. In 2002, he was involved in an accident that broke his back and he needed two titanium rods placed in his back.
“My doctor told me that I should look into taking Pilates classes to strengthen my core and support my spine,” the Beverly Hills, 90210 alum recalled. “So I added the modality of doing Pilates way back then. I’ve been doing it ever since and it pays huge dividends for me too.”
Jason teased that Pilates class is much harder than some of the work he’s done in the entertainment industry.
While Jason and Naomi love doing Pilates consistently, the couple, who have been married since 2005, now get to work together with their new Pilates studio in Nashville, which opens this fall. (The pair, who moved to Nashville in 2021, share two children: daughter Ava, 17, and son Dashiell, 14.)
“When we started looking around for an opportunity for something to do together in Nashville to help build a community there — you know, of course, Naomi sparked to the idea of a Pilates franchise that she could then invite even more people into the tent with her,” he told Us. “And we found it she found — I didn’t find it, but she found Studio Pilates International — which is an amazing workout.”
While Jason is venturing into the wellness scene for the first time, Naomi is no stranger to the fitness world. She is a certified NASM CPT, Pilates Sports Center instructor and Mad Dogg trainer. In 2014, she was named Racked LA’s Los Angeles Hottest Trainer.
The pair’s course features visual audio technology that helps provide a hands-on experience with its participants. The studio features 16 custom reformers, pristine hardwood floors and the signature Studio Pilates chandeliers. During the class, while the group learns the moves via a TV screen, a trained professional can provide corrections to make sure the workout is being done correctly and effectively. The workout classes run for 40 minutes and each session is tailored with adjustable resistance and modifications to suit all ages, fitness levels and even their clients’ busy schedules.
“It’s safe and it’s accessible to everybody. And it can be as accessible as, you know, an 80-year-old woman to the highest athletic sports person there is around, this is what’s so unique about this class,” Naomi explained. “And because it was designed by a physiotherapist, it is scientifically proven, you will feel the burn.”
Jason and Naomi’s Studio Pilates opens in Nashville this fall.
With reporting by Amanda Williams
