As a devoted fitness enthusiast and recent yoga junkie, I've become curious about private trainers. Not the kind that you find in the gym. I've done that. But the kind that someone like Madonna, J-Lo or Angelina Jolie might hire in some hidden private space in an exclusive part of town. So I began my search and landed at Evolutionary Motion. Sonia Berezovsky, a 30-something former dancer, runs a private facility on South Clark Drive. The brunette beauty's website promises "an innovative approach to physical fitness and well being," so I thought I'd give it a try.

From the quiet converted garage behind a main house, Berezovsky teaches more than a dozen private students in Pilates and Gyrotonics. Of course I have heard of Pilates, but the latter piqued my interest. The Gyrotonic machine is a wood monster with pulleys, straps and winches. Berezovsky strapped herself in first to demonstrate. Afterwards she strapped me in and proved that she knows how to make it look easier than it really is.

The feeling of balance, smoothness and openness is overwhelming. It's perfect for anyone who is stiff, over-exercised or injured. What impressed me more than the machines was the amount of knowledge and body awareness the instructor must have, along with an ability to communicate with the student. Berezovsky had the right combination of all those characteristics. She understood that I felt like a completely uncoordinated imbecile, yet made me feel like I had potential and kept me focused. Her background is impressive. She holds a B.F.A. in dance from NYU. She studied Pilates with Kathy Grant, one of Joseph Pilates' direct disciples, and with Josette Lamotte of The Method Pilates. She worked and studied The Gyrotonic method at San Francisco Gyrotonic and in Los Angeles at many Gyrotonic studios.

Berezovsky got me into the Pilates machine too, but I was hooked after one session on the Gyrotonic. Now if someone would just give me one of Angelina's paychecks, I could go every week.