A Northwest Indiana Life in the Spotlight: Ellen Sistovaris

On September 15, Ellen Sistovaris opened a new Pilates studio, Leni’s, in Crown Point. From the outside looking in, Leni’s looks like any regular studio. It has large rooms, 10 reformer machines, along with plenty of natural light and top-of-the-line equipment. However, if you take a closer look, it’s actually a love story 40 years and 5,000 miles in the making, rooted in family, community and Sistovaris’s story.

In 2020, when a friend dragged Sistovaris, rather begrudgingly, to a Pilates studio, she had no idea it would change her life. She had just moved back to Crown Point after living in Chicago and working in corporate America for 15 years.

“It came at just the right time for me. I was coming back after being gone for almost 20 years, both physically and mentally. It was a very isolating and challenging time for the world. Shifting from living in Chicago to moving back here was quite the change. It was a really nice opportunity for me to find a new routine that helped me get stronger physically, but also mentally at such a challenging time. It also introduced me to a new community of people, and that was really helpful in moving back and integrating into my hometown,” she said.

Sistovaris believes she is someone who would normally shy away from group classes. However, after the first class, she was hooked. She started going more and more, until she wondered how to make Pilates a more permanent part of her life.

“I would say I’m not the typical Pilates sort of body. It was a little intimidating at first, and I want others to feel welcome, no matter their age, size, shape or fitness level. There are so many benefits that come from Pilates, I think everyone should do at least one of these workouts a week. It has helped with not just my strength, but my mental focus, my agility, my flexibility. It has helped with releasing stress and tension in my body. I think there’s just so many benefits,” Sistovaris said.

Leni’s tagline is “A modern fitness studio for everybody.” Sistovaris emphasized how important it was for her to create a nonintimidating space for all levels, whether you’ve never been on a machine or have never tried Pilates at all. She wants it to feel warm, inviting, and focused on self-care, regardless of your experience.

“As much as I want people to find a cool new workout, my biggest hope is that it feels welcoming, that it’s somewhere you want to go. My hope is that it becomes a place that people really want to return to help better themselves, that people will view it as a home away from home,” Sistovaris said. “You have instructors who are excited for you to be there that want to learn more about you, and want to have a class that energizes and challenges you while also supporting modifications that you need.”

Sistovaris returned to her hometown and found it a very different place from the one she had left. She hopes her studio appeals to both people who were born and raised in the Region, and those who are new to the ever-growing community.

“It’s just such a different landscape than it was when I left it in 2002. I think Northwest Indiana is becoming an option for the folks who live in the city, who maybe start to branch out. I think there’s just such a huge boom of people coming in, which I think is great, because one of the things I loved most about the city was the diversity of people and different backgrounds and cultures. I’m glad to see that that’s coming in and what I want represented at Leni’s,” she said.

The studio opens in September, but will host a ribbon-cutting on October 3, followed by an open house so the community can come in and see the space. Sistovaris is especially excited for the open house because both of her grandmothers will be there – without whom none of this would have been possible.

Both of Sistovaris’s grandmothers are named Eleni, shortened to Leni. She was named after them, and in turn, named her studio in their honor. Both women grew up together in the same small village in northern Greece. In the 1960s, they both immigrated to America but ended up in different cities. One family settled in Gary, the other in Fort Wayne—but they stayed in touch over the years. Eventually, Sistovaris’s parents reconnected, and the rest is history.

“It’s just a really cool story of starting in a tiny little village together to immigrating here to the States, and living the American dream. It’s a huge homage to them. They were huge parts of my upbringing. It also pays homage to my grandpas, who had that nickname for their wives. They are no longer with us, but I can hear them saying it. It’s a nod to our family. I wanted to pay tribute to them,” Sistovaris said.