Experience & Training

For over 13 years, I have helped people move their bodies. In 2006 I started my first official teacher training at Pilates Chicago with the  impressive Jennifer Zumann. I learned the classical repertoire of the Joseph Pilates technique. Two years later I moved to New York, where I continued teaching.  The more bodies I moved the more fascinated I became with understanding the details of movement.

In 2009 I received my second certification from renowned Kane School of Core Integration in Manhattan. This rigorous training program is known for its focus on anatomy and biomechanics. I was taught how to use the Pilates technique to rehabilitate injured and health compromised people safely and effectively. We learned how to use the principles of Pilates in any movement.  I now had to the tools to work with clients with a wide array of physical issues (like scoliosis, spondylolisthesis, spinal disc herniation) or rehabilitating from injury (labral tear, torn acl, hip replacement).

I had the privilege of teaching  in several wonderful studios in Manhattan and Brooklyn,  for almost 5 years until I moved to Los Angeles in 2014 where I have continued teaching and studying.

How I Teach

What I offer is extreme attention to detail and descriptive cueing that will get you to deepen the sensations and connections to the activation of your muscles and the movement you are trying to achieve. While I do try to help you understand anatomy and bio-mechanics, I break things down to relate-able language to help you get a clear idea of what specifically we are asking of your body. Most importantly, I want it to make sense. We’ll get your mind and body on the same page and your progress will speed up.

We all have different styles of learning and absorbing information. Over the last 13 years of teaching professionally I have experienced many different students and have been lead by many different teachers myself. I have explored and observed a variety of techniques of instruction. It has been my goal to discern and utilize the styles that seem to yield the most communication between body and mind. My intent is to help you fully understand the exercise you are exploring so that you can perform it to the best of your current abilities.

Understanding movement in our own body can have obstacles for various reasons. A mismatch in teacher and student style can lead to mal-absorption of information and inhibit growth in movement abilities. Maybe you need to see an exercise demonstrated in order to try it yourself. Or perhaps, closing your eyes and listening to the description of the movement is best for you. Most of us require a combination of both. And often times, there is something more that is needed to find the proper engagements that are the movement’s goal.

Before my first teacher training I could not connect with the feeling of engaging my abdominal muscles. I would try to do exercises that were said to “turn on the core,” but the sensation felt weak and I never got the results for which I was hoping. Finally when I went to my first Pilates class and had a teacher break down the exercise into micro-movements and describe in great detail how the different layers of abdominal muscles were used in each part of the movements, I was able to find connection. From there I was showed how to use different exercise props and modifications that specifically triggered responses in muscles that were still not firing , or as I like to say “not making noise in my brain”. Once those lines of communication were made between my mind and body, my abilities and strength increased at a much quicker rate.

I aim to facilitate better communication between the body and the brain so you can progress more efficiently.

WHo I TEAch