Club Pilates

Bios

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  Alicia E. lavender

  Pilates Instructor

  Alicia holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance from Marymount Manhattan College. She toured as a featured dancer in the National Tours of The Music Man, OKLAHOMA! (dance captain) as well as the European Tour of Grease Das Musical. After injuring her knee she turned to Pilates for rehabilitation. She found the work invaluable to her physical and mental training and was inspired to become an instructor. At The Lab in Brooklyn, she received her comprehensive Pilates apparatus certification. It was here that Alicia met Lawson Harris, her mentor, who introduced her to Contemporary Pilates. Alicia partnered up with Jessica Hope Restrepo to open TONE Pilates and Wellness in 2012. After teaching around NYC she wanted to create a warm, safe and invigorating environment to inspire. Alicia takes pride in her motive to impart some of the same enthusiasm and empowerment she has found through Pilates to all of her clients.

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  Bernadett Gazsi

  Pilates Instructor

  Bernadett began practicing Pilates for physical therapy after a lower back injury in 2010 while she was living in Sydney, Australia. Once she healed her own body Bernadett moved to Melbourne, Australia where she studied and trained as a STOTT Pilates instructor and received her Matwork certification. Bernadett relocated to the United States in 2013. She lives in Allen with her husband and her son. She got her Reformer Certification in 2014 when she was 6 months pregnant. Pilates was love at first sight for Bernadett. She was intrigued and amazed how Pilates changed her body and also quickly realized she had body awareness which positively influenced her whole life. Our posture effects our everyday life how you stand how you walk how you sit in the car and how you hold your baby in your arms. In every session, Bernadett emphasizes proper form, breathing, and alignment to safely challenge her clients while building proper techniques and bio mechanics for maximum performance and injury prevention

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  Cara Bonney

  Lead Pilates Instructor

  Cara holds a Masters’ Degree in Health and Exercise Management from the University of Cincinnati as well as Bachelor Degrees in both Athletic Training and in Exercise & Fitness from Purdue University. Cara worked several years in the sports medicine industry helping get athletes back to sports and injured adults returning to their fitness activities. Cara has been teaching Pilates over 10 years certified through Stott Pilates. Cara is also a Master Trainer for Barre Above. She discovered Pilates through her own practice while being an adult multisport athlete playing golf, tennis, triathlon and mountain biking. Pilates kept her moving uninjured while participating in all these activities.

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  Elizabeth Sellers

  Pilates Instructor

  Elizabeth Sellers, a life-long competitor, moved to Texas from Alaska in 2004. Shortly after arriving, she was introduced to Pilates and quickly recognized that a consistent Pilates practice helped to improve her athletic performance and other activities. Her certification through Peak Pilates in 2012 and has developed a passion to help others (both athletes and non-athletes alike) experience the benefits of a consistent Pilates practice. With a soft approach and her ability to connect personally with her clients makes her one of the best!

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  Jacki Lamothe

  Pilates Instructor

  Jacki started working in the fitness industry in 2002 teaching Power Yoga and Trekking classes. Shortly after, she was introduced to Pilates and was hooked. Jacki believes that Pilates is all about postural balancing and her approach to this is through functional training using muscle confusion. She focuses on building a strong core of support for the body, strengthening the weaker long muscles and lengthening the shorter strong muscles. She aspires not only to train her clients but also to educate them to use and understand the Pilates methodology. Her goal for them is to incorporate it into their day to day activities or apply it to their sport specific events. In her free time she enjoys doing triathlons. Her motto in life is “you rest you rust”. She is so excited to be teaching at Club Pilates and being part of their family!

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  Paige Cockroft

  Pilate Instructor

  Paige is comprehensively trained through Polestar Pilates International to teach Mat and all Pilates apparatus. She has a Bachelors degree in education from Texas A&M University. Paige has a background in gymnastics, dance, and competitive cheerleading. She has practiced Pilates throughout her adulthood and loves the physical and mental benefits it can offer. She decided to become an instructor to encourage and help others discover the benefits Pilates can provide. She truly believes in Pilates and has seen first hand how it can build strength, flexibility, and balance to enhance a person's everyday life.

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  Erica Vining

  Pilates Instructor

  Erica Vining is a Midwest girl living in North Texas. She started her journey with Pilates by first practicing Mat work years ago. This eventually evolved to an interest in yoga. After moving to Texas she experienced a series of unfortunate events that caused her to have three surgeries in three years. After numerous physical therapy sessions and working diligently to heal and build her strength, she was ready to jump back into her yoga practice. Erica completed her 200 hour Yoga certification with an RYS school in Texas. She is a certified 200hr E-CYT and teaches both Vinyasa and Hatha style yoga. However, Erica observed that part of her physical therapy rehabilitation included work on the Reformer and Exo Chair along with different Pilates mat exercises. This observation created a spark to learn more about Pilates and she enrolled in Club Pilates Teacher Training. She is a 500hr. comprehensive trained Pilates Instructor. She also holds a certification from Barre Above and has attended Club Pilates’ Trigger Point and TRX Workshops. Erica is passionate about Pilates and how the practice benefits the body by bringing balance, strength and flexibility. She loves sharing this passion with others and believes that Pilates is advantageous to every body at any age. Erica’s classes are challenging and fun. Laughter is encouraged in her classes as she believes that you should have fun while working strong.

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  Vickie Wilkins

  Pilates Instructor

  Vickie, in her former life, spent twenty-plus years wrestling alligators, raising two boys, who are now thirty and twenty four. She has spent the last ten years focusing on her own wellness, staying physically and emotionally fit, through exercise, diet and hormonal balance. She has used Pilates as a part of her exercise regimen for the past twenty-five years. In 2017, she decided to make pilates instruction a part of her life, and began her training through Club Pilates, under the instruction and mentorship of Cara Bonney. She received her Club Pilates complete comprehensive certification in 2018 and has also received Balance Body Certifications in Reformer and Mat training. Vickie strives to make each class challenging, rewarding, fun and therapeutic. Her skills include the capacity for empathy and intuitiveness. She desires that each class and every student feel satisfied with the intensity and content of the class. When you don’t find Vickie at Club Pilates McKinney (her happy place) being taught, teaching, practicing or just hanging out to help, you can find her watching Pilates videos, doing an elliptical, two steppin' at The Broken Spoke, golfing, hiking, knitting, traveling to Chicago or reading.

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  Maria Unes

  Pilates Instructor

  Maria is originally from Brazil, where she grew up dancing ballet and jazz. It was also in Brazil where she had earned a bachelor degree in Physical Therapy, a postgraduate degree in Orthopedics and got her first Pilates instructor certificate. After a change in path, moving to the USA (in 2013) and after having her two daughters, she decided that was time to revive that old passion and became a Pilates instructor once again. Therefore, she went through a 500 hr. CP teacher training program to get her second certificate. She has also completed many continuing education courses such as Pilates Biomechanics and an Expertise in spine issues and rehabilitation using Pilates. Maria is happy to be able to unify her physical therapist background and pilates to help people to find their mind-body connection and achieve a better posture, tone, and quality of life. She is passionate about movement and truly believes it's healing!

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  Madeline Bradley

  Meet Madeline Bradley Throughout her childhood and now as an adult, Madeline has been an advocate of fitness and wellness. In her lifetime, she has dedicated herself to gymnastics, dance, competitive cheerleading, as well as a leadership role in drill team. Madeline’s abilities in understanding that body movement is an art that involves coordination, motivation, and self-discipline. These traits for Madeline when introduced to the world of Pilates is what motivated her to become a teacher. Madeline holds her Associates degree in Science and earned her certificate through the Club Pilates Teacher training program. In her spare time, Madeline enjoys being creative. She produces Botanical Resin art along with Modeling.

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  Jamie Ramey

  Pilates Instructor

  Jamie graduated from Austin College with a B.A. in Psychology and History. She lives in Sherman,Tx with her two children and husband, Darrel. There they run their family business, Ramey Chevrolet Cadillac. Jamie first discovered pilates 10 years ago at Ability Physical Therapy with Dr. Colleen Grafa. Not only did she benefit immensely from this type of mind-body exercise, but she also saw how Pilates could improve the movement capacity for everyone. She completed her training to become an instructor through Balanced Body with Karen Sanzo and Shelley Estes. Jamie has been teaching pilates and working with patients alongside Dr. Grafa in the physical therapy office for the past 7 years. She has a passion to help people heal and live a pain free life and believes that the more people that have access to Pilates the better.