Who Are We     What Makes Us Unique Rates What Is Pilates Group Classes Meet Our Staff Photo Gallery What Our Clients Say Workshops   Contact Us   Home	Meet Our Staff Susan Barnes, Studio Owner, is a certified instructor in the Pilates Method of fitness and rehabilitative movement. Susan combines her knowledge of Pilates, Active-Isolated Stretching, stability and balance training, and functional movement patterns to offer a workout that is challenging, yet suitable, for anyone - from seasoned athletes to sedentary office workers. Susan strives to improve ease of movement and to reduce stress and chronic muscle tension in her clients, incorporating Orthopedic Massage into sessions when indicated. Susan creates individualized home programs to compliment one-on-one sessions, using mat work, physioballs, foam rollers, therabands and body rolling. She emphasizes a teaching style that is relaxed, friendly and energetic. Susan received her Master Level Pilates Certification from Madeline Black’s Integrated Teacher Training program in Sonoma, CA. susan@findingcenter.com Kate Weglarz, Studio Owner, completed her certification in Pilates & Rehabilitation at the Ellie Herman Studios in San Francisco. California. With a B.F.A. in Dance and an M.A. in Dance & Movement Analysis, she brings her extensive studies of movement and the body to her teaching. Kate has worked with athletes, dancers and fitness enthusiasts as well as individuals with spinal injuries and neuromuscular disorders. Kate seeks to renew balance to the body, reduce and eliminate pain and enhance awareness and agility through focused Pilates training and her wide knowledge of exercises, imagery and release work. Her keen eye and generous spirit foster a renewed sense of health and well being. While living in Chicago from 2007-2009, Kate worked alongside Cindy Reid at flow studio and studied Asian Body Therapy and Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. In addition to dancing, singing and enjoying the benefits of Pilates, she is currently fulfilling a life-long dream of learning to figure skate. Linda Hillel discovered Pilates after a back injury, and was hooked immediately. Not only did Pilates rehabilitate her injury, but it also improved her core strength, alignment, and flexibility. The unintentional result was a career shift, from teaching cooking to teaching Pilates and fitness. Linda was certified in Pilates mat by PhysicalMind Institute, and she obtained her Pilates mat and apparatus certification from Turning Point Studios in Walnut Creek, CA. She continues to deepen her knowledge and skills with master trainers in both Pilates and fitness, including the Movement Medicine injury prevention and rehabilitation course at Turning Point Studios. With her energetic teaching style, Linda shares the joy of movement from a strong and safe center. Jessica Fudim Individualized private sessions, engaging group classes and an attentive eye are at the heart of Jessica Fudim’s approach to teaching Pilates. Jessica received her Pilates certification from the Ellie Herman Studio in 2001. Since then, she has studied Pilates-based physical rehabilitation with Lizz Roman and continues to fortify her teaching skills and repertoire with continuing education courses. In addition to working at Finding Center, Jessica is also a Senior Trainer and Teacher Training Instructor at EHS Pilates in San Francisco. She previously taught Pilates in New York and as a faculty member of the Experimental Performance Institute (EPI). Jessica discovered Pilates while completing her Dance B.F.A. studies at UC Irvine and CU Boulder. Determined to trump a doctor’s advice that she “stop dancing” as a result of back and foot pain, Jessica turned to Pilates for rehabilitation and a deeper understanding of how the body works. In turn, she is invested in empowering each of her clients to integrate the Pilates method toward reaching their mind-body goals—whether the aim is to rehabilitate from injuries, improve posture, increase the efficiency of physical performance, or simply get in better touch with the body. You can see her in action in the “Ball” Chapter of Ellie Herman’s Pilates for Dummies and on the stage performing with her company Jessica Fudim’s Dance Animals. Leanne Lempinen fell in love with Pilates after training with Madeline Black for three years starting in 1992. Years later after a career in Media Producing, some yoga teacher training and an epiphany that her calling is in movement therapies, she certified in Pilates through Physical Mind Institute and Carol Appel’s fitness program. Leanne has been teaching for 4 years and has added training with Deane Juhan (author of Job’s Body), Beth Harris (20 year veteran Pilates master and rehabilitation specialist), Sienna Sherman (yoga diva) and other professionals who practice complimentary modalities such as orthopedic massage and muscle activation testing. She is currently using Pilates to rehabilitate clients with various limitations and joint injuries, post-surgery recovery, pre and post natal conditioning as well as general fitness. Leanne’s competitive sports and movement experience began at the age of 5 with partner roller skating and ice skating and progressed through gymnastics, ballet, cross country running, diving, swimming and rock climbing. Working with movement as therapy has renewed her passion in life as she continues to study and practice various modalities that support mind, body soul integration. Presently, Leanne combines various modalities including massage, muscle activation testing, yoga and Pilates to help clients heal and rejuvenate. Yaira Carpenter Originally from Toronto, Canada, Yaira has lived in Northern California since 1994 and earned a BA from UC Berkeley in Ancient Near Eastern Civilizations. Her movement experience comes from a diverse variety of dance, yoga, aerobic and strength training. She has practiced Pilates in the Bay Area since 2001 and became a certified Pilates instructor after completing Ellie Herman's Intensive Teacher Training Program. Yaira continues to expand her Pilates education and has studied Pilates for Osteoporosis with Sherri R. Betz, PT. and completed Pilates workshops that addressed Pre and Post-Natal populations, Movement Analysis and more at BBU's Pilates on Tour conference. In addition, she attended Master Trainer Nora St. John's Upper Extremity "Movement Medicine" workshop and Anatomy in Clay with Dallas Everleth and Naomi Leiserson at Turning Point Studios, Walnut Creek. Yaira loves the Pilates method and believes it is the best way to develop and maintain a strong core, prevent injury, improve posture, increase body awareness and have fun! Elena B. Cochran As a child Elena went to see the Cirque de Soleil when they still traveled in their small tent to Oakland every year. So began her dreams of joining the circus, which inspired her lifelong passion for movement. Starting with Ballet and Gymnastics, and dabbling in African and Jazz dance in her early youth, she continued on to receive her formal dance education at the Alvin Ailey School of Dance in New York City. It was during this time she also discovered her fascination in the human body, health, fitness, and healing the body through corrective conditioning. Elena turned to Pilates after a recommendation from a chiropractor to address hyper-mobility in her low back and a lack of core strength. From that moment forward, she knew that she would become a teacher of this different and remarkably effective form of exercise. Elena received her Yamuna Body Rolling Certification and studied Kinesthetic Anatomy with Irene Dowd while in New York City. She returned to the Bay Area in 2007 and completed her Pilates Certification at Turning Point Studios. From her experience in healing her own various repetitive-use injuries, Elena is especially fascinated by the feet, knees and proper conditioning of the arms and shoulder girdle. Elena is committed to changing subtle movement patterns, reconditioning the body to support newer and healthier ones, and making you really strong! She has experience working with clients dealing with osteoporosis, spondylolisthesis and other chronic issues of the spine. When not in the Pilates studio you can find Elena dancing on a vertical wall with Ascendance Project, a dance-climb fusion company based in Oakland. You can email her directly for more information or to set up an appointment at ec.pilates@gmail.com Lise Prewitt has been a lover of movement her entire life. She began taking dance classes at an early age and never stopped dancing. She studied biology and chemistry as an undergraduate and began integrating movement and the biological understanding of the body with the study of Ideokinesis and Laban/Bartenieff. Pilates is a continual evolution of her training. Lise started her pilates training with The Physicalmind and completed it with Ellie Herman and since has gone on to learn various rehabilitation techniques. She incorporates all of her training in her work and enjoys working with a wide range of ages and levels of fitness. She also works with injuries including back, neck, knee and shoulder issues. She was part of Ellie Herman's teacher training faculty and is currently a faculty member of Balanced Body University, teaching students to become teachers. Lise finds satisfaction in watching individuals' awareness of their own bodies grow and flourish through this work. Erica Wright-Belle came to Pilates as long-time dance student. She began her study of Pilates as a dance major in college and found Pilates to be a useful way to fine tune her dance skills. In later years, Erica found Pilates to be a healing practice that corrected imbalances and alleviated pain after her pregnancy. She chose to become a certified Pilates instructor to deepen her understanding of the body and to share this amazing information with others. As an instructor, Erica's goal is to facilitate the mind-body connection and empower people to achieve physical wellness through Pilates. Erica modifies and tailors each exercise to suit the body of each individual she is teaching. Through this method it is inevitable that under her instruction one will experience a happier, healthier body. Erica holds a Bachelor of Arts in Dance with a concentration in performance and choreography from San Francisco State University. She received her Pilates Certification from ITT Pilates under Jean Sullivan. She continues her education under the guidance of Beth Harris, a 20 year veteran in the field.