ABOUT JESSICA
I was introduced to Pilates in my late 20s after years of recurring, dance-related back pain. My body responded so well to the work that I immediately enrolled in a teacher training. One week into that training I crashed my bike and slipped a disc - learning to teach Pilates while injured was an enormous, though painful, gift that has greatly impacted my work with clients and approach to injury rehabilitation.
I have been teaching since 2006, including 5 years running a small somatic arts space in Oakland. I am grateful to have trained and later worked with Nora St. Jean and Naomi Leiserson at Turning Point Studios. Their skillful transmission of the Dance Medicine lineage, coupled with the years I spent working in a chiropractic clinic supporting clients during acute injury, were foundational to my teaching.
I have additional certifications in Pilates for Scoliosis from Karen Clippinger and Perinatal Pilates from Stephanie Forster, and an MFA in Dance from CU Boulder.
My approach to Pilates is non-traditional, incorporating principles from a wide range of complementary modalities (Axis Syllabus, Alexander Technique, Fascial Movement Training, the Franklin Method, Yamuna Body Rolling, Bartenieff Fundamentals, Feldenkrais Method, hatha yoga, Hanna Somatics, Body Mind Centering and neurology, to name a few - I am a perpetual student.) And I am constantly sourcing the body wisdom gained from years of dance training.
Outside the Pilates studio, I am also a grain-free baking aficionado, independent dance artist, mama, yogini, and nervous newbie surfer. I look forward to our work together!
Conditions I have worked with are numerous and include:
Disc bulges & herniations
Whiplash
Scoliosis
Frozen shoulder
Parkinson's Disease
Stroke
Plantar Fasciitis
Diastasi Recti
Post-orthopedic surgery
Joint replacements
Labral tears
Thoracic Outlet Syndrome
Kyphosis
SI dysfunction
Sciatica
Low-back pain
Osteoporosis/Osteopenia
Arthritis
Muscle strains & tears
Baker's Cyst
Post-abdominal surgery
Hernia
Leg-length difference
Hyper-mobility
Fused vertebrae
Bursitis