peter lakis:

A New Hampshire native and a San Francisco convert, Peter is the owner and director of dharmaspace pilates center. He began his westward migration in 1992  when he attended the University of Colorado, Boulder, where he first encountered bodywork and holistic medicine.

Following a severe lower lumbar injury, he became a student of Pilates on a lifelong path of teaching and learning. Peter has had the privilege of studying with a number of first and second-generation classical Pilates teachers including: Rachel Taylor Segel, Amy Taylor Alpers, Debora Robinson Kolwey, Bob Liekens, Jay Grimes, Kathi Ross-Nash, Peter Fiasca, Mejo Wiggin, and Dorothee Vandewalle. He received his first Pilates certificate in 2001 and completed his Masters at The Pilates Center in Boulder, Colorado in 2008.  He has served as Secretary of the Board of Directors of the Pilates Method Alliance, has worked as a physical therapy aide and has a penchant for working with injury rehabilitation and with amputees.  Peter is also a runner, stand up paddleboard surfer, and home chef.

Peter is also an associate teacher for KMI, founded by Tom Myers.  He teaches the thesis, science and applications of Tom’s book Anatomy Trains as it relates to movement therapists and teachers. 

keegan tyler:

Keegan was born in Los Angeles and raised in Chicago—though she claims neither place as home. Her movement background includes professional figure skating, ballroom dance, ballet and other dance forms, and even kung fu. She received her Pilates certificate from the Physicalmind Institute in Beverly Hills, CA, in October 2002, and she has extensive experience working with spinal and hip injuries as well as with dancers. Keegan is continually attracted to Pilates, because of its logic and wholeness. She calls it an “owner’s manual” to the body (and we call her the “body whisperer.”) When she’s not teaching Pilates, Keegan spends her time singing show tunes as loudly, poorly, and frequently as possible..

carolina (carro) czechowska:

Carro was born and raised in Stockholm, Sweden. From the age of ten until graduation she danced at the Royal Swedish Ballet School. Upon graduating she received a scholarship to study at the Boston Ballet School and six months later she moved to San Francisco to join Alonzo King’s Lines Ballet apprentice program.

 

She always had influences of Pilates in her daily dance practice, but the fist time she came across the apparatus was in Stockholm at Pilates Scandinavia. Carro was certified by Fredrik Fransson and Elisabet Davidsson in 2007. With a growing passion for Pilates she felt like it was time to explore the “authentic method”. She moved to New York City 2008 and earned a certificate at re:AB Pilates by Brooke Siler, where she later on became a senior teacher and Program director of re:AB Pilates certification program.

 

Carro has also practiced Yoga, Feldenkrais, Alexander technique, and Romette Floorbarre at professional dance workshops all around the world. In 2006 she was a member of Compania danca de Lisboa in Portugal. The following year she studied Sport psychology at the University of Stockholm, where she really saw the importance of the body-mind connection.

 

Carro believes in challenging sessions, kept in a safe and realistic frame. She encourages her students to achieve their goals; both inside and outside of the studio. She loves coaching in a positive spirit, and thrives for her clients to see and feel the results presented from the authentic Pilates method.

alana isiguen

Alana Isiguen, PMA-CPT, has always been extremely interested in all aspects of movement and the body.  She had her first experience with Pilates 12 years ago as part of her classical dance training.  Since then she performed professionally with the North Carolina Dance Theatre and Piedmont Dance Theatre, graduated from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, and received her Pilates certification from The Pilates Center of Boulder, CO via InsideOut Body Therapies in Durham, NC. 

Alana’s passion for movement carried into a love of teaching, and she has taught ballet, contemporary, and improvisation for the past 8 years.  It was her study of Pilates under master teachers Kathy Grant and Blossom Crawford that inspired her to pursue certification, and therefore be able to bring the joy and benefits of movement to people of all ages and walks of life.

emily volpe

Emily was born and raised in Vero Beach, FL, where she began her movement training through ballet and modern dance as well as team sports and yoga.  While attending Harvard, Emily continued to dance and discovered Pilates while training for the 2007 Boston Marathon.  After graduating from Harvard, Emily moved to San Francisco where she realized Pilates wasn't a choice but a necessity.  She received her certification from Peter Lakis at dharmaspace pilates center in 2008.  She has since continued her studies with other renowned Classical Pilates Instructors via workshops and private instruction.  She has spent the last 2 years studying and teaching Pilates in New York City as well as discovering a love of pole dancing and the circus arts!

 

After a trip to Italy, a wedding and honeymoon and a drive across country with her mom and dog, Emily is excited to finally be back in San Francisco at dharmaspace pilates center!!  She is looking forward to kickin' butt and takin' names.

natalie carducci

Natalie, originally from Columbus, Ohio, moved east for undergraduate studies in violin performance at Purchase College in New York. It was here that she stumbled across an amazing classical Pilates studio in the basement of the school's gym and started taking classes.  With a history of scoliosis and back injuries, she immediately noticed the restorative effects of Pilates on her posture.  After building up core strength through the method, she also recognized how it improved her violin playing. Natalie had become all too aware that many musicians suffer from muscle aches and injuries due to long hours of practicing and performing. With this in mind, she completed The New York Pilates Studio Teacher Certification Program, studying under Simona Cipriani and Brett Howard. 

Natalie moved to San Francisco in 2010 to continue graduate studies in violin performance at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. Today she teaches classical Pilates and has a special interest in helping musicians play without pain by improving their core strength. Natalie is indebted to Pilates for transforming her health, and she is committed to sharing her knowledge and love of this art with others.

patti reed

Some of you will probably recognize Patti from taking classes in the studio for the past several years.  Patti comes from a background of classical ballet and studied for years with nationally recognized teacher, Marcia Dale Weary.  After more training at the School of the Pennsylvania Ballet  and Butler University as a dance major, she danced professionally for 3 years in Southern CA before moving to San Francisco.  While here, she switched gears somewhat and began teaching danced based cardio fitness classes.  It wasn’t until she wandered into a mat pilates class  that she once again found her true heart.

She truly believes the pilates method not only restores and vitalizes the body, but also nourishes the soul.  In 2007, she was BASI certified to teach pilates mat. Shortly after, she found Peter and Dharmaspace and knew she had found  her pilates “home”. Patti is currently completing her 600 hour comprehensive training with Power Pilates.

Patti is a vintage clothing connoisseur and an avid animal advocate. She  lives with her two furry kids, Satine and Coquette.

troy hyatt

Troy began his Pilates journey ten years ago. At that time, he was practicing martial arts five days a week with vigorous rounds of full-contact kickboxing and heavy bag-work. This constant work took its toll on the body, and Troy found himself with a seriously injured right shoulder. His cousin, a Pilates practitioner, suggested the Pilates method for rehabilitation as she had reaped benefits from it. Luckily, some friends knew a Pilates teacher and Troy booked an appointment.

He was very skeptical at first wondering how all these relatively straightforward and deceptively simple movements were going to help his injured shoulder. The teacher had studied Classical Pilates in New York with Romana Kryzanowska and suggested doing at least ten sessions before determining if Pilates was for him or not. Troy took her advice and after about session number six, he started to feel a difference. His shoulder was less painful and he had an even greater range of motion.  It wasn’t long before Troy resumed his martial arts practice and to his surprise found that he was performing better.  He had more stamina and endurance, could kick harder and higher, and best of all, the shoulder didn’t bother him any more.

He obtained his first comprehensive certification through Power Pilates, a classical Pilates certification program.  After completing this course, Troy took a couple of workshops with master teacher Dorothee Vandewalle of Metropolitan Pilates in Seattle.  Dorothee is considered by many to be one of the top Pilates teacher-trainers in the world and, as a protegé of Romana Kryzanowska,  teaches in the tradition of the original, authentic Pilates method. After meeting Dorothee, Troy knew he had to study with her.  He completed her rigorous teacher-training program in April 2011.