Instructors

Body In Motion is a fully equipped Pilates studio in Santa Cruz County, offering group mat classes and private sessions on all of the apparatus designed by Joseph Pilates. We are staffed with highly skilled, fully certified, professional instructors, dedicated to giving you the highest level of service.

Dominique Lesperance, owner of Body In Motion, was certified as a Pilates Instructor in 1997 by the Physicalmind Institute of New York. After eleven years of teaching Pilates, she went back to study with her mentor, Master Teacher Rael Isacowitz, founder of Body Arts and Science International (BASI™) and earned her BASI™ Comprehensive Teaching Certification. A member of the Pilates Method Alliance, she is also a certified Gyrotonic® teacher by Julio Horvath (creator of Gyrotonic®).

Beginning her career in the fitness industry in 1992 as an aerobics instructor and personal trainer, Dominique’s diverse background gives her a multidisciplinary approach helping her clients achieve their maximum physical potential. Her intuitiveness, passion and enthusiasm for her work is apparent. She considers herself a lifelong student and has had the pleasure of studying with numerous first and second generation master teachers such as Ron Fletcher, Lolita San Miguel, Kathy Grant, Mary Bowen, Michelle Larsen, Elizabeth Larkham and many more.

Dominique’s mission is to provide the clients of Body In Motion® with the most advanced, effective forms of body conditioning in a supportive, peaceful environment.

Karen Christiansen, Senior Staff Instructor, is a teacher and healer. She brings a holistic approach to her teaching believing in finding the balance between the body, mind and spirit. When you train with Karen her nurturing personality supports personal growth and empowerment. She educates you to understand how to take care of your own body to eliminate faulty movement patterns that could lead to pain or injury.Karen has been a certified Pilates instructor with the Physical Mind Institute since 2003. Always wanting to enhance her teaching techniques Karen as of 2009, completed a mat and apparatus certification with the Body Arts and Science International course, another internationally respected Pilates certification program.

Karen is a certified Breema R Massage practitioner. (Breema means the essence of harmonious life) Breema has helped facilitate her desire to be more present as well as offer her clients another aspect of learning that compliments with Pilates.

Injuries resulting from her dance background created opportunities to learn from both western and eastern doctors and healers. She has incorporated aspects of both in her training. Karen is equally comfortable teaching a full range of fitness levels from athletic to more rehabilitation oriented. Additionally she has experience working with pre-natal and post partum mothers. As well as clients who have Osteoporosis, MS, Parkinson’s disease and Spinal Stenosis and has written a research paper on helping to create balance in people with Scoliosis using Pilates.

Her greatest joy comes from showing people how Pilates relates to their daily life helping to eliminate pain and create strong flexible bodies. She loves to find the balance between the body, mind and spirit giving inner body awareness and overall balance.

Anna Lovato, Senior Staff Instructor, has been teaching movement since 1995. She studied dance in college, graduated in 1997 and by then injuries in her own body led her to Pilates. By 1998 she had decided that Pilates would be an integral part of her life’s work. She now holds four different Pilates certifications, her most current from Body Arts and Science International, the organization she hopes to one day be faculty for.

While teaching Pilates in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Anna discovered a need for hands on techniques and chose to study Traditional Thai Massage. Her instruction includes over 300 combined hours from the New Mexico Academy of Healing Arts and Master Teacher Pichet Boonthume of Hang Dong, Thailand.

Anna brings her diverse background in rehabilitation, bodywork, and personal fitness to her Pilates practice. Today she works with a wide variety of clientele to improve posture, mobility, flexibility, and strength. She strives to empower her clients, by providing them with the tools to take control of their physical selves and improve the quality of their own lives.

Taryn Buell is a graduate of San Francisco State University where she earned her Bachelors Degree of Arts in Anthropology. She grew up in an athletic environment as a competitive dancer, swimmer and water polo player. During her four years at Santa Cruz High School she swam on the varsity swim team and during her senior year decided to play on the varsity boy’s water polo team. Taryn swam for the SFSU gators and also became very involved in Shao Lin a form of martial arts.

Soon after graduating from college she found herself looking for another means of staying fit and healthy. When introduced to Pilates she discovered an entirely new way of challenging herself both physically and mentally. This led Taryn into becoming a certified Pilates Trainer through Body Arts and Science International (BASI).

Taryn enjoys bringing a positive environment to all her clients. She takes into account each individual’s posture, fitness level, age and goals to create a fun and challenging workout. She is an active wife and mother of two and is extremely happy to be a part of the Body in Motion Family.

Renée Menard is a certified Pilates instructor. She received her training through Pacific Movement Center in Santa Cruz and Monterey, Ca. in 2004. In 2009 she earned her Body Arts and Science International, (BASI) Comprehensive Teaching Certification.

She has been involved in movement, sports and fitness since the age of four. For over 15 years she has studied Hatha Yoga and dance. She has studied Ballet, Modern and various ethnic dances, focusing on Afro-Brazilian dance and Samba. in 2007 she became a Certified Zumba instructor. Renée has taught community dance workshops for all ages and been performing professionally throughout the United States since 1999.

Renée believes the Pilates method can be applied to any movement or everyday activity, helping to re-program patterns of chronic pain and stress in the body. She brings an integrative approach to her teaching style using the fundamentals of Pilates, Yoga, fitness and dance.

Monika Meyer is our newest Pilates teacher from the (BASI) Body Arts and Sciences Pilates Training Program. Having spent the better part of the last 15 years as an informal student of physical dynamics through dance, yoga, weight training and cycling, obtaining the BASI credentials was a natural progression.

Monika’s warm teaching style and knowledgeable approach will test your physical abilities, ensuring you have the best training experience possible.

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Sandra Larsen is certified as a Pilates instructor through Body Arts and Science International (2009) as well as through Pacific Movement Center of Santa Cruz (2003) and is a member of the Pilates Method Alliance. She is also a Gyrotonic® Instructor, certified by Juliu Horvath (2004). She has been on the staff of Body in Motion since 2006.

As a student of the healing arts for over 20 years, Sandra has had a private practice as a Licensed Massage Therapist and also holds a degree in Horticulture. She is certified as a Master Herbalist (1986) and Nutrition Consultant (1987), giving her an integrative approach to those seeking to enhance or restore wellness in their lives.

Due to a low back injury, Sandra became unable to continue her massage practice. During her search for non-surgical means of pain reief, she discovered Pilates and Gyrotonic and found them to be critical in her rehabilitation. The effectiveness of these methods inspired her to launch her current career as a Pilates and Gyrotonic Instructor and she now enjoys helping others to prevent or minimize back pain as well as restoring flexibility and strength to those who merely want to keep their bodies in optimal condition.

Judy Scarabello has been in the fitness industry for over 25 years. She is thrilled to be back in California after 15 years on the east coast where she taught various group exercise classes and did personal training in NYC and Washington, DC. Prior to leaving this beautiful state she taught in San Francisco and San Jose. She is certified by PowerHouse® Pilates and YogaFit® and the American Council on Exercise as a Group Exercise Instructor and Personal Trainer.

Her career is in international tax, but her passion is Pilates.

Aubrie Pollock graduated from Santa Clara University with a Bachelor of Science in Sociology and a minor in Urban Education.

During her senior year in college, Aubrie’s interest in Pilates blossomed. She began taking classes and doing private sessions as often as she possibly could. Combining her interest in teaching and her passion for Pilates, Aubrie decided to enroll in a teacher training program. She recently completed the Body Arts and Science International Comprehensive Teacher Training Program here at Body in Motion and is currently working on fulfilling her student teaching hours.

Aubrie loves what Pilates has done for her life and is very excited about sharing her passion with others!

Michelle Moyer is thrilled to teach Pilates at Body in Motion in breathtaking Aptos, California. She is qualified to teach Pilates Mat and Apparatus. She is classically trained in dance and fine art as well as scholarship runner in cross-country and track. Michelle grew in Claremont, California, a community rich in education, art and music.

Currently, Michelle teach Pilates, dance and fine arts locally and does consulting and choreography as well as private or semi-private lessons in Pilates. Recently, she spent two years traveling and selling her own art work at local art and wine functions.

Michelle is a credentialed educator and holds degrees in environmental studies and the fine arts as well as major college course work in dance and had the unique opportunity to dance pre-professionally with University Dance Theatre in San Jose.

“I love to teach and enjoy sharing my joy of fine and performing arts with others and encourage everyone I meet to stay fit and pursue creative endeavors. I enjoy the present moment!”