Founding Instructor

Education

2018- 3rd Generation Comprehensively trained Classical Pilates Instructor in the lineage of Romana Kryzanowska via Alycea Ungaro’s Real Pilates Teacher Training Program - 650 hr.

2014- Hilary Opheim’s Mixed Contemporary / Classical Comprehensive Pilates Teacher Training Program 450 hr. Hilary’s training lineage and background is through Physical Mind.

2009 BS in Integrated Physiology with an emphasis in Immunology and Exercise Physiology.

Movement

Both of my parents ran the Houston Marathon, so I grew up running and wanting to run the Houston Marathon. It was in training for the Houston Marathon that I injured my knee in 2010. After finishing Physical Therapy I was advised by friends and family to try Pilates. I avoided it like the plague because I didn’t have a “Pilates Body” (read, tight hamstrings, locked hips and pitiful mobility). Little did I know just how important Pilates should have been to my running. I finally began taking Pilates in 2011at a small Eve Gentry Lineage studio in Madison Wisconsin and it opened up my whole world. I began to understand and internalize so much of what I learned in my Bachelor’s degree through practice. Changes I didn’t think possible in my body happened right in front of my eyes. I was sold. I actually registered for the Teacher Training run through my studio in Madison before deciding to move home to Texas. I searched Pilates Training’s here in Houston, and that’s how I found my first training program.

Why Pilates

I am a scientist at heart. I spent several years working in a lab setting and there is no better experience for me than learning. Being able to work alignment and see how it affects the sensations in my body and how it looks visually is infinitely interesting to me. I love the control it gives me over my body and the mechanical understanding of my body that it affords me.  I have a sense of confidence and power from my body that I had not know was possible before beginning my practice. There is just nothing else like it.

Life’s work, how you want to be remembered . . .

Oh wow.  As someone who cared about what they did and the people they encountered along the way.

Why Pilates

I believe that Pilates is what our bodies need and crave. It promotes elongation of our spine, as well as full body stretch and strength. We learn to move mindfully from our power house!

Life’s Work, How do you want to be remembered . . .

I see my life’s work as helping others. Teaching pilates is intuitive for me. I have seen through my own practice, as well as my clients’, the benefits we reap in flexibility, strength, stretch and tone. I have been studying and teaching pilates since 2004 and I remain committed to a life of ongoing education and learning.

I want to be remembered as someone who lead with kindness. My approach to life is to be kind, be active, have FUN, laugh!, learn new things, be open and never stop growing. I hope all of these qualities come through when I teach AND in my daily life!

He knew that if he wanted to have a fruitful career as dancer and lead a healthier life, he needed to change some of the unnatural movement patterns he had come accustomed to in the studio. As his passion for the Pilates method grew, he knew it was his mission to share the method that Joe Pilates created years ago and pass it on to anyone and everyone who wants to learn.

Resident Instructor

Education
Romana Kryzanowska 3rd Generation Comprehensively trained Classical Instructor. Alycea Ungaro’s Real Pilates Certification Program entails 600+ hours of training and apprenticeship, completed in 2022.

Graduated Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science, Interior Design from Sam Houston State University in 2018.

Movement

Dancer throughout childhood and picked up golf as an adolescent. As an adult, Julia still plays golf however, she limits her dancing mainly to her kitchen.

Why Pilates

As a woman who struggles with both musculoskeletal conditions and hormonal disorders, Pilates was the first workout I found that both helped to rejuvenate my body without irritating my hormones. For once, I felt relief, I felt strong, and I felt empowered to be my own skin. I fell in love after my first session and haven’t looked back.

Life’s Work, How you want to be remembered . . .

Someone who encouraged and helped people to do the things they never thought they could. Assisting them in taking back the reigns on their own body and finding laughs along the way is just the cherry on top.

Resident Instructor

Education
Romana Kryzanowska 3rd Generation Comprehensively trained Classical Instructor. Alycea Ungaro’s Real Pilates Certification Program entails 600 + hours of training and apprenticeship -2022.

Anthropology and Creative Work, magna cum laude (2017, The University of Houston)

Movement

From competitive swimming, triathlons, and marathons to most recently surfing (it’s so hard) --my background in movement is diverse and I’m blessed that it remains that way today. When I’m not painting, movement is another way to express myself.

Why Pilates? 

I was hooked after my first class at Control Studios. It was the first time in months that I felt relief from the tension headaches induced by a long day of teaching Chemistry and Physics, bent over a tiny laptop screen. 

The pain in my neck and shoulders finally disappeared and it just got better with each session. 

As a former swimmer, I love that Pilates is a full-body exercise, but with the added benefit of Control. It’s a priceless luxury to receive alignment guidance from a classically trained Instructor that you can take into not only other movement practices but everyday life. Through Pilates, the love that I have for my body has only grown --embracing its flexibility and strength has only increased my well-being in everyday life and I love to share this gift with others. 

Life’s Work and how you want to be remembered…

I hope I'm able to continually enjoy the pursuit of my best self. It’s that self that has the energy to be there for others. We are all multidimensional souls capable of achieving our hearts' desires through love and I simply want to be a reminder of that for my community.