Amy Bruckmeier - Certified Pilates Teacher
Amy Bruckmeier, owner of THE PILATES STUDIO, is a certified Pilates teacher, rehabilitation specialist, educator and creator of weekly home programs for her clients.
She received her formal training from Ellie Herman at EHS San Francisco, and later received a second full certification through Balanced Body University. Amy assisted Master Teacher Lisa Graham at Agile Monkey Pilates Studio in Santa Cruz in the Balanced Body Teacher Certification Program (teaching the complete Pilates repertoire to prospective teachers) in 2008, and again in 2009. In 2011 she will complete an intensive three week Pilates mentorship program, studying under Master Teacher Julian Littleford. In 2010 she completed three workshops with Jean-Claude West; a course in Assessment & Strategy to Restore Efficient Function to the Body and another in Adaptive Responses at Ankle, Hip and Spine, and a third workshop in movement sequencing, as well as studied Pilates Training for Athletes in a series of ongoing workshops with Joerg Chabowski, ACSM. She has also trained in muscle/joint rehabilitation with Lizz Roman and Marie-Jose Blom, as well as completed additional study of prenatal/post partum exercise protocols with Core Conditioning. Always eager to learn more about the body, Amy studied assisted muscle activation and strengthening techniques with Giles Gamble, certified as a practitioner and teacher of the Hendrickson Method of Manual Release Therapy. .
Amy believes in the body's ability to heal itself; given the proper training and follow-through. She has written hundreds of home programs; programs that she designs specifically for each client so that her clients can continue their Pilates work in between sessions by doing a custom program at home. Currently Amy is the Rehabilitation Specialist at the Hendrickson Clinic in Kensington, CA. She has had success using Pilates to rehabilitate clients with lumbar disc degeneration, chronic back pain, rotator cuff injury, frozen shoulder, knee and hip replacement, sciatica and postural imbalances.
Amy gave birth to her first child in June 2005 and did Pilates almost everyday up to delivery. She credits her quick recovery after the birth to her prenatal and postpartum Pilates programs. Amy's client base is varied; currently her oldest client is 81 and at least a third of her clients are men. She works with mothers through all phases of their pregnancies. She is proud that this varied clientele maintains a growing interest and trust in the Pilates method.
Amy has a background in competitive gymnastics, dance, cycling and swimming. As a competitive gymnast, she had a rigorous and intense training schedule. Through good coaching, hard work and dedication, she not only attained her own personal best but also found deep satisfaction in movement, strength, flexibility and health. She still retains this disciplined and enthusiastic approach to exercise and the Pilates method and finds time to do Pilates herself at least four times a week, always feeling rejuvenated and refreshed after her sessions.
Amy believes that with work and dedication each of her clients can achieve better overall health and well-being.
Sandy Endo - Certified Pilates Teacher
Once a violinist, runner, and a dancer, I have always been an active person. Years of less than optimum alignment from holding a single sided instrument and compression from athletic activities led to imbalances in my spine. After the birth of my second child, I experienced a low back injury (sciatica). A friend suggested trying Pilates, and the rehabilitation process led to a fascination with the practice. The Pilates method was not about how hard I could push myself physically, but instead stressed the importance of working from the deep musculature of the body, encouraging concentration and precise movement. In short, I gained a stronger body, better posture, corrected alignment and decreased pain!
I have been practicing Pilates since 2002 and became an instructor in 2007. I completed my Pilates certification in both the mat and apparatus at Turning Point Studios in Walnut Creek, CA, with Nora St. John and Naomi Leiserson. I have also completed Nora St. John’s Movement Medicine course that applies the Pilates Method as a rehabilitative and injury prevention tool as well as taken continuing education courses with Madeline Black, Elizabeth Larkam and Jillian Hessel. My ongoing fascination with the human body and its exceptional ability to heal inspires my continued studies and keeps my Pilates practice and teaching fresh.
My greatest joy is to help clients achieve their goals whether it be reduction of discomfort, enhanced athletic performance or a better quality of life through awareness of posture and alignment. I believe that Pilates can help anyone achieve a healthier body, one that is strong, supple and centered.
Besides my work, I enjoy spending time with my two children and husband, dancing hula and samba, swimming and baking anything with chocolate and dulce de leche! You can learn more about me at www.sandyendo.com.
Suzanne Breese Ryan - Pilates Teacher
Suzanne B. Ryan welcomes you to join her in exploring the wonders of a method of exercise created by Joseph H. Pilates. In her sessions, she shares the logic of the movements, working with you to achieve a flow from the traditional repertoire. This mind-body discipline includes modifications and props to tailor the training and accommodate a variety of body needs. Suzanne likes to vary the exercises, but follows the basic building blocks of flexion, extension, side work, and strength work. She wants you to have fun and learn as you develop muscle tone, balance, and a generalized sense of well-being. Suzanne grew up in Vermont in a very athletic household that embraced a diversity of exercise: She loved ballet (even with pigeon-toed feet), the rush of skiing down a snow-covered mountain, the whack of a field hockey ball, and the adrenalin of competitive swimming. Her parents’ household was also very academic: Suzanne earned a Ph.D. in political science at the University of Chicago, after a liberal arts education that included some dance theory, Japanese studies and politics. Life intervenes, and Berkeley becomes her home—one that includes a professorial spouse, two girls, dogs and a very old bird. Thanks to the urging of her Atlanta-based sister and a well-timed New Year’s resolution, Suzanne discovered Pilates in her mid-forties. From her first “Hundred”, she loved it (although she was initially mystified by Pilates breathing). Suzanne “went after” Pilates in the manner of an academic: She attended classes (lots of them), asked questions, gathered materials, sampled different instructor’s work, read extensively, practiced, and sought out individualized tutoring. Suzanne began an intensive study of the Pilates mat repertoire with Amy Bruckmeier and Jennifer Moulton of Studio 74 Pilates. Similar to the first generation of Pilates learners, Suzanne became Jennifer’s formal apprentice when she began a one-on-one course of study that included anatomy, mat technique & repertoire. Certified in the Mat Practice & General Principles of Pilates in Spring 2007, she began regularly teaching Pilates mat classes at the Berkeley Ballet Theatre and the Downtown Berkeley YMCA. In August 2009, Suzanne completed her complete Pilates Teacher Training program. She trained under Lisa Graham of Agile Monkey in Santa Cruz and Amy Bruckmeier, who follow a program from a leader in the industry, Balanced Body. Pilates is a life-long educational process—like a liberal arts education. During Suzanne’s sessions, you will learn through dynamic action the main principles of Pilates: breath, control, precision, opposition, flow of movement, centering, and stability. With these principles and regular practice, the restoration of the body to a place of balance is achievable: gain healthy postural alignment (banish slouching), strengthen the core (think abs), relieve overworked muscles (ahhh), refine spinal mobility and embrace a generalized sense of well-being (feel good). Please join her in creating your own Pilates adventure.