Blane has been practicing and studying Pilates since 1998 and was certified through the Ellie Herman Institute in 2002. While the majority of his time is spent teaching at Parkside Pilates he still teaches at Ellie Herman Studios. From 2003 to present has been involved in the Teacher Training Instructor Program (TTIP) at the Ellie Herman Institute acting as co-head of the program. Blane has assisted Lizz Roman in her Injury Prevention and Recovery Worskhop for teaching professionals since 2004. In 2007 he became a certified Balanced Body University Instructor. Along with one-to-one fitness training he specializes in injury prevention and recovery. Through out the week Blane teaches quite a few Pilates based group classes. His popular classes promote a non-competitive atmosphere while challenging the student to reach their fullest potential. Focus of the classes include precision, control, stability, core strength, increasing flexibility all the while promoting enjoyment and a sense of accomplishment. Pilates can be quite challenging but should be fun too! Blane has been a dancer for the past 20 years and has performed with Company Chaddick, Huckabay/McAllister Dance, EmSpace Dance, Vogt Art Dance, and Steamroller. Interested in becoming a Pilates instructor? Email Blane. | What people are saying about Blane.

Lizz, a professional dancer, was initially introduced to Pilates in 1986 at St. Francis Dance Medicine after fracturing her foot. Then in 1991, Roman sustained a serious back injury. After being told she was a surgery candidate who would need to give up her dance career, Roman decided to again try Pilates at St. Francis where she began a long recovery process. One year later, Roman was able to attend an MFA program in dance, where she became interested in kinesiology and dance injury prevention and rehabilitation. In 1998, Roman was recruited by Ellie to attend her new Pilate's instructor certification program and went on to study with Ellie's then rehab specialist, Jane Edwards. Ms. Edwards, an amazingly talented Pilates rehab trainer with extensive training in neuromuscular reeducation, introduced Roman to the work of Vladimir Janda, MD. Janda is known worldwide for his research linking muscle dysfunction and chronic pain syndromes. Since then, Roman has integrated Janda's program (progressive balance and proprioceptive challenges to improve overall body posture, muscle balance, joint stability and speed of muscle contraction) into her own approach to Pilates rehab. Lizz has had great success with chronic and intransigent injuries. For the past five years she has taught a 12 week rehab intensive for certified Pilates instructors, fitness trainers, yoga and dance teachers as well as a variety of other bodywork and health practitioners at the EHS in San Francisco.

Ann received her certification in the Pilates Method from the Ellie Herman Pilates Institute in San Francisco. In 2007 she completed the Pilates based rehabilitation training program at EHS Pilates (formerly Ellie Herman Studio) taught by renowned Pilates rehabilitation specialist, Lizz Roman. For the past three years, Ann has worked at Parkside Pilates in San Francisco. Ann worked previously at The Pilates Zone in Menlo Park, CA, and at EHS Pilates in San Francisco.

 

Ann's clients have made the following comments about her work with them:

 

"Thank you for helping me so much in preparing for my last marathon. I achieved a personal best time of under 4 hours! My frame did not collapse once, my core was strong and steady and I smiled all the way to the finish line! Along the way I heard your voice in my head. I could not have done it without you. Thank you."

 

"You helped make the butterfly emerge! A miracle!! Thank you for helping me realize what I am capable of again!"

 

"I love Parkside Pilates!!! I have been Ann's student for a year in June. She has helped me so much. I hope to do Pilates for the rest of my life!"

 

Ann came to pilates after a successful career as a costume designer specializing in designing and constructing costumes for movement related performers. Her clients included 5 Olympic and World champion figure skaters, San Francisco Ballet, for whom her company constructed over 30 productions and numerous dance companies around the U.S. Ann holds a BA in theater performance from the University of Michigan, and a degree in fashion design from the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco. A lifelong dancer, Ann trained in classical ballet, studying with Alonzo King, Arturo Fernandez, Enrico Labayen, and at the Boston Ballet School. Ten years ago, she discovered Argentine Tango and has gone on to study with some of the top tango dancers in the world. In December 2008, Ann assisted Forever Tango star Hugo Patyn in San Francisco, teaching workshops and performing with him at three events. Pilates helped Ann return to dancing after a 6 year break, during which time chronic injuries and pain had made it impossible for her to continue. She incorporates the experience she gained healing her own body into her work with clients. Ann utilizes all the skills she has developed, as a Pilates instructor, a dancer and a visual artist when working with her clients. Her diverse background gives her the ability to be creative in her approach to helping her clients. Her belief is that clients will find the most benefit if they can apply what they learn in the studio to their daily lives and she strives to help her students make this transition.

Chris Black was introduced to Pilates in the late nineties as she struggled to maintain her dance career while suffering from chronic back pain. She found the system so effective she became a certified instructor through the Ellie Herman Institute in 2001. The following year she also completed Lizz Roman's Rehabilitation Intensive. She has continued to deepen her understanding of the human body through workshops with teachers such as Eric Franklin, Marie-Jose Blom and Jennifer Stacey.

 

Chris credits Pilates with making it possible for her to continue to work as a choreographer and dancer. She was able to return to performing within 6 months of giving birth to her daughter. She has been awarded an Isadora Duncan Dance Award, a Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle Award and several grants from the San Francisco Arts Commission for her choreographic work.

 

Chris enjoys the collaborative nature of working with Pilates clients and believes in tailoring the work to fit each individual's needs. She takes particular satisfaction from helping clients to manage chronic pain. In her teaching she emphasizes building strength and stability that the client can draw on in everyday life.

Karen was first introduced to Pilates when only 18 years old after developing knee problems while studying ballet in NYC. She was sent to the original Pilates studio run by Romana Kryzanowska, a direct disciple of Joseph Pilates. After returning home to the Bay Area, she continued her ballet training with, as her teacher noticed, "much better alignment". Pilates was not as promenent on the west coast for about 10 years, but later, when Karen continued to have alignment and pain issues from dancing, Pilates had luckily become more available, and so she resumed her Pilates training under the guidance of Jennifer Stacey in San Francisco. She completed her Teacher Training Certification under Ellie Herman and has also studied extensively with Lizz Roman learning rehabilitation techniques based on the principals of Janda. Karen likes to teach Pilates with an emphasis on form and how it applies to functional life movement. She likes to educate her students to have more freedom in movement, strength, and to learn ways to help themselves when their body/pain issues arise so that they can get along with more ease in their everyday lives.