The Pilates Body Instructors:

Our instructors possess a diversity of personal and professional experience, leading to a personalized and personable fitness program for you. Each instructor has graduated from an elite and rigorous Pilates training program. Our" body" of instructors brings you years of added expertise from many disciplines, such as physical therapy, dance, equestrian sports, and strength and endurance training.

Kelly Tourgeman, owner of, and instructor at The Pilates Body, received her instructor certification from the New York-based PhysicalMind Institute and has continued her education by attending various fitness organizations' workshops. Having her first baby four years ago, Kelly has concentrated her continuing education on pre and post-natal training as well as Pilates for back pain and injury. Pilates was a godsend throughout her pregnancy, keeping her fit, trim, healthy and sane! A self-professed fitness addict, Kelly has discovered that Pilates has improved her own body and mind, and she would like to share this experience with you. Kelly also participates in the community, as a prior fitness ambassador for the Americana at Brand's "lululemon athletica" store. Visit www.lululemonathletica.com for more information.

Crystal Racedo was born and raised in Burbank, California. She received her Pilates certification at CORE Conditioning in Studio City. Having been very active all her life, enjoying sports and outdoor activities like softball, volleyball, horse back riding and snowboarding, she realized that a physically active and healthy lifestyle is what she loves the most. She first discovered Pilates when she was rehabilitating from a knee injury. The powerful recovery she experienced in her own body inspired her to teach Pilates to others. Crystal combines her personal knowledge and experience with the Pilates Method to introduce, restore, and maintain effective movement patterns which allow the body and mind to function together in a more efficient, conscious, and healthy way. Crystal's goal is to make Pilates safe, fun, and accessible for people of all fitness levels.

Emili Lauren was introduced to Pilates at the age of 14 after a complicated knee injury. She immediately discovered the healing benefits of the Pilates method and has continued her training ever since. As a classically trained dancer, gymnastics instructor and choreographer, Emili loves to incorporate her diverse movement background into her Pilates training. She strives to create fun, challenging and effective workouts designed specifically for each person she works with. Emili earned her PMA certification from Whole Body Gallery in Los Angeles and has continued her education through Balanced Body and Power Pilates.

Renee Bella Originally from New Jersey, Renee Bella recently moved to sunny Los Angeles by way of snowy Boston, where she began her second career in Pilates. Holding a B.S degree from West Virginia University, Renee worked in Marketing and Graphic Design for many years before finding her true passion as a Pilates instructor. After practicing Pilates for over eight years and seeing the changes in her body, and improvements to her health, she decided to become a certified instructor to share these benefits with others. Renee completed a 488-hour teacher training program with and received a comprehensive certification from the acclaimed Balanced Body University. Renee enjoys helping new clients learn to execute the repertoire with proper alignment, breathing and technique, as well as working with more advanced students to deepen the core connection and intensify their work-outs safely and correctly.

Nadia Ahern started her Pilates journey in 1993, crossing international borders to find someone who taught it. A graduate of the University of Windsor, she crossed the Canadian/US border every week to work with a trainer to correct her awkward body that never seemed to take to the movement training she was trying to master in school. When people noticed a difference in her physique and technique, she was hooked. Desperately, she tried to spread the word to everyone, telling them how Pilates changed her life and could do the same physically and mentally for others. She even tried to get her instructor to teach at the local area gyms, to which that person said: "Why would anyone at a gym want to do Pilates!"

Having been a teacher and a teacher of teachers in the realm of aquatics since 1988, Nadia decided to leave green hair behind and start her training to teach the Pilates method and prove her mentor wrong. Training in Chicago,she was one of the first candidates to test out of the Physicalmind Institute's Concentration 101 program. She is also a member and certified by the Pilates Method Alliance. One of her greatest accomplishments was establishing the first fully equipped health club Pilates studio in Chicago. Nadia joined The Pilates Body of Glendale in 2006 and has helped develop class programming, including the studio's exclusive AFTERBURN class-a Pilates hybrid format maximizing caloric burn by combining cardio and muscle endurance exercises. In addition to Pilates, Nadia is a certified CPR/AED instructor for the American Heart Association and American Red Cross. She still teaches aquatics, specializing in swim lessons and hydrofitness for pregnancy, arthritis and post-rehab through Makin' Waves Aquatics (www.makinwavesaquatics.com), which she owns. Nadia's teaching philosophy is that no one is ever too weak or old or clutzy to learn and get fit with the Pilates method!

Yvette Spencer discovered Pilates when her dancing career was threatened with a potential knee surgery. Yvette sought out alternative forms of medicine, and was guided towards Pilates by an experienced acupuncturist who said “You must do this if you want to keep dancing!” Yvette then earned her certification through the DK Body Balancing Method, through UNLV, and went on to train and work with dance medicine specialists and physical therapists in Las Vegas and Los Angeles. She enjoys bringing her knowledge to clients in a motivating and compassionate way, designing each workout based on her clients’ bodies and health and fitness goals. Thanks to Pilates, Yvette continues to choreograph and dance professionally; career highlights have included performing at The Grammys with Shakira and Wyclef, The Emmys with Tony Bennett and Christina Aguilera, and performing as a principal dancer with The Los Angeles Opera, Pittsburg Opera, LA Philharmonic as well as dancing on television and film (“The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,” “Scrubs,” “Samantha Who?”) Yvette has also had the pleasure of coaching movement and dance to celebrities including Shirley Jones, Patrick Cassidy, Jean Smart and Cate Blanchett, and finds inspiration in every client’s aspirations and goals.

Claudia Moreno was born and raised in Southern California. Her passion for fitness started over 13 years ago when she was introduced to group fitness classes. In 1999, she was certified as a Group Fitness Instructor through Bally Total Fitness®. She taught a wide range of group fitness classes from Step, Aerobics, Water Aerobics, Spinning and Kickboxing. In 2005 she stopped teaching due to the birth of her beautiful daughter but she continued to live an active life by becoming an avid runner, completing many races and achieving many fitness goals. However, she missed instructing in a group setting. In 2009, after researching and trying out different forms of group fitness classes, Claudia was introduced to PILOXING®. She instantly feel in love with the workout and was impressed by the PILOXING® methods of interval training, which utilizes boxing, Pilates and dance moves. In March of 2010, Claudia attended the first ever PILOXING® instructor training and completed her certification. Claudia is super excited to bring PILOXING® to The Pilates Body Studio. Her goal is to make this a fun and great workout experience while always promoting the PILOXING® message of being “Sleek, Sexy and Powerful”.

Debbie John is a professional dancer, singer and songwriter, appearing in numerous muscials, movies, commercials and stage shows. She trained in Jazz, Ballet, Hip Hop and Salsa while on scholarship at the prestigious Joe Tremaines Dance Studio. She currently dances with the Bollywood Dance Company by the Belly Twins and is represented by MSA Dance Agency. Besides teaching her Bollywood Rhythms class, Debbie also is the front desk manager at the studio.
 
 

Julie Gateas A Southern California native, Julie Gateas has been in the fitness industry for over 25 years. Yes, she started training/working at the precocious age of ten! As a former tri-athlete and long-distance cyclist, Pilates became the missing link in providing her much-needed stability, core strength and flexibility to pursue and succeed in these intense fitness endeavors. Nearly ten years ago, Julie was certified by BASI Pilates lead by Pilates master teacher Rael Isacowitz. When Julie is not teaching, she enjoys weight training, pool workouts, and spending time with her dear husband Jason and her dogs. Her fitness philosophy is “Do something physical that you enjoy every day—think of exercise as preventative medicine!”