"I have worked with all of the staff at Aligned and they each bring a unique outlook with impeccable training. The approach is sensitive, rigorous and fun. It is clear that they care about their clients, each other and are dedicated to passing on the tradition and vision that Cara is dedicated to." –Carla Dore,  client of Aligned for 4 years Our Team

Cara Reeser, Pilates Aligned, Inc., owner has a B.A. from Sarah Lawrence College and an MFA in dance from New York University Tisch School of the Arts. As a student at Tisch, Cara began her initial studies in the Pilates Method with first generation Master Teacher, Kathleen Stanford Grant.

In 1993, Cara moved to Boulder, Colorado where she continued her Pilates training at The Pilates Center. After completing the teacher training program in 1994, Cara stayed on to teach at the Pilates Center from 1994 to 2000. Cara opened the first Pilates Aligned studio in Denver in 2000 and then in 2009 opened a second location where she teaches, mentors, and hosts a variety of continuing education workshops.

In addition to her teaching and touring schedule, Cara has been on the faculty at Naropa University since 1997, where she teaches courses in dance and movement studies. She continued to mentor under Ms. Grant until her death in 2010.

As a second generation Pilates instructor and lineage carrier of the Kathy Grant work, Cara is well-respected in the industry. She is an advanced teacher of the work, presenting continuing education and teacher mentoring group workshops at her studios in Denver, throughout the US, and abroad.

Her staff at Pilates Aligned has been mentored under the finest movement educators, kinesiologists, and Master Pilates teachers in the country. Many have been certified through The Pilates Center in Boulder, Colorado.

Joey Biederman started doing Pilates like so many others to heal. But as her pain began to disappear, Joey knew she had to share this wonderful healing technique with others. She started teacher training at The Pilates Center in Boulder and received her certification. She has also trained extensively over the years with Cara Reeser and taken advantage of many of the workshops Pilates Aligned has offered.

Several years of Pilates has made Joey extremely focused on her client’s needs. No routine is ever routine. Instead, she researches the exact nature of each client’s issues and prepares a precise series of exercises in advance. Bodies are changed, yet every session is fun because of her sense of humor.

Having received so much from Pilates has made Joelle a firm believer in giving back. Over the years, she has regularly volunteered with Adaptive Adventures, an organization that provides progressive recreational opportunities to people with disabilities and their families.

Jodi Woodruff was introduced to Pilates while attending the University of Colorado where she graduated with a BA in Dance in 1997. Her journey towards Pilates certification began at the Pilates Center under the superb direction of the Taylor sisters, Cara Reeser and so many other great teachers along the way. Jodi successfully completed the comprehensive program and received her certification in 1998.

Jodi has served on the staff of Body Precision in Philadelphia and the Pilates Center in Boulder. She is currently the Owner and Director of Pilates Junction in Boulder.

With sixteen years of teaching Pilates behind her Jodi has careened and evolved. The classic structure of the Pilates Method is home base, the root where new growth is infinite. Her teaching style is focused and highly driven towards optimal movement education and healthy daily living.

Staff Member & Continuing Education Provider Gina de Soto first experienced the incredible benefits of Pilates while still a college student in New Orleans. As the coxswain for Loyola University Men’s Rowing Club, she found Pilates’ mindful movement and core strengthening far better exercise that what she was doing everyday at the gym.

After moving to Denver, Gina decided to continue her Pilates education at The Pilates Center of Boulder, where she received her certification in 2004. A teacher at Pilates Aligned, she continues to be inspired and amazed by Joseph Pilates and his method and loves to share her knowledge with others.

Staff Member, Studio Manager & Continuing Education Provider Laura Karpinski received a B.A. in Dance from North Carolina School of the Arts and danced ballet professionally for several years before graduating from the Pilates Center’s Teacher Training Certification Program in Boulder. Mentored extensively under Cara Reeser, she has taken a strong interest in learning and preserving the lineage of Kathy Grant’s work. That’s reflected in her own teaching style and strong belief in Pilates as a form of healing.

“I love to teach my clients how to relax and have fun with movement as well as have new and positive experiences with their bodies while gaining strength and flexibility in body, mind, and spirit.”

In addition to Pilates, Laura also practices being physical and present in her own body through the regular discipline of yoga classes and is an avid road cyclist.

Dana Dreifus specializes in injury rehabilitation and movement re-patterning. As a Pilates instructor, she works with several medical doctors, physical therapists and chiropractors to help clients of all ages find graceful, pain-free movement after injury. She also helps healthy clients meet their fitness goals.

Dana discovered Pilates after her own spinal injury and is passionate about helping others to find the relief she did. She studied biology at CU Denver and received her Pilates certification at Ph7, a local Denver studio. Following her certification, she began mentoring under Cara Reeser and Laura Karpinski at Pilates Aligned. She plans to attend a post-graduate program in physical therapy next year.

 

Danielle Hendricks graduated from CU Boulder with degrees in Kinesiology and Dance. She earned her Pilates Certification and Master’s Degree from The Pilates Center in Boulder and has taught at Inner Strength in Chicago, Every Body Fitness and Martha’s Vineyard Pilates Center in Massachusetts and The Pilates Center in Boulder, CO. She has been teaching at Pilates Aligned since Spring of 2003.

Danielle dances professionally in both modern and aerial dance companies in the Denver/Boulder area. When she is not teaching at the studio, she is most likely dancing her heart out with 3rd Law Dance/Theater, soaring with Frequent Flyers Productions or performing around town on her stilts. Dani is thankful for the strength and movement awareness she has gained in her personal practice of the Pilates Method and is eager to share the gift of movement with others.

Shannon Briese is a licensed massage therapist, owner of Total Body Wellness Massage Therapy and a Pilates instructor at Pilates Aligned. She is considered the "go to" source for injury prevention and rehabilitation, specializing in combining neuromuscular massage with Pilates. The combination of modalities is extremely helpful in exceeding her clients goals of increased strength, improved posture and pain-free movement.

She is a graduate of The Colorado School of Healing Arts, where she obtained her Associates Degree in Occupational Studies, specializing in Neuromuscular Massage, Sports Massage, Cranio Sacral Therapy and Pre-natal Massage. Her background includes working in some of the top rated injury clinics, spas and hospitals in the nation since 2001.

It was Shannon's own need for strength and rehabilitation that first lead her to Pilates. "It wasn't until Pilates that I felt like I got a users manual for my body." To learn more about Shannon, visit ShannonBriese.com.

Tracy Nevin Three years of Pilates practice led Tracy to pursue a teaching certificate in 2007 at The Pilates Center of Austin – a PMA Certified program. She considers herself a lifelong student and has layered her skills with years of continuing education workshops as well as her current attendance in a Balanced Body master teacher training program. Tracy is forever grateful for the knowledge that she received from her mentors, Wendy LeBlanc-Arbuckle and Cara Reeser.  She strives to honor the intelligence and compassion that is so present in their instruction by passing it to each person she teaches today.

Tracy attributes the process of her own rehabilitation from a cervical disc injury as the teacher that gave her the patience and intuition to tailor movement plans for a successful path out of pain. Pilates, along with her experience in complementary movement methods, has given her a graceful strength that transcends aggressive force. Merging effort with ease drives her practice. Tracy is committed to challenging your mind and body in the studio but she really loves to help you take your Pilates into your life. Don’t be surprised to be laughing while mastering a new exercise in her classes and sessions. Her lighthearted and playful style makes the deep work addictive so results are inevitable.