Jessie has been employed at Galter LifeCenter since 2015.
Education/ Certifications:
- PMA® Certified Pilates Instructor
- Registered Yoga Teacher E-RYT 200
- Registered Prenatal Yoga Teacher RPYT 85
- Yoga Alliance Continuing Education Provider YACEP
- Comprehensive Pilates teacher training from Pilates Chicago
- 200 Hour Yoga teacher training
- 85 hour Prenatal Yoga teacher training from Bloom Yoga Studio
- Specialty training with Carolyne Anthony and the Center for Women's Fitness with distinctions as a Pre/Postnatal Specialist and Pelvic Floor Health
- The Center Method® for Diastasis Recti Recovery
In 1997 as a college freshman at the University of Iowa, Jessie took her first Pilates mat class and later wrote in her journal, “This is exactly what I want to do later in life.” These seeds took root while also becoming more curious about kinesiology, Laban, Bartinieff, Feldenkrais, in addition to ballet and modern dance techniques. She has loved observing the human body in motion from an analytic, postural, and aesthetic perspective and has been so fortunate to share this passion with students of all ages across Chicagoland since relocating here in 2002. She continues to seek out teachers and opportunities to further her knowledge of anatomy, biomechanics, and healthy functional movement for people of all ages and stages of life and her primary influences are Jennifer Zumann, Madeline Black, Francine Kelly, Cara Reeser, and Carolyne Anthony.
While rehabilitating several common and not-so-common dancers' injuries, Jessie discovered the benefits of integrating Pilates and Yoga into an overall strength and conditioning program. After retiring from the professional dance world, she has continued to grow and learn from her own experiences recovering from injuries and births, as well as learning from her students in class, teacher trainees, and her children! Following the birth of her first child, she attended Mom & Baby Yoga classes and sought out yoga teacher training to continue serving this population of women in the childbearing year. She is deeply grateful for the tools and strength her Pilates and yoga practice has provided her as a mom, a partner, and human in the world.
Whether working with groups or individuals, Jessie is a passionate, engaged teacher, applying a holistic and functional approach, while using creative imagery reflecting a love for anatomy and physiology. She believes movement, music, and breath benefit every body, every age, in every stage.