Brianne is a certified GYROTONIC® instructor as well as certified on the Jumping/Stretching Board. Brianne recently retired from the Washington Ballet after a 13 year career, dancing principal roles in both the classical and contemporary repertoire. During her career as a dancer, she discovered GYROTONIC® and found it to be a wonderful compliment to her dancing as well as to her daily life and well-being. Having a love for both dance and yoga, she finds that GYROTONIC® brings together many of the qualities that she appreciates in those disciplines- the grace, rhythm, freedom and expression of dance, along with the strength, flexibility, focus and awareness of breath of yoga. After years as a GYROTONIC® student, she decided it would be fulfilling to share her own love of the work through teaching and she received her foundation training at San Francisco GYROTONIC® with Nora Heiber. As a teacher she loves the diversity of clients she works with and she is grateful for the vast knowledge held by her fellow instructors at Elements. Brianne looks forward to deepening and expanding her own work both as a student and teacher of the GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM®.

Chrissy Hritz, a former dancer and lifelong mover, first discovered GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® techniques in 2005. Since then she has worked with a wide range of clients, having witnessed healing and transformation, pain reduction and prevention, and the freedom through movement that GYROTONIC® exercise can provide. Currently a GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® Pre-Trainer, she has also studied the Therapeutic Applications of GYROTONIC® and is certified on the Ladder, Jumping Stretching Board, and Leg Extension Unit.

Ellen Barlow, certified GYROTONIC® and specialized equipment instructor, is a movement education specialist with over 25 years experience teaching and designing programs in fitness, rehabilitation, dance, yoga and other mind-body practices. She is a Registered Movement Therapist with the International Somatic Movement Education and Therapy Association and a certified practitioner and teacher of Body-Mind Centering®. While Ellen approaches movement training from multiple perspectives, she engages her GYROTONIC® exercise clients in anatomical awareness and perceptual-motor learning so they may embody their experiences of improved alignment, strength, flexibility, coordination and balance.

Francesca Jandasek is a certified GYROTONIC® instructor and has had the fortune to share her love of movement by teaching many forms of movement including modern dance, ballet, tango, creative movement, yoga, stretch and GYROTONIC® exercise to people of all ages, backgrounds, needs and abilities.

She was introduced to the GYROTONIC® system five years ago and has loved discovering the how the movement principles and concepts of GYROTONIC® exercise prove themselves beneficial in many areas of daily life. She has studied with Justine Bernard and Michelle Silva at Elements and Sebastian Plattenberg of GYROTONIC® Manhattan. She is committed to continuing education and has studied GYROTONIC® applications for Osteopathy and GYROTONIC® therapeutic applications for Osteoporosis. She is currently working towards her GYROKINESIS® certification.

Heather Doyle is a certified GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® instructor. She has traveled the country to expand her knowledge of this system, studying with many master trainers including Justine Bernard and Tracy Monaco at Elements Fitness and Wellness Center, Sebastian Plattenberg and Erika Hassan at GYROTONIC® Manhattan, Debra Rose at San Francisco GYROTONIC®, and with Mia Munroe in Seattle. She holds advanced certification on the specialized equipment including Jumping Stretching Board, Leg Extension Unit, GYROTONER®, and Applications for Osteopathy. Heather recently became a GYROTONIC® pre-trainer, and has completed advanced trainings including level 2 prep in GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS®, as well as a breathing course with Juliu Horvath. A lifelong student of movement, Heather has studied a variety of somatic/dance techniques, including programs at the American Dance Festival, Jacob's PIllow Dance Festival, Movement Research and the North Carolina School of the Arts. She holds a B.A. in Dance from UNC-Greensboro. When not teaching folks of all ages and abilities, Heather continues her dance career as a performer and choreographer.

Dr. Justine Bernard began studying GYROKINESIS®, then known as Yoga for Dancers, in 1994 with Hillary Cartwright while on scholarship at The Ailey School for Dance in New York, NY. She also studied with Juliu Horvath at White Cloud and became certified to teach GYROTONIC® exercise in 1997 and GYROKINESIS® in 1999. She taught at Studio Riverside under the guidance of authorized master trainer Leda Franklin for many years.
In 2003 she received her Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Columbia University, College of Physicians and Surgeons specializing in Neurological and Orthopedic Rehabilitation. After working at St Luke's Roosevelt Hospital and Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center as a physical therapist, she returned back home to Washington, DC to teach GYROTONIC® exercise and open a private physical therapy practice. Dr. Bernard is currently a GYROTONIC® Master Trainer in Washington D.C. and owns Elements Fitness and Wellness Center, a complete GYROTONIC® studio which also offers physical therapy, acupuncture and massage therapy.

While working on an organic farm in the Hudson Valley, NY, Kari was diagnosed with Lyme disease.  The exhaustion from her Lyme disease forced Kari to end her six year organic farming career and to return to college.  Kari graduated from Bard College with a BA in Art in 2003.  While at Bard, she also studied modern dance and found Pilates.  The feeling that her Pilates study had boosted her healing from Lyme disease, imparting both a new and deepened core as well as greater overall fitness, inspired Kari to become a Pilates instructor.  Kari was originally certified in Mat Pilates in 2003, and certified to teach on all the Pilates apparatus in 2004 through the original Power Pilates studio in New York, NY.

Observing the effects of the Gyrotonic Expansion System on her Aunt living with Parkison’s Disease prompted Kari to begin her own study of the Gyrotonic method.  In 2007, Kari completed her Gyrotonic Foundation Certification with Magali Messac at Gyrotonic Seattle. In addition, Kari completed her Gyrokinesis Foundation Course with Mia Munroe in 2010 and is a current Gyrokinesis apprentice. From September, 2004 until moving to the Washington D.C. area in 2012, Kari owned the first Pilates and Gyrotonic Studio, called Mountain Lake Holistic Movement Studio, on Orcas Island in Washington State.  

Michelle began studying GYROTONIC® exercise in 2003 and found that the system reminded her of the joy she felt studying ballet as a child. She is certified in the Gyrotoner®, Leg Extension Unit, GYROTONIC® Applications for Golf, and GYROTONIC® Level 2 exercises. Michelle continues to independently study with a variety of Master Trainers throughout the U.S. as well as attending yearly courses with Juliu Horvath. Michelle is also a New York Certified Pilates Instructor. She found what is considered the "Authentic Pilates Method" in 1999, and in 2001 entered the certification program under the tutelage of Romana Kryzanowska, the world-renowned protégé of Joseph Pilates, and Romana's daughter Sari Mejia Santo through their original International New York based Pilates Certification Program. Her certification process required a minimum of 800 hours of apprenticeship and a pre-requisite of 75 hours of personal sessions with "Authentic Pilates" instructors. Michelle continues her education and certification through "Romana's Pilates".

 

Rosalie Begun has been practicing physical therapy in Washington, DC for over 20 years. She is owner of Begun Physical Therapy Center, LLC and treats patients with a variety of orthopedic and sports-medicine conditions. In addition, she has extensive experience treating dancers and performing artists....including the casts of touring Broadway shows. Rosalie is also a certified GYROTONIC® instructor and a pilates mat instructor. She incorporates these modalities in her treatment sessions and also offers private and group training sessions and workshops. Rosalie also has studied various methods of manual therapy and keeps her skills up to date through regular participation in continuing education courses. Prominent area physicians regularly send her patients with problems of unusual complexity. Rosalie believes in treating patients holistically and takes the time to provide the best care possible.

Tracy's career in body movement and fitness began while earning a B.F.A. in dance from Western Michigan University. After a professional dance career she continued her training and received certifications in Pilates mat work and equipment. However, Tracy's true passion lies within the GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM®. She is a GYROTONIC® Master Trainer and is certified in GYROKINESIS®, and specialized equipment. Tracy's continuing education led her to study GYROTONIC® Level 2, therapeutic shoulder applications and GYROTONIC® for Golf. She continues to gain knowledge for her students throughout the country and worldwide. www.tracymonaco.com