INSTRUCTORS
At La Playa we pride ourselves on providing our customers with the very best care and instruction. That starts with our staff who are all highly trained and experienced professionals.
KRISTIN TURNER
Owner La Playa Pilates and Wellness, Certified Pilates Senior Instructor
Kristin first started Pilates at the studio in New York City under the tutelage of Joseph Pilates' original trainers: Romano Kryzanowska, Carolla Trier, and Bob Seed. She became certified by Synergy Systems, and added a second full certification from B.A.S.I. (Body Arts and Sciences). Kristin then furthered her study at the Sports Institute for Athletic Trauma. Having attended additional workshops and seminars too numerous to list here, Kristin is an insatiable learner who feels that her additional studies benefits her clients and their needs. A dance enthusiast, competitive bike racer, and bi-athlete, Kristin's interest lies in helping her clients develop balanced co-ordination and movement patterning for measurably improved strength and flexibility. Kristin's clients say that working with her has led them to live fuller, healthier, and more satisfying lives. An avid traveler, with three children, she has continued to pursue the study of Pilates and anatomy from teachers and professionals around the world.
MEREDITH ROGERS
Certified Pilates Senior Instructor
BASI Pilates Principal Instructor
Since early childhood Meredith has been passionate about all things
athletic. Born in the mountains of Lake Tahoe, Nevada, she was a competitive downhill skier and soccer player. Inspired to become a Pilates Teacher while rehabilitating a knee injury and experiencing first hand the many benefits of Pilates; a discipline that promotes balance and alignment as well as strength, Meredith continues to incorporate the principles of concentration, control and precision into her Pilates practice as well as her daily life. This makes Pilates, for her, not only a fitness regimen but also a path to mental, physical and spiritual well-being. Meredith has had the opportunity to work with all types of people; children and teenage athletes, clients with neuromuscular conditions, the elderly, and many simply wishing to enhance their sports related endeavors. She is continually excited about and inspired by the broad spectrum of the population that Pilates relates to and how it can be tailored to address individual needs. Certified through Body Arts and Science International program in 2000, she is now a proud BASI Pilates Senior Faculty Member. Since joining the BASI faculty, Meredith has traveled extensively teaching on four different continents! Meredith currently lives in Santa Barbara, CA where she has been teaching at La Playa Pilates since its origin in 2002
LORENA CHEVEREZ
Founder, La Playa Pilates and Wellness Center
Certified Pilates Senior Instructor and Licensed Massage Therapist
In 1999, after having studied with and worked for many of the "big names" in the Pilates world, specifically Marie Windsor, Siri Dharma Galliano, and Nela Fry, Lorena founded La Playa Pilates and Wellness Center in Santa Barbara. Her expertise as a Pilates teacher and Licensed Massage Therapist gave La Playa a unique formula focusing on the health of a uniformly developed body, in strength and flexibility, as well as a concentrated yet relaxed mind. Currently a wife and mother of two young boys, Lorena is widely known for her charismatic, creative, and energetic pioneer of Pilates in our area. She continues to work closely with La Playa Pilates, as well as charitable work with Teddy Bear Cancer Foundation.
ALEJANDRO AMEIJEIRAS
Certified Classical Pilates Senior Instructor
Alejandro is from Havana, Cuba. As a child he trained rigorously as a competitive swimmer. He studied at the Cuban School of Ballet and the Bolshoi Ballet Academy in Moscow. Alejandro performed and taught various forms of dance and body movement, including: classical ballet, modern dance, afro-cuban rhythms, cabaret, water ballet, ballroom dancing and social dance. He is a classically trained certified Romana’s Pilates instructor and had the privilege of studying in New York with Joseph Pilates’ protégé Romana Kryzanowska and her daughter Sari Mejia Santo. It is Alejandro’s philosophy and belief that energy flows where attention and action go. His meticulous and joyous approach to the work is inspiring and unique.
SARA DAY
Certified Pilates Senior Instructor, RN, BSN, S Factor Certified
Originally from Montana, Sara has been a Certified Pilates teacher since 2006, first with The Physical Mind Institute and a follow up certification with Balanced Body under the tutelage of Maria Leone. She has combined her Pilates experience and her license as a Registered Nurse in order to address her clients needs physiologically as well as anatomically. With her focus, attention, and knowledge she helps her clients achieve total health, body balance and wellness in order to strengthen their abilities in all aspects of life. Sara tailors her sessions to the individual, whether rehabilitation, increased flexibility, strength or simply body awareness. With additional workshops and Certifications, Pilates For Men, S Factor, Aerialates and many more, along with her love for the outdoors, biking, hiking, skiing, and dancing, Sara offers a highly skilled and professional expertise.
JACQUELYN DE LONGE
Certified Pilates Senior Instructor
For Jacquelyn, a Southern California native, being fit and active has been a natural way of life. She discovered Pilates after the birth of her second child and was amazed how fast it helped strengthen and return her body to pre-baby form. She loved the mental focus Pilates requires and the physical challenge of the precise movements. Her passion for Pilates reshaped her body and her future; She left her office job behind and changed careers, training under Marie-José Blom, becoming certified as a Pilates and Fitness instructor. When she relocated to Santa Barbara, Jacquelyn advanced her training in the BASI method under Senior Faculty and International trainer, Meredith Rogers. Interested in incorporating athleticism and Pilates, she continues to learn and develop her practice under the watchful mentorship of La Playa’s own Kristin Turner. When she is not in the studio, you can find Jacquelyn charging waves at one of the local surf breaks, chasing around her two kids at the park, or slowing down in a yoga class.
NAHRIN POWELL
Studio Manager
Certified Pilates Instructor
Nahrin grew up in Modesto, CA, where she and her 4 siblings spent their summers working in their father's OB/GYN practice or on the family almond orchard. Her upbringing instilled in her to not shy away from the challenge of working hard and problem solving. Nahrin first discovered Pilates in 2000 while living in Dublin and teaching special education. Pilates allowed her an escape from outside stressors and gave her the ability to gain calm, focus, awareness, and strength within her own body. After a career in Title and Escrow, Nahrin, and her husband, a rheumatologist at Sansum Medical Clinic, returned to Santa Barbara. She completed her BASI certification course and focuses on teaching her clients ways to improve strength and flexibility, not just in the studio, but how to apply those teachings in everyday life for support, balance, and increased mobility. Nahrin has a B.A. from UCSB in English and history. When not teaching Pilates, she loves to run, travel and create adventures for her husband and their two children...and do Pilates!
