Pilates Barre
Meet our instructors!
Kelly McGiffney
Pilates Apprentice Instructor
Kelly is no stranger when it comes to fitness. She spent her life pursuing strength-based athletics, leading her to Division 1 track and field. However, the javelin throwing, and heavy weight training took its toll on her body and over the last year, she has used Pilates as a way to bring it back. “I love how it’s given me a newfound freedom to move my body without all the heavy impact.” “I believe every person deserves to feel their best in whatever stage of life they may be at,” says Kelly. And we couldn’t agree with her more.
Kelly has BA in fine art from Cal State Northridge and loves to create. She brings years of experience as a certified personal trainer, and we couldn’t be more excited to have her! We know you are going to love the fire she brings to her classes. Get ready, cause this gal brings the heat!
Emily Guerard
Pilates Apprentice Instructor
Emily was first introduced to pilates at UC Irvine while pursuing her BFA in Dance Performance and Choreography. She fell in love with the practice and continued to cross train incorporating the techniques throughout her dance career. As a dancer, Emily sustained numerous injuries, however pilates allowed her to regain, and maintain, strength and mobility, which is difficult to find with other forms of exercise. So much so, that she has decided to share those healing properties with those in her community as an instructor.
Emily brings with her over 20 years’ experience in dance and pilates. We know you are going to love her just as much as we do!
Emily West
Certified Barre Intensity Instructor
Meet Emily! Dancing since she was 2 years old, and actively competing since she was 7, Emily has always loved movement. Her talent and discipline in dance has allowed her the ability to travel all over the west coast competing in solos, duets, and team numbers where she has won numerous awards and recognitions for her talent and techniques! It’s not hard to see that when Emily commits to something, she is all in!!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Emily started injecting pilates and barre into her training routine as a way to build and strengthen her dance practice, and she was immediately hooked! So much so, that she decided to become a certified Barre instructor and we are so glad that she did!⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Emily plans to attend Arizona State University next Fall majoring in speech pathology and hopes to join the ASU dance team. With her skill and dedication level, we know that this girl is going to be unstoppable! We hope you’re ready, because Emily is about to raise the bar(re)!
Miguel Rios
200hr Certified Yoga Instructor
Taking care, finding acceptance, creating change, and facilitating healing are crucial components of physical and emotional well-being that Miguel implements in his fitness and lifestyle.
Miguel has an extensive background in both fitness and the healing arts and has lived a very active life from an early age. With experience in Zumba, Dance, Running, Boot Camp, CrossFit, Cycle-Spin, TRX, and Yoga, finding Yoga, TRX, and Spin after injuries. Benefiting from these, he decided to start his journey in yoga as an instructor in 2017 and not only holds a 200 hour certification but is also trained in informed-care Yoga for Trauma. Miguel loves to get his classes moving with loud music and deep connecting breaths. We love how he firmly believes in BODY positivity and appreciates that fitness looks and is experienced differently by everyBODY. For Miguel, fitness is for every human-BEING, as he believes that fitness is an act of BEING not doing. And we could not agree more.
A therapist by day, you can find Miguel breaking a sweat early mornings or late nights courtesy of yoga or spin which he also teaches at a local studio! When not helping others improve their lives, you can find Miguel eating tacos, drinking coffee, traveling, or having chips and guac with friends. To say we are excited to welcome Miguel to our studio is an understatement and we cannot wait for you to experience his amazing energy for yourself!
Allison Gonzalez
Certified Pilates, Barre, & TRX Instructor
Born and raised in Bakersfield, Allison started her fitness journey at a young age participating in many sports. She swam and played water polo at Garces Memorial High School and continued swimming for Westmont College’s inaugural swim team. During her time at Westmont, Allison developed a passion for biomechanics and helping people understand their bodies. When she discovered Pilates she was intrigued by the mind-body connection and the need for improved control. She graduated with a degree in kinesiology in May of 2020. From that point, she decided to follow her passion and apply her knowledge by becoming a certified Pilates instructor.
She thrives not only as a Pilates instructor but also as a barre and TRX instructor and looks forward to sharing her knowledge of movement, pushing clients to understand their body on a higher level while building their overall confidence. Outside of Pilates and fitness, you can find Allison dancing, traveling, and visiting the beach with family & friends. We are so excited to have Allison serve as our Lead Studio Instructor! Get ready to take your practice further than you think you can! Afterall, the body is capable of doing incredible things-you just have to let it.
Kimmy Bagby
Pound Instructor & Pilates Apprentice
Get ready to channel your inner rockstar? Meet Kimmy!
This mom of 4 was not a fan of fitness, that is until she discovered Pound, a new full body cardio-jam inspired work out! She found this new workout combo exhilarating and went on to become certified not only in PoundFit, but Generation Pound (workout for the littles), and Pound Unplugged, and we are super pumped to add into our cardio rotation and lunchtime Express sessions!
Kimmy brings a fun, infectious, and positive vibe to all her classes and has an amazing ability to hype others up, encouraging them to live boldly, take the chances and allow themselves to fall in love with life, being true to who they are.
When not pounding it out, you can find this baseball & football loving gal spending time with her husband, cheering her kids on in their endeavors, volunteering at her church, and training to be your next Pilates instructor!!
We can’t wait for you to meet Kimmy and let loose, get energized, and feel the rhythm for yourself!
Justine Morgan
200hr Certified Yoga Instructor
In May of 2017, this beauty received her Bachelor of Science in Kinesiology from Cal State Northridge. During her two years of upper division courses, she explored many different forms of movement with one being yoga. She took her first class and has not looked back. In an attempt to expand her knowledge, she became certified to teach in December of 2021 and her passion for sharing the practice of yoga has taken over ever since.
“I believe yoga has the ability to mean something different to everyone who practices it, but for me it will always be more than exercise,” says Justine. “With yoga, I have learned flexibility and strength, but I have also learned how to be present, love my body, be open to new things, slow down, and be vulnerable”.
When she’s not on the mat, you can find her in the classroom where she works as an education specialist, cooking, making music with her sound bowl, or traveling. In fact, she spent the summer in Bali, immersing herself in the life, land, and culture, while deepening her yoga expertise.
The passion she has for her practice is evident in the way she moves and speaks and she quite literally radiants love and good vibes.
“I am excited, humbled and honored to spread my love for yoga and I am grateful for all my teachers and students”, says Justine. But honestly, I think the honor is all ours.