Wainani Arnold
Owner; Master Instructor Pilates; Yoga, FUNctional, GYROTONIC® & GYROKINESIS® method Instructor
Wainani was born, raised and resides in Hawai`i and is a graduate from the Kamehameha Schools. She attended Chapman University and holds a BFA in Dance Teaching & Performance along with a minor degree in Sociology. From a young age, she lived and breathed Hula, which planted the seed for her growth in all forms of dance and mind-body movement modalities. Wainani has had the opportunity to perform professionally all over the world. She is passionate about her work as a movement educator, choreographer and performer and is a co-founding member of Volary Aerial Company. She believes in getting to the root of an issue to support long-term health and well-being.
Wainani is a Faculty member for Balanced Body with her original training through BASI Pilates. Her certifications include - Yoga, RYT 200, Ayurveda Yoga Specialist, GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® method instructor and pre-trainer:
GYROTONIC® method Level 1 Instructor
GYROTONIC® method Level 1 Pre-Trainer
GYROKINESIS® method Level 1 Instructor
GYROKINESIS® method Level 1 Pre-Trainer
GYROTONIC® method Level 2 Instructor
GYROTONIC® Archway, Jumping-Stretching Board, Gyrotoner® & Leg Extension Unit Instructor
Explorations into the Extremes, Applications for Pelvic Girdle, Applications for Shoulder Girdle, Applications for Scoliosis Instructor
Patricia Aurely
Pilates and GYROTONIC® method Instructor
Patricia Aurely was born and raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil where she grew up dancing ballet, horseback riding, playing tennis and participating in sports with her family. Patricia moved to Hawaii twenty years ago when she fell in love with the islands.
Patricia is certified as a Pilates instructor by Balanced Body and is a GYROTONIC® method Level 1 instructor. She is committed to and passionate about her work as an instructor. The amazing feeling and benefits that come with these healing modalities is what inspires her to share that feeling with her students. Patricia believes that mind and body are balanced through movement and happiness. When not teaching, she is inspired to be outdoors kayaking, hiking and biking.
Patricia teaches Pilates Essentials group classes, Reformer & Pilates Tower Equipment classes and private sessions at Wainani Wellness Center. She also teaches GYROTONIC® private and group classes.
She holds certifications with Polestar Pilates: Principals of Movement, Assessment Skills, Pilates for Osteoporosis and What are the Abdominals for. And is also certified by The Neuto Studio to Parkinson’s Disease.
Sheila Zapanta
Pilates Instructor
Sheila Zapanta’s fitness exposure comes from having a mother, who is a prominent Fitness Professional for 40 years in her hometown. Sheila is a Fully Certified instructor under the STOTT PILATES method, for all Pilates equipment (Mat, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair and Barrels), and has a special certification for clients with Injuries and Special Populations. She has over 10 years of experience and has worked with a variety of clients. Having experienced her own struggles with injuries, scoliosis and sciatic pain, inspired her to seek solutions. This led her to develop teaching techniques infused with her love for Pilates that would help relieve and prevent her personal physical pain.
Sheila teaches Pilates Essentials (Mat), Reformer Equipment, Roller classes and private Pilates sessions at Wainani Wellness Center.
Norma Santiago
Pilates Mat Instructor & Pilates Reformer Instructor
Norma Santiago was born and raised on Oahu. She attended Santa Rosa Junior College, and earned an A.S. in Administration of Justice, and University of Hawaii, Manoa where she earned a B.S. in Family Resources and Early Child Education C.D.A. Norma is Certified by Balanced Body in Pilates Mat, and Reformer. Norma has an active history in athletics (swimming, canoe paddling, track, volleyball); She has competed in numerous Na Wahine O Ke Kai Molokai Crossings. She has served as a Head Coach and volunteer for the ILH Kayaking Program. Norma is an Elementary Educator serving children and families at several school communities.
Norma teaches Pilates Essential (Mat), Virtual Pilates (Mat), Reformer and private sessions at Wainani Wellness Center.
Kachina Asher
Pilates, Yoga, Dance
As a movement specialist, Kachina is certified and trained in: Pilates, yoga, barre, ballroom dance, meditation, and women's circle facilitator. Teaching since 2001, she works from an inside-out and integrative approach. She is also a Holistic Health & Empowerment Coach.
Kachina's mission is to help clients develop comprehensive empowerment within functional fitness, mental wellness and quality of life. After years of experience, her niche became health and wellness for the female body. She founded Feminine Factor Academy and now educates and empowers women within the physical, mental, energetic, and spiritual bodies, while healing and embodying their unique feminine essence.
Kachina teaches group classes and private sessions at WWC.
April Underwood
Instructor
“My intention is to help people of all ages explore movement variety for getting physically strong, energetically vibrant, and emotionally resilient in a new way!”
Although April has traversed to and from the mainland, around the globe, and back again, Hawaii always feels like home! April is a ‘deep sea diver of human movement’ and has been a movement educator and massage therapist since 1986 with an AS in Advanced Massage Therapy. April has specialty training and certifications in various healing movement modalities, including Pilates, Yoga Therapy, Face Yoga, and Yoga Tune Up®.
As a sought after workshop and course presenter, April has taught over a dozen 200 hour yoga instructor training courses, Anatomy & Physiology training, and trained massage therapists, and spa staff around the world. Her most popular workshops and training courses revolve around hip and pelvic floor rejuvenation and using breath work to attune one's personal resilience to stress and the emotional upheavals of daily life.
April is married, a mother of two, and currently resides on Oahu. Her one-on-one work with clients incorporate a refined combination of therapeutic movement, body therapy, and breathing strategies specifically formulated to the needs of each individual.
Carey Deer
Instructor
Carey Deer was born and raised in Hawai`i and is a graduate of Punahou School. She attended The University of San Diego and finished at UH with a BA in Advertising Promotions through the school’s Liberal Studies Program. After enjoying a career in advertising, public relations and development, and raising three children, Carey began to passionately pursue education in mind-body movement. Carey is a certified GYROTONIC® method Level 1 instructor (including the Jump-Stretch Board and Archway), a Balanced Body Integrated Movement Specialist, and a certified Bar Method Instructor.
Carey's goal is to meet you where you are at and progress you forward with the intention of helping you find increased mind-body connection, which will translate into increased functional strength. She recognizes that mind-body work is an excellent means of connecting with areas of your body that are unfamiliar, and once that connection is made and reinforced, functional strength is achieved.
Ashley Ikei
Pilates Mat & Pilates Reformer Instructor
Ashley was born and raised on Oahu and fell in love with the fitness industry at a very young age. While attending high school at Mid Pacific Institute, she noticed the positive benefits of exercise, dancing hula and practicing Pilates. As a young adult she enjoyed ballet, indoor rock climbing, boxing and weight lifting. Ashley holds a degree in Chemistry from the University of Hawaii at Manoa and also studied Epidemiology at Columbia University. She's had the opportunity to live in San Diego, New York City, England and France. Ashley is an apprentice of Balanced Body University and has managed to bring together her skill set to help people improve their lifestyles through Mat and Reformer training. In her free time she enjoys spending time with her husband, step son and three dogs.
Ashley teaches Reformer Equipment classes at Wainani Wellness Center.
Audrey Garibaldi
Pilates and GYROTONIC® method Instructor
Audrey Hayashi was born and raised in Hawai`i and is a graduate of Punahou School. Her certifications include - Pilates and GYROTONIC® method Level 1 instructor (including the Archway and Gyrotoner®).
Audrey teaches Reformer and GYROTONIC® method Equipment classes as well as private sessions at Wainani Wellness Center.
Christina Black
Pilates Instructor
Born here in Hawaii, Christina Black has always embraced an active and artistic lifestyle. After graduating from Colorado State University with a degree in Mechanical Engineering she decided to move to New York City to pursue dance professionally. Various injuries led her to discover her love of Pilates and in 2013 she earned her Comprehensive Certification from Balanced Body in New York. In Los Angeles, she expanded her training to include the Redcord Suspension System and applies this knowledge to her TRX workouts. She loves motivating and challenging her clients to reach higher levels of physical and mental well-being. She’s worked with a wide range of clients - athletic individuals seeking a balanced workout, prenatal and postnatal women, clients with various injuries and medical issues including hip replacement, spinal cord, Multiple Sclerosis, early-onset Alzheimer's, Scoliosis, and patients recovering from a Stroke. She is thrilled to bring her Pilates knowledge back to the islands and hopes to inspire her clients through movement, alignment, and breath.
Melissa Casale
Pilates Instructor
Melissa moved all around the northeastern part of the US as a kid, with family roots in eastern Pennsylvania. She came to Oahu in 2005 and instantly knew Hawaii would be her home. Melissa studied Behavioral Neuroscience (the interplay between brain, behavior, and environment) and loves learning the cognitive basis for how our physical movement and emotional well-being impacts our daily interactions. She is a fitness enthusiast and has always been drawn to group classes for the comradery and sense of community that group classes can inspire.
Through teaching Pilates, Melissa has found that she can combine her formal studies and her passion for wellness to share the incredible benefits of Pilates, most importantly improved strength and balance, enhanced body awareness, ability to re-pattern body movements and alignment, improved posture and flexibility, and an elevated mood. She understands that using breathwork to connect the body and mind while performing Pilates exercises also develops new neural pathways in the brain for enhanced longevity. Melissa believes that daily movement is essential for a full and long life, and Pilates is an essential part of her daily movement.
Melissa is certified with Balanced Body. She teaches Reformer group classes and private sessions at Wainani Wellness Center.
Samantha Reed Omick B.P.H.E.
Comprehensive Pilates Instructor
Samantha is a Physical and Health Education graduate of the University of Toronto, with graduate studies in biomechanics. She discovered Pilates after playing basketball throughout high school, for U of T, and the Canadian junior national team. She didn't realize how much she needed it.
Pilates training not only changed her physique, it made her connect with her core, get out of overuse patterns, relieved back pain, and made future sport endeavors so much easier. She wishes she had Pilates at the start of her athletic career. She became certified in the Pilates Method through Stott Pilates and the Body Matrix teacher training program which is recognized by Allan Herdman Studio of London, UK. To view her certifications click here. Samantha has taught the art of Pilates to many clients in sports medicine clinics, PT clinics and Pilates studios. To read some client reviews click here. She moved to Hawai’i in 2017 and worked at Harmony Pilates which was awarded Pilates Studio of the Year for 2021 and 2022. She is also a Merrithew Fitness Equipment rep of Hawaii for At-Home Reformers.
Leah Karp
Pelvic Floor WS
Unlock the Strength Within: A Pelvic Floor Workshop
Join Dr. Leah Karp, DPT, founder of Physio Wellness, for an enlightening one hour and 30-minute workshop delving into the transformative power of the pelvic floor. Discover how this often-overlooked area impacts every aspect of our daily lives, and gain valuable insights, exercises, and movement strategies to nurture and strengthen your core and pelvic floor.
With eight years of clinical expertise focused on pelvic floor health, Dr. Leah brings a wealth of knowledge and a profound passion for women’s wellness throughout the pregnancy journey. She addresses common concerns with empathy and practical solutions, from postpartum care essentials to addressing issues like leakage, constipation, discomfort during intercourse, and pelvic organ prolapse.
Learn more about Dr. Leah’s holistic approach, which encompasses ergonomic and postural techniques tailored to empower you to continue enjoying the activities you love. Together, let's embark on a journey towards healing, because as women thrive, so does the world.
Location: Wainani Wellness Center
Date: May 11, 2024
Time: 1-2:30pm
Cost: $40
Link to register HERE