Who We Are

OWNER ~ Madeline Black
An internationally known leader in the Pilates field, Madeline Black founded the first Pilates studio in the San Francisco Bay Area and is a founder of ITT Pilates®. She has developed curricula for Pilates certification programs, has been a certified Gyrotonic® teacher since 1996, and completed Ashtanga Yoga teacher training courses with Tim Miller in 2006 and 2007. She is PMA, ACSM and ACE certified.

Madeline's passion is to continue learning and growing as a teacher and bodyworker. She has studied Pilates with Eve Gentry, Romana Kryzanowska, Naja Corey, Jean Claude West and Anna Schmitz. Madeline worked and mentored with Marika Molnar at Eastside Sports Medicine Center in New York, studied anatomy and neuromuscular re-education with Irene Dowd, and went on to study Gyrotonic with Julio Horvath and the wonderful teachers at the San Francisco Gyrotonic Center. Madeline explored bodywork such as, Orthopedic Massage with Tom Hendrickson, IMT with Sharon Wielselfish-Giametteo and the faculty of School for Integrated Manual Therapy and Lauren Berry work with Lynda Caesara. She is also exploring the field of energy work.

When you attend a teaching session with Madeline, you experience clarity of educational material, understanding of movement concepts and learn tools for accessing optimal results for your clients. One of Madeline's gifts is how she presents complex material in an easy to understand fashion. She explores ways to create balance in the body utilizing Pilates, yoga and Gyrotonic along with release techniques, breath, three planar movement concepts, a knowledge base of anatomy, biomechanics, quantum physics concepts and energy work. Madeline brings maturity through experience, continued self-growth, study and intuition. Her perspective on Pilates' history, evolution and industry changes comes from her longevity in the fields of fitness, healing arts and Pilates itself. Madeline is known in the industry and among her clients for her integrity, openness and love of the work.

A resident of Sonoma, California, Madeline’s home studio is Studio M.

STAFF ~ Odile Zelenak comes to Pilates from a deep love of movement and desire to share this love with others. Her lifelong pursuit of athletics and assisting her father's physical therapy practice inspired her passion for movement's ability to facilitate healing and a sense of wellbeing in herself and others.

Odile has studied several movement modalities. Ten years ago she received her first Pilates Mat Certification through Physical Mind Institute. She received her Pilates apparatus certification on all equipment in September 2002, and also has studied Mastery level Pilates, completing her certification through ITT Pilates in March 2006, created and taught by Madeline Black, Debra Schubert, Jean Sullivan, and Jorge Chabowski.

She has certifications and teaching experience In Vinyasa Yoga and on all Gyrotonic® equipment. Odile has studied with top teachers in her field. She recently completed a year-long program studying Orthopedic Massage – the Hendrickson Method® with the creator and founder, Dr. Thomas Hendrickson. She became a certified Orthopedic Massage Therapist in May 2010.

Odile has a keen desire to continually deepen her knowledge and fine-tune her understanding of the human body. She enthusiastically shares the fruits of her new discoveries with her clients and group classes. Inspired by her clients' curiosity and paths of self-discovery, Odile continues to grow and expand her repertoire of teaching skills and movement practices with her clients. Her biggest inspirations in this path are her two children.

STAFF ~ Chelley BonDurant
Chelley has been a mover and innovator all of her life. Active to excess, she has been dancing, competitively swimming, biking and running (yes, triathlons) and teaching for the majority of her life. Early on in her body work career, the focus was massage. Chelley has been trained in a multitude of massage modalities. She received her certification from Alive and Well in 1993 (worked at Club One for 6 years), specializing in sports massage after studying with John Harris, and then with Benny Vaughn at Heartwood Institute. Her education in massage was capped by studying the Lauren Berry Method and receiving a certification from Tom Hendrickson Orthopedic Massage (a 200+ hour course of study).

Not one to be idle, Chelley decided in 1998 to enter the world of Pilates. A certification in Pilates came from Madeline Black and Jean Sullivan in 1999. She has studied with Mercy Sidbury, Jean Claude West (a specialist in kinesiology) and Movement Medicine, a Pilates-based rehabilitation program with Nora St. John. She is currently in the Gyrotonic certification program with Keli Fine. In addition, Chelley is in her 4th year studying energy work with Lynda Ceasara, and also has been in the Integrated Manual Therapy program created by Sharon Weiselfish-Giamatteo, PhD.

After her second year of teaching Pilates in Paris, France, she received an invitation from Madeline Black to return to the US and work at Studio M. Chelley accepted and is now a Master Trainer at Studio M. Presently, Chelley is also a teacher/trainer for the Integrated Teacher Training. She is currently studying in the Laban Movement Analysis certification program. Whether it is making change through massage, through movement, Pilates or Gyrotonic, Chelley enjoys helping people and making meaningful change in their lives.

STAFF ~ Sue Aslin is a certified ITT Pilates Master Trainer and has studied Pilates extensively with renowned master trainers Madeline Black, Debra Schubert, Jorge Chabowski, and Jean Sullivan. She also holds a GYROTONIC® Level 1 certification and continues to study Gyrotonic with master trainer Keli Fine. Other continuing education highlights include in-depth study with manual therapist and kinesiologist Jean Claude West, orthopedic massage therapist Tom Hendrickson, professor and clinical kinesologist Karen Clippenger, and Pilates elder Mary Bowen. A former dancer, Sue began studying Pilates and Gyrotonic to help heal injuries and bring balance to her body. For her clients, Sue creates thoughtful, individualized sessions designed to meet their specific needs and help them develop and maintain an overall functional and well-conditioned body. Sue holds a BA in journalism and lives in Sonoma with her husband and son.

STAFF ~ Lily Vickers
Movement has been an inspirational force in Lily’s life for 25 years. Enjoying any opportunity for expression through rhythm, grace, and poise, Lily studied ballet for 15 years as well as modern dance, jazz, tap, Middle Eastern and ballroom dance. Lily was first introduced to the power of Pilates while learning Martha Graham’s technique to modern dance. After recovering from a dislocated knee, Lily returned to discover increased core strength from the floor work. After re-injuring herself age 17, she turned to the healing benefits of Pilates to hasten recovery, loose excess weight, and return to dance.

After becoming Ananda Yoga Certified in Raja Yoga, Lily was in the first of two car accidents. After two years of struggling to heal with chiropractic and acupuncture treatments, again she turned to Pilates and went on to receive her Pilates Mat Certification. Lily enrolled in and received certification through the Integrative Teacher Training program, co-founded by Madeline Black, Joerg Chabowski, Debra Schubert and Jean Sullivan. Her struggle with injuries and accidents has infused Lily with a heightened sensitivity to working with students who are similarly injured and in pain. Lily is committed to helping others make positive changes in their bodies, by building awareness, and balancing the body, mind, and spirit through the healing movements of yoga and Pilates. Lily’s teaching offers students an opportunity to go deeply into their body’s and explore the cause of their movement habits and to restore them to a healthful place. With gentle guidance and clearly set goals, Lily is able to help students achieve their fitness and wellness objectives.

STAFF ~ Jeanette Newman is an ITT certified Pilates instructor who trained with Madeline Black, Jean Sullivan, Debra Schubert, Leah Putnam and Joerg Chabowski. She is a certified in the Gyrotonic Expansion System; trained by Keli Fine. In addition, she is a certified Pilates for Golf Coach, trained by Monica Clyde, author of The Golfer’s Guide to Pilates. She continues to study advanced education in pilates. Although she had been athletic all of her life, Jeanette decided to become a trainer several years ago after Pilates relieved her back pain. Doctors had told her that only fusion surgery would relieve the non-stop pain that was caused by disc damage in a car accident. Though the accident was nine years ago, she is happy and grateful to report that she is still 99 % pain-free due to Pilates!

While working as a trainer, she realized that Pilates was the perfect fitness regimen for golf. It’s unique combination of strength, flexibility, balance, and mental focus work together to maximize one’s golf swing. Her clients typically report increased yardage and greater consistency in their swing. Because of this background she works with a wide range of clients: from those who are looking for pain relief to those who are interested in getting into better physical shape to those who are driven by the desire to lower their golf score. In addition to working at Studio M, Jeanette teaches Pilates and runs the Pilates for Golf Program at the Fairmont Sonoma Mission Inn and works with Sonoma Golf Club members.

STAFF ~ Anne Nina Woltering has been a certified massage therapist for the last 13 years. Working in private practice as an intuitive healer her studies included several modalities of hands on healing: Swedish-Effleurage, Reflexology, Cranio-Sacral Therapy, Polarity and Aromatherapy. In the summer of 2001 she was introduced to the Amazon Herb Company and their whole foods line of wellness. These products and their purity have had a life changing effect on her and she loves to share them with her clients. In the fall of 2003 she began her study of the “Hendrickson Method” of orthopedic massage. This in-depth, training of anatomy and functional rehabilitation combined with her intuition, studies of whole wild foods and years in private practice offer profound healing affects that penetrate deep with in the body. Her greatest joy has come from helping and assisting other towards better health and wellness.

STAFF ~ Katrina Charmatz
For the past 20 years Katrina has been an award-winning director, producer and writer for broadcast & cable television, feature films and commercials. She has always had a personal interest in body conditioning and raising the consciousness by awakening the body, mind and soul thru movement & breath.

Katrina’s diverse and eclectic fitness training background includes; yoga, cycling, swimming, dance & equestrian arts. Since 1995, She has studied intensively with yoga teachers including; Anna Forrest, Judith Lasater- PT, Max Thomas and Amy Ippoliti in the schools of Anasura, Vinyasa Flow, Iyengar and Ashtanga. Katrina has been a student of eastern philosophy at New York’s School of Practical Philosophy and Spirit Rock Meditation Center where the Upanishad, Buddhism and the Yoga Sutras were of particular interest.

Katrina came to Pilates through the rehabilitation of a chronic condition and has maintained a pain-free lifestyle ever since. She is a certified Pilates instructor thru ITT-Integrated Teacher Training www.ittpilates.com, San Francisco with Jean Sullivan, Madeline Black, Joerg Chabowski and Debra Schubert. Ms. Charmatz continues to explore rehabilitation thru anatomical studies, kinesiology and mobility and stability applications with such practitioners as Jean-Claude West.

GYROTONIC® MASTER INSTRUCTOR ~ Keli Fine began her Gyrotonic training in New York City in the late 1980s with the first Gyrotonic studio. After returning home to San Francisco and pioneering one of the first satellite studios she continued her studies with Juliu Horvath on both coast. Currently based in Sonoma, California she travels and teaches worldwide conducting workshops and teacher training.

Yoga and dance were the main influences of early life. Keli spent twelve years participating in the first Yoga center in San Francisco, leaning toward the expressive and esoteric qualities of movement. She then focused on a career as a choreographer using Gyrotonic as an inspiration for her work.

During the past 15 years Keli has renewed her love for Yogic practices, studying with world-renowned teachers Raman and Patel and Kofi Busia, as well as continuing to study with Juliu. Keli is known for her ability to guide and inspire her students to move beyond limitation into freedom, passing on the love and knowledge she has received from her teachers.

You can see Keli Fine’s schedule by visiting her web site at www.kelifine.com