Author Archive

Stephanie Forster

Stephanie Forster

Stephanie Forster is the founder of Preggo Pilates and the Director of Pre and Postnatal Education at EHS Pilates in San Francisco. She brings over 20 years experience as a Pilates practitioner, dancer, body worker, anatomy and yoga student and choreographer to her teaching, which is infused with irreverence and humor.

Her first hand knowledge of pregnancy, birth and Mamahood and deep connection to the local birthing community make her a natural at serving pre and postnatal women.

Stephanie is a qualified teacher of the Tupler Technique, and has studied a variety of modalities for healing diastasis recti (split abdominals) and a founding member of the Mamas Resource Network, an eclectic Bay Area network of professionals who serve, support and educate pregnant and postpartum women and their families.

She has an M.F.A. in Dance Performance and Choreography from Mills College and has been a dance faculty member of the Rhythm and Motion Dance Program since 2000. When she is not busy in a Pilates or dance studio you can find her chasing after her two young children.


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Moana Luna

Moana Luna

“Change happens through movement, and movement heals.” — Joseph Pilates

Moana began exercising to battle stress while attending graduate school at SFSU. After graduating with a degree in counseling, she worked in the mental health field and continued to practice yoga, boxing, weight training, and Pilates. She completed the Pilates Teacher Training Program with Ellie Herman in 2007.

Relevant training and continuing education includes Buff Bones® Instructor Training; ACE personal training certification;Foot and Gait Therapy Mentorship Program with Nancy Myers; CoreAlign Teacher Training; Balanced Body University (BBU); Pilates Rehabilitation Intensive with Lizz Roman; Preggo Pilates Workshops with Stephanie Forster; Pelvic Power seminar with Eric Franklin; Exercise as a Cure for Anxiety & Depression Seminar (Orinda College); and ACE Personal Training Certification.

She enjoys working with a diverse group of clients and providing a fun total body workout that incorporates Pilates principles such as coordination, concentration, and alignment. She is especially interested in the positive impact of exercise on her clients’ mental and emotional well-being.


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EHS holds Community Christmas Bazaar and Chili Cookoff

Mindy Ross Photography exhibit: Dec 5, 2009 through Jan 31, 2009

Fire Relief

On March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day at 5:45pm, a fire broke out on Valencia Street in San Francisco, two doors down from EHS Pilates. The four alarm fire displaced 60 of our neighbors.

In response, EHS Pilates, spearheaded by trainer Christopher Nelson, launched a week-long fundraiser and drive. We held pilates classes all week and donated 100% of proceeds to the American Red Cross. The effort culminated in a “Pilates in the Park” BBQ and raffle on Sunday, March 30th at 1:30.

We were so touched by the generosity of our trainers, clients, neighbors and community as a whole. We had over 75 incredible donations from local retailers for our raffle, food was donated by local markets, labor volunteers came from the neighboring Teen Challenge, Dolores Park Church and local celeb M.C. Jon Fast.

 

Our event was wonderful, I have attached some photos as well as other articles that were written about the fire.  We raised funds of over $5,500 that went directly to our displaced neighbors.

EHS Mission Collective

The owners of EHS Pilates would like to invite you to our next “Mission Collective” party!
EHS Mission Collective is a bi-anual party that showcases local artists, musicans and performance artists. We feature 2 local artists  and have live performers and DJ’s at each event. The parties are super fun and have been known to go on all night.

Pride Parade Float

EHS is in the San Francisco Pride Parade!

That’s right folks . . . a parade, TEAM EHS was very excited to be a part of this landmark event that celebrates community and diversity.

We strutted our stuff in this landmark event that celebrates diversity within the community. Our fabulous physio ball routine was choreographed by Jessica Fudim and Christopher Nelson and performed by the EHS All-Stars. Our fun sparkley float cruised down Market Street in celebration of community and diversity. “Come Play on Our Balls!”

Monique Convertito

Monique Convertito

Monique teaches Pilates with special attention to Foot & Gait, focusing on the importance of correct form and body awareness. Using simple and functional daily movement techniques, Monique has helped many of her clients rehabilitate from hip, knee and foot surgeries.

Intrigued by the appearance of the Pilates machines on a morning jog back in 2005, Monique signed up for her first Pilates class with the hope of overcoming shoulder pain and weight gain from her “sit-down” job as a magazine Art Director. After a decade of classes, practice, and study, Monique celebrated becoming a Balanced Body certified Pilates trainer in 2015. In 2020, Monique became a Faculty Member at EHS Pilates in San Francisco , as well as a certified Balanced Body Master Trainer for the CoreAlign. In 2021, she was accepted into the Balanced Body Comprehensive Master Training Program.

Monique currently teaches at EHS Pilates in San Francisco, as well as at out of her private home studio. She continues to study and assist Nancy Myers’ Foot & Gait Program and looks forward to teaching with Nancy in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico in Spring 2022.

 


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Amy Terhar

Amy Terhar

From a young age, Amy was always interested in movement. She was a gymnast, a dancer, and an equestrian. After moving to San Francisco, she found the Circus School and fell in love with the static trapeze but her dreams of joining the circus were cut short after a car accident in 2002. Happily however, she was introduced to Pilates which helped her heal and provided not only the strengthening and stretching that are essential to rehabilitation but also a greater connection between the mind and the body.

In 2014, Amy decided to turn her passion and her hobby into a new career and she embarked upon the Balanced Body Pilates Instructor training program at EHS.

She is constantly amazed by and excited about the human body: its strengths and weaknesses, abilities and inabilities, and the beauty of its intricate workings. And as Joseph Pilates said, “The mind, when housed within a healthful body, possesses a glorious sense of power.”

In her spare time, she can either be found baking in the kitchen, curled up with a good book, or out hiking.


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Esha Bandyopadhyay Dash

Esha Bandyopadhyay Dash

Esha Bandyopadhyay Dash is a fully certified Balanced Body University Pilates instructor, and has received additional training in Ellie Herman Pilates, both at EHS Pilates and at Ellie Herman’s former studio in Oakland. Soon after she began teaching at EHS, Esha began receiving 5-star Yelp reviews. Her private and group clients appreciate her precise attention to detail, her ability to quickly identify and effectively address weakness in the body, and the energy and momentum she brings to the studio.

Esha’s passion for Pilates stems from her background as a dancer. Esha has been studying, performing, and teaching Odissi dance, one of eight forms of Indian classical dance, in various capacities since 1986. Her experience gives her significant insight into various types of injuries, and thereby allows her to serve her clients with a high level of attention to, and understanding of, any concerns and/or goals they may have.

Prior to deciding to pursue dance & Pilates full-time, Esha was a Patent Litigation Partner at the 1500-attorney law firm of Kirkland & Ellis. She now utilizes her intellectual ability toward thoughtful consideration and understanding of the Pilates repertoire and how it impacts the human body. To this end, she is interested not only in teaching Pilates, but in researching the method as a form of rehabilitation for dance and other sports-related injuries.


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