Cindy
co-founder/Owner
Cindy went to her first Pilates class 2 years ago with the encouragement of a dear friend to try something new, and she instantly fell in love with how it made her feel. After years of dreaming up small business ideas with her husband, Engage Pilates came to life. Cindy is a long time Evanstonian and was a Labor and Delivery Nurse at Evanston Hospital for 19 years. She is currently the Nurse Consultant at St. Athanasius School. Cindy recently completed Pilates Teacher Training through The Lab in Chicago under the direction of Jacqueline Brennan and Holly Swanson. Along with running the business side of Engage Pilates, she will be working towards completing her teacher certification. Cindy loves traveling with her family, going to the beach, trying out new restaurants, and watching her 3 kids do what they love- playing baseball, figure skating and jumping on the trampoline!
Elyse
co-founder/senior instructor
Elyse began teaching Pilates in 2011 while pursuing her dream of performing on Broadway. While earning her BFA in Musical Theatre at The Boston Conservatory at Berklee College of Music, Elyse attained her comprehensive certification for Pilates at Balance Body University under Zayna Gold at Boston Body Pilates. With Pilates she very quickly began to see huge improvements in her ability perform and would bounce back quickly after minor injuries. Through Pilates she developed acute body awareness, breath control and developed injury preventing techniques that have been the secret to her success. Upon moving to NYC to perform professionally, Elyse continued her Pilates education through Equinox and Pilates Reforming New York under the direction of Ann Toran. Elyse also trained at Club Pilates, The Center for Women’s Health and Fitness and is certified through the Pilates Method Alliance. She plans to continue her Pilates education as much and as often as she can and will continue to perform as much and as often as she can!
Cordelia
instructor
Cordelia started her fitness instructor journey while studying Theatre at Northwestern University. During her senior year she earned her 200 RYT Yoga Certification through Yogaview Chicago, as well as a Barre Instructor Certification through The Barre Code. What began as a part time job had soon developed into a full time passion! Cordelia continued her fitness education, receiving her Arial Yoga and Fitness Certification from Airlift while teaching barre and yoga around Chicago and the Northshore during the day and performing onstage at night. She began her Pilates Teacher Training through The Lab in Chicago under the brilliant instruction of Holly Swanson and Jacqueline Brennan shortly before the pandemic. While the performing arts industry was put on hold, Cordelia gratefully immersed herself into Pilates. To her, Pilates is the perfect way to harness strength and protect the body, meaningfully bridging the gaps between mind and body.