Emily Black heads the Equipment Pilates program at Sanctuary. She is an AFAA Certified Personal Trainer and is STOTT Pilates certified. Other certifications include a Mat Pilates Certification from the Physical Mind Institute and a Total Barre certification from Merrithew, as well as a teacher training certification in Ashtanga Yoga. Some of her specialties include Pre and Post Natal Pilates, Pilates for Golf, Scoliosis Programming, Pilates Athletic Conditioning, and Myofascial Release.

Personal attention is especially important in Pilates practice. Proper form and alignment are crucial. Whether working with Emily in a one-on-one session, or in one of her Group Equipment Pilates classes, Emily’s students get the benefit of her close attention and individualized feedback. She doesn’t miss a thing! Students can expect to develop greater core strength, wider range of motion and greater flexibility, among many other benefits.

“Not everybody has the same body. This technique and equipment is so versatile and low impact, it’s effective for pretty much everyone – whether you’re 20 or 80, recovering for an injury or training as a top athlete.”

Lindsay Nelms completed her 200-hour Yoga Teacher training with Lindsay Lusignea of Red Lila Yoga in July 2018.

She first began practicing yoga as a way to stretch and prevent injury while training for her first marathon in 2010.  After noticing the physical benefits of increased strength and agility, Lindsay also noticed the effects that yoga had on calming the mind, increasing self confidence, and initiating personal growth. These discoveries led her to pursue teaching as a way to bring these benefits to all levels of practitioners that step onto the mat. 

Lindsay’s class is a place to sweat, find balance, challenge yourself, surrender, and have fun. By linking breath to physical movement, she creates an environment to sweat and flow and focus on building strength and flexibility in all muscle groups.  Students can expect a physical workout along with developing an inner awareness,  and should leave class feeling restored, relaxed, and energized.

“Everybody is capable of becoming the best version of themselves and I love being part of this process for students.  I hope to hold space to help students grow both physically and mentally both on and off the mat and start living their best life.”

Gabriel is a Board Certified practitioner of Rolfing Structural Integration™, Certified at the Rolf Institute of Structural Integration In Boulder Colorado in March 2017. He is fully licensed by the Maryland State Board of Chiropractic and Massage Therapy Examiners. He is also a licensed massage therapist, and CPR Certified.

Gabriel first experienced Rolfing as a client. The work had a profound effect on lingering injuries, trauma, and physical limitation, and improved his over all quality of life. Gabriel was looking for a way to educate people and effect positive change in the world, and becoming certified in Structural Integration was a natural fit.

Gabriel’s approach is to meet a client where they are and to assist them in having a deeper more holistic awareness of their bodies. Sessions begin with a brief intake and evaluation of movement and structural limitations, followed by direct work and movement education. Clients can expect to feel an improved sense of ease, an increased range of motion, and a deeper awareness of various structures that have been worked on from their very first session. A reduction in pain symptoms and deeper sense of support and stability are common feedback from clients.

“The approach of dealing with the whole person, coupled with Rolfing’s focus on empowering the client to orient and move differently in the world as they relate more fully to their body, are what I find most amazing about the work.”

Isabel has been belly dancing since 2004 and teaching since 2012. She has completed in-depth teacher training programs with Sahara Dance and master teacher Artemis Mourat, and is certified in Levels 1 and 2 of Sahra Saeeda’s Journey through Egypt dance ethnology program.

A lifelong lover of dance and movement, Isabel began an intensive study of belly dance while living in New Orleans in 2004. She immediately fell in love with belly dance for its unique, supple movements and powerful connection to the music.

Isabel’s classes provide a cardiovascular boost while building strength and flexibility in all the major muscle groups, with a special emphasis on the legs, hips and abdominal area. At the same time, moving to the music builds coordination and mental acuity and elevates mood. Students leave feeling invigorated, happier and more confident in their bodies.

“What I love about dance is that it touches so many areas of our lives. It stimulates us physically, socially, creatively and emotionally. I love watching my students’ physical abilities improve over time, but I’m even more inspired by the transformation I often see in their confidence and the joy they express in dancing. They walk taller, smile more and carry their bodies proudly. That’s what keeps me coming back to the classroom.”

In 2008, Lindsay received her 500-hour certification in yoga, and since then commits to continued studies and education, most notably completing certifications and trainings with Jason Crandell, Leslie Kaminoff, Georg Feuerstein, and more. Lindsay has her Masters of Science in Clinical + Counseling Psychology from Loyola University, and effortlessly weaves the practice of the body and the mind into her classes, trainings, and programs. As a teacher of teachers, Lindsay is the founder of red lila School of Yoga, offering professional trainings and educational programs for the quality advancement of yoga teacher development.

Lindsay took her first yoga class at a time in her life when she believed she was at the top of her athletic game as a Division I lacrosse athletes at Towson University. She soon realized yoga was much more than physical exercise.  The inspiration and clarity she feels after each practice are the driving force behind her choice to bring the power of yoga to others.

Lindsay teaches creative, playful and grounded classes that speak to both power and grace, mind and body, and vitality and restoration. Her classes are fun and filled with smart alignment, meditation and breathing, hands-on assists, engaging transitions and compelling sequences making even the most challenging asana available and inviting.

“Yoga shifted for me from a physical method of exercise to an active practice of becoming a better, more healthy, more vibrant version of myself. I want people to live lives of authentic self-expression and balance.”

Melissa has an extensive background in dance and fitness, and completed her Pilates Barre training in early 2017.

Her years of experience as a ballet dancer and her passion for fitness, flexibility, and dance were her inspiration for becoming a barre instructor. After being introduced to Pilates during college, she discovered the many benefits of the Pilates Philosophies along with the lengthening, strength building, flexibility focused, and corrective exercises. Melissa believes Pilates exercises are the perfect complement to traditional barre routines, and uses both techniques to create a fun full-body workout focused on building long and lean muscles while improving flexibility and posture.

Melissa meets every client at their fitness level, and enjoys motivating them to reach their overall fitness, strength and flexibility goals. She creates new and challenging routines each week. Her classes deliver a full body workout to lengthen and tone muscles, increase flexibility and balance, and strengthen the core “power house” muscles.

“I think it is incredibly important to incorporate health and fitness into your day-to-day life and routine. It’s easy to take a workout series from my classes, such as a plie series or a plank series, and practice them on your own, any time.”

Ray holds a Master of Fine Arts Degree and has had a distinguished career as a
college educator. Since receiving his certification from the Rolf Institute in 2003, he has
maintained a Rolfing ® practice in Baltimore and is licensed to practice in Maryland. In
2013, he was certified as an Advanced Rolfer.

Ray first came to Rolfing as a client after a severe accident. The experience resolved
his chronic pain, but more importantly, changed his structure and transformed his life.
He subsequently dedicated himself to this powerful process.

Through his practice of Rolfing® Structural Integration, Ray helps clients reclaim their
natural alignment and realize greater freedom of movement. Through his hands-on
manipulation and guided movement, he releases restrictions in the fascia, the network of soft tissue responsible for the body’s integrity, balance, and shape. This helps tissues reclaim their natural elasticity, bones regain their correct position, and deeply held tensions dissipate. Clients report having increased energy, mobility and relief from discomfort and pain.

“My philosophy is perhaps best expressed by fellow bodyworker and author, Dean Juhan,
who wrote, ‘This is the uniqueness of bodywork—nothing is added but information,
nothing is subtracted but what the body lets go of.’”

Pete is a certified personal trainer and group fitness class instructor. He has a Bachelor’s Degree is Sport Management, and is certified in TRX, CPR & AED

Since his youth, Pete has channeled his abundant energy through sports, including tennis, track and field, basketball, baseball, soccer and more. It was a natural fit for him to earn a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management at Towson University, where he also played on the Division 1 Men’s Soccer Team for four years. Committed to a healthy lifestyle, he has made a career of continuous movement through exercise, and teaching and training others to do the same.

When training with Pete, clients can expect to start where they are. Clients may feel that they aren’t “ready” to train, but in reality, wherever they are in their journey is exactly where change begins. Training sessions are positively energetic and progress specific. Clients can expect to leave training feeling stronger, more energetic than when they arrived, optimistic and looking forward to the next session.

“My philosophy is simple. Any goal to be attained needs discipline and consistency. In order to be consistent, one needs discipline.”

Brandon founded Sanctuary Bodyworks in 2012 with the goal of providing uniquely client-focused, healthy and sustainable fitness and wellness services. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science from Towson University.

Brandon’s passion for fitness began over 20 years ago. After sustaining several sports and exercise-related injuries including a severe disc herniation, Brandon realized that traditional weight lifting routines were unsustainable and no longer an option for him, and he began to explore more sustainable, healthy approaches to life-long fitness.

Brandon has spent the better part of the last two decades formulating a structural approach to exercise that teaches his clientele precise movement patterns that equally isolate, lengthen and tone. His experience working with thousands of bodies of all shapes, sizes and ages, enables him to quickly and accurately identify over-developed areas that place excessive stress on the skeletal system. His unique skill set, his years of experience and his intuitive sense of the aging body allow him to work with a wide range of clients spanning various needs, goals and injuries.

“As I’ve matured, so many definitions have changed for me. My definitions of happiness or success, for instance, are very different from how I defined them in my 20s. And it’s the same with my definitions of health and fitness, and for this, I am grateful, because today these definitions center on sustainability and mobility – muscles we should all want to flex.”