Instructor Trainer bios

Michelle, from Sydney, Australia, has both a Bachelor of Education and Bachelor of Arts (Dance) degrees. She became a fully certified STOTT PILATES^® Instructor in 2003, and later that year went on to become an Instructor Trainer. She is now a Lead IT for Merrithew^® specializing in the STOTT PILATES full repertoire. Over the past 14 years, she has taught hundreds of STOTT PILATES courses and workshops in the US, Canada, Brazil, Hong Kong, New Zealand, the Philippines, and the UAE. Michelle is an intrepid traveler who loves an adventure.

After exploring a number of dance styles over a 15-year career, Mirela entered the world of fitness in 1995. In 2000, she started her Pilates education, then in 2002 she expanded her education with the internationally-renowned STOTT PILATES^® program at the Merrithew^® Corporate Training Center in Toronto, becoming a fully-certified Instructor. She went on to become a Merrithew Instructor Trainer specializing in STOTT PILATES. Mirela is an external associate at the University of Kinesiology in Zagreb, and she regularly presents at the International Congress of Sport Training as well as at the Aerobic and Body-Mind Congresses in Croatia and Europe. Starting in 2012, she has worked with a number of athletes, creating sport-, season- and position-specific programs.

Moira Merrithew, together with President and CEO of Merrithew^®, Lindsay G. Merrithew, has spent over two decades promoting the benefits of responsible exercise through their branded programming. Together with her team, they ensure all programming is aligned with current scientific and biomechanical research. In addition to overseeing the Education Department, Moira is a content creator and featured performer in the extensive DVD series. A published author and media personality, she presents at numerous fitness industry events all over the globe. After an accomplished career as principal dancer with the City Ballet of Toronto and the Atlantic Ballet Company, Moira Merrithew went on to retrain and certify as a Pilates instructor under the tutelage of Romana Kryzanowska at the original studio founded by the late Joseph H. Pilates.

Monique is the founder of Pilates Winnipeg, a Merrithew^® Licenced Training Centre in Manitoba, which opened in 1997. She is one of very few bilingual Merrithew Lead Instructor Trainers and upon request to teach any certification course or examination in both English and French. A graduate of The National Ballet School, Monique has over 30 years of teaching experience. Monique is also a certified Gyrotonic instructor.

In 2007 and again in 2009, she received a mentorship award as a result of recommendations from her peers, along with a lifetime achievement award from Merrithew. She recently hosted Moira Merrithew at her studio in celebration of the studio's 20th anniversary.

Mor has been involved in sports her whole life, and played professional European handball for 15 years. Her love and passion for understanding the human body led her to study exercise science. In 2002 she received her Bachelor of Sciences degree in Nutrition and Exercise Sciences, and in 2005 she graduated with her Masters Degree in Exercise Sciences from Queens College of the City University of New York. Mor and a colleague conducted research into the Changes in Landing Mechanics After Cold-Water Immersion, the results of which were published in the June 2010 edition Journal of Research Quarterly for Exercise and Sport (http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-227945281.html). Mor was certified as an Instructor Trainer for Merrithew^® specializing in STOTT PILATES^® in 2009 and is also a Total Barre^® Qualified Instructor. Mor's ability to understand, give and listen to each client, matches her genuine wish for each of her student's success. The feedback from her students has always been positive, praising her as a wonderful, inspirational teacher.