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Instructor Trainer bios

The members of our esteemed team of Pilates Instructor Trainers are accomplished and internationally sought-after educators known for their comprehensive knowledge, dedication and professionalism. Each hold full certification in the STOTT PILATES® method and have achieved additional designations to complement their training.

A diverse group, they come from varied backgrounds including physical therapy, exercise science, athletic therapy, dance, and group and personal fitness training to name a few. Every member of the team strives to uphold the highest standards of training that have been developed worldwide.

Sam Byron
Colorado Athletic Club
Englewood, Colorado , USA

IT qualifications
STOTT PILATES® Mat & Reformer, Cadillac, Chair & Barrels; Halo® Training; Total Barre®

Additional credentials and designations
TRX Suspension Trainer Level 1 & 2

Bio

Since 2002, Sam Byron has been practicing Pilates and has been teaching STOTT PILATES® since 2011, receiving his full STOTT PILATES Certification in 2014. He has special expertise in athletic conditioning, post-rehabilitation conditioning, active aging, and group training. In 2017, he became a Merrithew Instructor Trainer specializing in STOTT PILATES, Halo® Training, and Total Barre®. Sam earned his Masters of Science in Kinesiology, with a special focus in Corrective Exercise and Orthopedic Rehabilitation, from A.T. Still University. In 2011, he received a Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science from the University of Texas at Arlington.

His clients, who range from fitness enthusiasts to athletes, young to mature benefit from finding greater awareness of movement, core strength and injury prevention. Because Sam personally had to overcome the effects of autoimmune diseases, he has empathy for those in chronic pain. He applies his STOTT PILATES training to decrease the severity of his pain and his client’s.

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Samia Pellizzari
Inspire Health
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

IT qualifications
STOTT PILATES® Matwork & Reformer, Cadillac, Chair, & Barrels, ISP; ZEN•GA®

Additional credentials and designations
BA

Bio

Samia received her BA in dance before moving to New York to pursue a dance career. Following a knee injury, she became a STOTT PILATES® Instructor in 2003. Samia taught Pilates in Austria and across the United States, working with a variety of clientele including athletes, pre- and post-natal women, seniors, post-rehab clients as well as with those struggling with their weight. In 2008, Samia become a Merrithew® Instructor Trainer, specializing in STOTT PILATES and ZEN•GA®. Samia currently teaches at Inspire Health, a Merrithew Licensed Training Center.

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Sandra de Sousa Machado
Pilates Holistic Center Hamburg
Hamburg, Germany

IT qualifications
STOTT PILATES® Matwork & Reformer, Chair, Cadillac & Barrels, ISP; Total Barre®

Bio

Sandra de Sousa Machado is the owner of Pilates Holistic Center Hamburg. Always looking for a way to combine therapy and training, she discovered the STOTT PILATES® method. Sandra felt the difference in her body during the education process and long afterwards, and in November 2011 she continued her education in Toronto where she became an Instructor Trainer for Merrithew® specializing in STOTT PILATES, and then became an IT for Total Barre® in 2013. Sandra was the first Portuguese certified Merrithew Instructor Trainer and now combines over 10 years of teaching experience with her knowledge of Pilates, sport therapy, personal training and massage to ensure that clients experience the best in mind-body exercise. Her clientele includes professional athletes, singers, dancers and actors.

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Sara Baker
Inspire Health
Atlanta, Georgia, USA

IT qualifications
STOTT PILATES® Rehab Matwork & Reformer

Additional credentials and designations
PT, MS, OCS

Bio

Sara is a physical therapist and entrepreneur who has owned Inspire Health in Atlanta, leading integrative physical therapy and Pilates center, since 2005. Sara's love of science and sport led her to earn an Undergraduate Degree in cellular biology from the University of Georgia and a Masters of Science in physical therapy from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. She has spent her physical therapy career in outpatient orthopedic settings, and is a Board Certified Orthopedic Specialist, seeing complex patients referred by some of Atlanta's top physicians. In creating her own practice, Sara has been a leader in integrating Pilates and physical therapy into a patient-centric, outcomes-driven, consumer-pay clinical model. Since 2003, Sara has utilized the STOTT PILATES® method for neuromuscular re-education and therapeutic intervention in her practice. Sara has partnered with Merrithew® since 2007 as the owner of a Licensed Training Center and became a STOTT PILATES Rehab IT to continue to promote the integration of STOTT PILATES into the practices of rehabilitation professionals.

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Sara Escudero
Floating
Toledo, Spain

IT qualifications
STOTT PILATES® Matwork and Reformer

Additional credentials and designations
Osteopathy, Federation of Mountaineers of Valladolid, Club Zceos, School of Technical Parasanitarias

Bio

Sara has a varied professional portfolio that includes osteopathy and massage as well as personal coaching for specialized sports. She is the Center Director and teaches Pilates and Personal Training at the Pilates Center Valladolid, in Valladolid, Spain. A sports devotee since 1995, she initiated incorporating the Pilates method with her clients after taking her first STOTT PILATES® course in 2006. She began STOTT PILATES Rehab training in 2012 and became a Merrithew® Instructor Trainer specializing in STOTT PILATES Matwork and Reformer in 2014.