Our Team
Meet Ellene
Teaching is Ellene’s passion and has been a part of her life for over 32 years. An accomplished Equestrian Trainer and Dressage Instructor, Ellene Kloepfer has earned United States Dressage Federation’s Bronze, Silver and Gold medals and successfully competed at Grand Prix. She was introduced to Pilates over 35 years ago by her riding instructor and quickly realized the power of Pilates.
Integrating Pilates with equestrians has always been a key strategy to realize body awareness. Her years of teaching and observing the movements of horses and riders has given her a keen eye to recognize how we carry ourselves. Ellene can easily demonstrate how the benefits of Pilates can be applied to all fitness activities.
Ellene has studied Pilates with Raoul Rossiter, Richard Rossiter, 2nd Generation Master Instructor, and Bonnie Grebe, also 2nd Generation Master Instructor. She has studied dressage extensively with Jan Ebeling, US Olympic Team member. She is eager to share the tremendous benefits of Pilates with you!
Testimonials
Meet Jen
Jen is our newest instructor, as well as a Pilates student. She has completed course work for the complete Mat, Reformer, Chair, Cadillac and Barrel and is now working to complete 450 apprenticeship hours under the direct guidance of Ellene. Upon completion of these hours she will have Full Comprehensive Pilates Certification through The Pilates Studio of Los Angeles. This is a proven 20 year program with complete classical Pilates repertoire training including the original official Pilates program designed by PAPT/The Pilates Studio, Romana Kryzanowski and Melinda Bryan.
Jen is also a Registered Nurse with 20 years of Nursing experience. Most of those years were spent in Telemetry and Cardiovascular Surgery. Jen spent six years as a travel nurse and enjoyed practicing in cities all across the country from Washington DC to California and Alaska to Hawaii. She holds a current active Colorado Nursing License. In addition to her degree in Nursing, she also holds a Bachelors of Science in Biology with a Chemistry minor from the University of South Dakota.
John Byrd
Instructor
Licensed Massage Therapist
Corrective Exercise Specialist
Meet John
John has been a lifelong martial artist and received his first karate instructor certification as a 2nd degree black belt in 1986. Later, while serving a six-year military assignment on the island of Okinawa, he trained with world-renowned Okinawa Isshinryu karate master Angi Uezu. In 2001, John was promoted to 4th degree black belt and certified by Master Uezu to teach in the strict and demanding ways of traditional Okinawan karate. He has since expanded his martial arts instruction repertoire by becoming a Krav Haganah tactical self-defense instructor under the guidance of former Israeli Special Forces soldier and Krav Haganah founder, Doron Benbenisty.
John discovered Pilates in 2013 while researching fitness training and teaching programs available through the GI Bill. He was impressed with the challenging and beneficial Pilates method and began the journey to teacher certification. Like Ellene, John studied with 2nd Generation Master Instructors Richard Rossiter and Bonnie Grebe and became a certified comprehensive Pilates teacher in 2015. Since then, he has become a National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) certified personal trainer and corrective exercise specialist, as well as a Colorado-licensed massage therapist.
John is a retired U.S. Air Force officer and has just completed a second career as a defense industry contractor, managing aviation operations in support of worldwide U.S. military missions. He is now committed to performing corrective bodywork and teaching Pilates in order to help clients achieve proper neuromuscular function for higher physical performance. John provides services combining elements of classical Pilates, corrective exercise, and myofascial release, trigger point, and deep tissue massage to maximize the benefits of each of those therapies. This multidisciplinary approach provides clients with a wide range of safe and effective options to correct movement compensations and muscular dysfunctions in order to feel, move and live better. To see all the special services that John offers click here.
Meet Jennifer
Jennifer grew up in an extremely active family—if there was a sport or activity to try, she did it. Backpacking, biking, inline skating, cross country skiing, downhill skiing, swimming, running, rowing, sailing, water skiing, golf, judo, racquet ball, ballet, gymnastics, trampoline—you name it. But, during her marketing career as a brand strategist, she found herself hunched over a keyboard, sitting on a plane, and hauling a suitcase around for 50-60 hours a week–not exactly a well-balanced lifestyle to say the least! To compensate, in addition to quick workouts in tiny hotel gyms, she was the consummate weekend warrior, including competing in occasional triathlons and race-walking events. No surprise, this was not sustainable.
But then came Pilates.
Jen first got hooked on Pilates when she moved to the Boulder area about 20 years ago, and she has been a devotee ever since! After practicing herself for over 18 years, she finally took the hint from several of her instructors and fellow Pilates peers and signed up for advanced Pilates certification training. Like Ellene and John, Jen studied with 2nd Generation Master Instructors Richard Rossiter and Bonnie Grebe. She became a classically trained, certified comprehensive Pilates teacher in 2016. In fact, since 2018, she has taught teacher trainees at the Pilates Institute of Boulder, in addition to regular reformer, mat, and mixed equipment classes, along with privates and duets. Ever curious and a life-long learner, Jen has increased her own expertise by continuing her Pilates education with intensive workshops from several classical Pilates experts: Peter Fiasca, Brooke Siler, Siri Galliano, Edgard Tirado, and Kathi Ross-Nash.
Interestingly, all those years working in marketing rubbed off on Jen’s teaching style. She starts with goal identification and a clear assessment of each client’s fitness level, injuries, concerns, hopes, fears, and aspirations. Working in partnership with her clients, Jen creates customized regimens to improve strength, balance, stamina, flexibility, and mind-body integration. Building off a solid foundation of core exercises, she challenges, encourages, listens deeply, and watches clients closely. With a keen eye for body movement and alignment, and an even sharper one for human motivation and psychology, Jen’s problem-solving abilities and love of the work help to bring out the best in her clients—ensuring they maximize their workouts, reach their goals, heal from injuries, and enjoy their everyday lives to the fullest.
Seeing clients excel, going beyond their own expectations, and feeling more physically and mentally confident continues to fuel Jen’s passion for Pilates and brings great joy to her teaching and to her own practice. So much so, she wrote an article about it which was published in Elephant Journal—the world’s largest mindful media website serving over 5 million readers per month: https://www.elephantjournal.com/2020/02/29-life-lessons-from-two-decades-of-hardcore-pilates/