Agnieszka grew up in Poland and moved to the US in 2001. She has masters degrees in music and performing arts, specializing in viola, and teaching violin and piano. She also holds a BA in music therapy and was originally interested in stretching movements to release tension from hours of practicing instruments. Her first Pilates experience came more than a decade ago when Agnieszka sought out a physical training program with movement. After a break to take care of her new-born twins she continued with Yoga training in 2009, becoming a certified Yoga instructor. About four years ago she began investigating Pilates because she began discovering how the body works and realized Yoga was not enough for her. She completed a Power Pilates course and in 2014 found out about the Boulder, Colorado world-renowned Pilates Center, enrolling in the official certification program. Agnieszka likes to apply the skills she acquired as a music specialist – focus, persistence, dedication, willingness to embrace daily practice and giving oneself the time to grow towards mastery, consistency, coordination and engaging the full body in learning. ‘The benefits of Pilates are indescribable – it is really about learning how a healthy body moves and as we get older it gives the energy to take on life’s daily challenges, in work, family and home life,’ she says.
Meg DiRuggiero
In 2019, Meg was doing a lot of heavy lifting, high-intensity training, and spinning as well as sitting a lot for her job. This led to her struggling with lower back problems and patella femoral syndrome in her left knee. She decided to try out personal training on the reformer and it changed everything! She was encouraged to become an instructor herself and got certified in Mat, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair, and Barrels.
Her teaching style is very calm and measured. She wants to make everyone feel comfortable and not intimidated. She is particularly good at describing how the exercises flow together. Her main goal is to teach people the importance of postural support and core engagement because it is so necessary for every activity we do. She also just loves showing people how the reformer works because it’s so fun!
She likes to combine classic STOTT Pilates moves with exercises that mimic what you can find on the fitness floor. She also enjoys showing people that the reformer can be used for more than just Pilates. The reformer is not as intimidating as it looks – it is essentially a piece of equipment and once you learn how it works it gets so fun to use. Pilates can be essential to anyone – it strengthens all the muscles that will help support you throughout your entire life and is a great companion to strength training.
Meg grew up in DC and is so excited to be back! She loves to walk along the C&O canal to be around nature and explore the area’s many museums. She loves kpop and is always looking for new vegan spots to try. You can follow her on Instagram @meg.diruggiero or her kpop/Pilates youtube channel hanandonly.
Laura Trejo
Laura is a 500-hour Yoga Alliance registered teacher trained in vinyasa yoga with prenatal and toddler training certificates. In addition, she studied at the Kripalu Center with Nischala Joy Devi for a Yoga of the Heart certificate to learn to adapt yoga practices to the special needs of people living with heart disease, cancer and other health challenges.
In addition, Laura is a NASM-certified personal trainer with a Corrective Exercise certificate, a black belt in tae kwon do, barre/mat and reformer training certificates, and a Center for Integrative Medicine trained reiki practitioner.
In her barre and yoga class, Laura addresses muscle imbalances so that her students can gain strength where their muscles are weak and flexibility where their muscles are tight. As an added bonus, it is Laura’s intention that her yoga students will experience the best night sleep of their life as she cultivates calm minds and hearts in her students through relaxing music, essential oils and breathing exercise.