“There are four things I love the most in life: Pilates, travel, good food, and my dog. I realized that by starting Playa Pilates I could combine three of those things into one amazing experience. Wait…. I could probably also bring my dog…”
Meet Chrissie - Certified Pilates Instructor, Retreat Leader, and Founder of Playa Pilates!
While Chrissie has always been a fitness enthusiast, she discovered a true passion in Pilates, and is currently an instructor at The Playground Pilates Collective.
Her movement practice is mat and reformer classes, with a strong background in functional strength training. Chrissie believes that Pilates is for everyone, and meets the student where they are. She believes in being gentle with yourself, and loves the excitement of improvement and challenging herself. She is an intuitive teacher with many years of movement practice under her belt.
She started her fitness journey with a personal trainer 14 years ago, and has maintained a movement practice since then. She has experience in not only strength training, but also Olympic lifting, Crossfit, barre, and Lagree. Her background in professional musical theatre involved dance, and lends to her love of incorporating music with movement. At her current studio, The Playground Pilates Collective, she can combine both of those loves in her mat classes. Chrissie is a creative, welcoming and supportive teacher, who loves making peoples’ lives better through her passion and knowledge in movement.
Playa Pilates is a series of bespoke beachside retreats that offer a 7-day immersive holistic experience of daily movement, community, culture, and good food.
If you like pilates, fresh salsa and salty hair, this is the place for you.
“Hi! My name is Meritt, and two years ago Pilates changed my life. . . I was suffering from an endurance sport related injury while my best friend was completing her first round of teacher training. I was instantly in love. Pilates brought new found strength into my life when I needed it the most. It didn't take much convincing after that, that I needed to become a teacher myself.”
Meet Meritt - Certified Pilates Instructor, and Co-teacher!
Meritt currently teaches at Oxygen Yoga and Fitness in Fort McMurray. Her classes are inclusive to all levels, providing many modifications among progressions and challenges. She strives to assist her students to develop their strength from the inside out. She hopes Pilates can bring stability to your life just as it has to hers.
Meritt’s fitness journey began in grade 3, where she picked up a passion for long distance running. Since then she has completed 2 half marathons, 5 triathlons, and a Spartan race. She was working in the culinary industry at the time, but always made sure she had time and space to dedicate to fitness.
Meritt’s other passions that keep her physically active include hula hooping, hiking, snowshoeing, and cross country skiing. Meritt’s Pilates journey began the spring of 2023 when her friend Chrissie was completing her Pilates training, and was running practice classes. Meritt regularly began attending classes, and was excited to begin her teaching journey through The Playground Pilates Collective’s training. There, she studied with Janine Markey and Alison Raeya, both Master Pilates instructors.
Upon completing her training, Meritt moved to Fort MacMurray, and began teaching at Oxygen Yoga & Fitness. Since then she has become a staple in their Pilates community, and looks forward to continuing to grow in her Pilates career.