About Us

 Sarah  Deming is a writer and fitness professional with over 25 years of  teaching experience. After receiving her B.A. in Comparative Literature  from Brown University, she was certified in Kripalu Yoga and  Anusara-style Hatha Yoga. She spent a decade teaching all levels of yoga  from vigorous vinyasa to chair yoga for seniors.

One  day she took a boxing class and fell in love. Soon she was fighting in  Madison Square Garden, winning the NYC Golden Gloves and Empire State  Games. She worked as a ringside journalist for HBO and CNBC and coached  young boxers at NYC Cops and Kids, a free community gym in Flatbush. For  her, boxing was a mind-body practice that helped her transcend fear and  connect with all kinds of people.

Sarah  took up Pilates with her teacher Clarice Marshall to recover from  overuse injuries exacerbated by scoliosis. She fell in love with the  precision of the practice and the way it made her feel great without  feeling “beat up." She was certified in machine and mat Pilates through  the Kane School of Core Integration and teaches Strength in the  Pre-Professional Division of American Ballet Theatre’s JKO School. She  loves turning students on to the sweet science of therapeutic movement.

 Lesley  Garrison is a professional dancer and teacher who toured the world as a  member of The Mark Morris Dance Group for 15 years. She studied at  Interlochen Arts Academy, Rotterdamse Dansacademie, and SUNY Purchase,  where she received her B.F.A. She discovered Pilates as a means to  strengthen her dancing, rehabilitate injuries, and feel more confident  and embodied. She studies with Clarice Marshall.

Lesley  has taught dance for 15 years to all kinds of movers: kids,  seniors, beginners, professionals, and as part of the Dance for  Parkinson’s program at Mark Morris Dance Center. She also teaches  Pilates in the Pre-Professional Division of American Ballet Theatre’s  JKO School. She received her Pilates mat and equipment certifications  through the Kane School of Core Integration, and completed a 200-hour  teacher training and Restorative/Prenatal certification with Yoga Vida. 

As  a new mother, Lesley has a deepened appreciation for the power of  movement. Throughout pregnancy, Pilates and yoga kept her feeling strong  and ready for childbirth and were a huge factor in her quick postpartum  recovery and return to dance. She is passionate about sharing these  healing practices with her students.