Dixie Lee Brain

Born in 1941, I experienced years of being told I was “short-muscled” by the PE guru’s of Jr. High and High School. This pervasive attitude placed me in an adult life resigned to Chiropractors and lack of flexibility throughout my body. However, I had a natural love for activity and have consistently been an active participant in many sports; running is my most favorite, snow skiing in second place with bicycling, long distance walking, and kayaking in third. Unable to rehab a shoulder injury from the 2004 ski season, I turned to Pilates for assistance in late August. Since August, my height has increased by 3/4 of an inch”, I can touch my toes easily (a feat which was impossible in the past), I have not been to a Chiropractor for months, and my shoulder is strong, flexible, and in my estimation – ready for another ski season. My running has improved, my breathing has improved, and I have a range of motion that I’ve never before experienced! With continued Pilates training under the constant guidance of Ang, I plan to begin training for a second LA Marathon. Without the professional guidance of Ang my body would still be in its initial state-YUK!  She takes her chosen field seriously, always adjusting each session to accommodate the condition of my body, while continually seeking new ways to stretch, tone, and strengthen.  She is dedicated, hard working, fun, and flexible.

Gynette Berning

I have been seeing Ang since December.  I began with 3 privates a week, then went down to two and now I am at once a week with some classes thrown in.  Right before my first private session, life happened and I was in a car accident.  I was experiencing debilitating headaches and incredible amounts of pain in my neck, head and back.   I thought the exercise might make my condition worse, however she tailored each workout to my body and how I was feeling (i.e. what has hurting that day) and with each session I got stronger.  I started noticing that my back did not hurt as much, my posture was... no, IS different...Better!   It was after this point that I became a Pilates believer. I have been pain free for over a month.  I have noticed changes in my body. I feel as though my core or belly area is tighter.  Some of my colleagues at work have commented that I am losing weight.  My clothes do not feel as tight as they did 2 months ago.  On a more spiritual/emotional level, I feel much stronger and thereby more confident and sure of myself.  And that confidence exudes into the rest of my life.  Pilates is changing me from the inside out and so I tell my husband, I have a beautiful and damn sexy body under my layer of fat. :)

Thank you Angela and Pilates for changing my life.

Michael Barto

"Because my career has consisted mostly working in front of a computer for many years, I have developed a slouch and a shuffled walk.  I have tried several exercise programs, but Angela Casella’s Pilates has undoubtedly been the most successful. I am standing taller, walking straighter, stopped my shuffle walk and have lost weight. This has been without any major athletic type workout such as weight lifting or spending a lot of time at a gym. I am amazed how her weekly one hour session has improved my life and made me significantly healthier.  The success of this program I attribute to two things over other exercise programs:
The first is having an excellent instructor. Angela’s experience and enthusiasm make me look forward to these weekly visits. I am always learning new things and new tricks from a very knowledgeable person. She constantly modifies the program for my needs and always makes the weekly program interesting with new insights and discussions.  The second reason for the success of this program is that my wife invited me into this program as my partner for these weekly sessions. This has motivated both of us to continue with this program with our busy life style. We both are very busy with our careers and this make our time limited. With us both participating in this program at the same time once a week, we support each other and maintain our motivation to continue with the program."