Deep Breath Pilates Studio

The work at Deep Breath Pilates begins with the belief that our bodies are intelligent and that they hold the knowledge/memory of easy, efficient, balanced, movement. But we have accumulated habits, movement patterns that take us away from our body’s genius often leaving us to manage chronic pain. Our work is to find ways to strip away the layers of unhealthy movement patterns so that we can reclaim our body’s innate intelligence.

I, Chris Evans, began doing Pilates in 2013 when I realized that dancing would no longer be enough to build the strength and flexibility, and develop the understanding I needed to prevent injuries. I have had the great privilege to do my Pilates certification with Dallas Everleth at Center Strength.  Her rigorous and detailed anatomical focus combined with a deep understanding of Pilates provided the foundation for my development as a Pilates Instructor. In addition to being a Balanced Body certified Pilates Instructor, I am a certified Yamuna Body Rolling (YBR) Practitioner. YBR has added a critical addition to my bodywork toolbox. It enables me to work with clients to find release and elongation of muscles, fascial release, and increase space in the body – what I see as the preparation for recovering healthy movement patterns and building strength.  I am currently completing a YBR Breathwork certification training, and am participating in Pilates for Rehab training with Zeina Grifoni of Synergy Pilates. I have also recently completed the Level 2 certification for  Thomas Presto’s Talawa Technique.  

A final focus of the studio is to build community by connecting practitioners in different healing modalities to each other and potential new clients, and to offer a variety of healing resources to clients. The Healing Network is a network of practitioners that I know and trust. My hope is that clients will see the work we do as one part of building their personal practice. The Healing Network is a way of exploring and expanding their practices. 

About Me

I was born in San Francisco and grew up in Oakland and have lived in Spain, France, Los Angeles and Concord, New Hampshire. I have a lifelong interest in movement and the body. I am a dancer and choreographer, and have been a competitive tennis player. Basketball, skiing, swimming, biking, and running are all sports I have done at different points in my life. Most recently I have begun learning Aikido. Through my dance training I have also had the great privilege of studying Alexander Technique and Feldenkrais. Though not a practitioner (there is deep and important work one can do with a practitioner of these modalities) these somatic explorations continue to inform my own movement work and work with clients and students. My other passions are playing cello, languages and literature. I have a BA in English from Stanford, an MA in Comparative Literature from SFSU and studied cello and chamber music at the Schola Cantorum in Paris, France.

There are a number of teachers I want to express my deep gratitude to for all that they have taught me about the body and all the support they have given me over the years.

Anne-Lise Reusswig, Dallas Everleth, Shelley Senter, Amara Tabor Smith, Ellen Sebastian Chang, Randee Paufve, Eric Kupers, Naomi Leiserson, Dave Lewin, Zeina Grifoni, Dana Iova-Koga, Thomas Presto.

If you’re interested in purchasing an introductory package please email the studio at deepbreathpilates@gmail.com, contact us through the Contact Page or book an Introductory Call.

Introductory Private Session Package ($340) This introductory package includes an initial online consult and four private sessions (a $480 value) at the DBP Studio.

• 20 minute consult (virtual)
• 4 Private Sessions

Introductory Class Package ($100) This introductory package includes an initial online consult and series of four classes (a value of $140).

• 20 min consult (virtual)
• 4 classes

Individual Session Packages (In Studio, $120/hour)

• 4-Session Package (5% discount) – $455
• 8-Session Package (10% discount) – $865

Individual Session Packages (Virtual, $85/hour)

• 4-Session Package (5% discount) – $320
• 8-Session Package (10% discount) – $610

Class Packages (In Studio, $30/hour)

• 4-Class Package (5% discount) – $114
• 8-Class Package (10% discount) – $216

For Payment — Please Venmo or PayPal (deepbreathpilates@gmail.com) the amount of your service. DBP is working to set up payment through the site.

Working with Chris is helping me become conscious of the parts of my body I’ve forgotten how to listen to. I am learning new ways to breathe. I am learning how my physical posture is a mirror to my mental/emotional posture. I am recalibrating my relationship to gravity. 

Alexa Burrell

Christine Lashaw

Our bodies are the containers of our lives. Who we share our bodies with is always an intimate risk with the hopeful possibility of goodness, health and love. After so many failed attempts with past “trainers, yoga, exercise” instructors,  I took a much needed risk to engage my Self under the guidance of Chris Evans’ Deep Breath Pilates. Her attention to detail, gentle patience, skilled practice, the brilliance of her integration of Yamuna and Talawa Technique within the foundation of Pilates speaks to her depth of understanding of the body from a human perspective, but also a cultural perspective. With Chris, I felt first the freedom to be fully clumsy, shy, unsure. In releasing this my strength began to support those places as balance and healing. She will continue to be a part of my process of healing the past as a healthy present. 

Ellen Sebastian Chang

I have been a runner, walker, hiker, swimmer, and biker for most of my life. As I grow older, I am in intimate touch with the need for ways to care for my body to allow it to continue doing the work it has always done for me. Chris Evans’ movement classes are proving to be exactly the attention my body needs to sustain and enhance my other activities. As much as I enjoy the body movement, I enjoy the body knowledge Chris brings to her practice and shares with me. I also love the sense of loving and supportive community she fosters in her classes – I look forward to coming every week.

Danyelle O’Hara

I have been working with Chris Evans for the last 18 months one to two times a week and I have noticed a marked improvement in the way I move and walk. Chris is an amazing instructor who is very knowledgeable in the correct way the body needs and wants to move, and her deep compassion makes her an indispensable part of my healthcare and fitness team. I would recommend her to anybody who is already fit, to people such as myself, who want to age gracefully and still roll around on the floor with their grandchildren. Chris is absolutely a sound investment in self-improvement!

Julie Franklin