deep breath pilates is a private boutique studio located in north Oakland, founded by Chris Evans.

reclaiming the body’s innate intelligence

Our work at DBP begins with the understanding that our bodies are deeply intelligent and hold the knowledge and memory of easy, efficient, balanced, pleasurable movement. Our minds, bodies, emotions, and spirits are not separate from this work. The accumulated stresses of trauma, exhaustion, burnout, long hours at the computer and/or commuting, our “no pain, no gain” fitness culture can contribute to movement habits and patterns that take us away from our body’s genius leaving us susceptible to injury and managing chronic pain.

Our work together is to understand the source of these unhealthy movement habits - postural, strength imbalance, hyper-mobility, hypo-mobility, stress, repetitive stress - and to begin to release the pattern. We then need to support the new (or remembered) healthy pattern through balanced muscle strengthening, integrated movement, breath, presence, awareness, healthy posture and gait.

Our belief is that deep listening to the body is central to finding our way to healthy, joyful movement, body awareness, and a sense of well being. Listening for how the body wants to move, the muscles that need strengthening, the muscles that need release. Listening to where we feel pain, more subtly where we feel blocked energy, when we feel disconnected from our bodies, stressed/ungrounded, heavy/exhausted. We draw on a wide range of tools from Pilates repertoire, Yamuna Body Release, dance/movement techniques and massage/energy work to listen to the body and guide our work.

DBP’s Private Sessions and Classes integrate Pilates, Yamuna Body Rolling and Talawa Technique.

DBP’s Massage Therapy Sessions integrate Craniosacral, Acupressure, and Shiatsu Therapies. Lymphatic Drainage Sessions follow the Vodder Technique.

about the founder

Christina Evans, Head Pilates Instructor, Massage/Bodywork Practitioner, and founder. She is a Certified Balanced Body Pilates Instructor and Certified Massage Therapist. Her movement history includes Modern dance, Ballet, Aikido and years as a competitive junior tennis player. She combines over 10 years of business experience and over 10 years in academic research, with her fitness and bodywork experience to guide the management and expansion of Deep Breath Pilates. Her collaborations and work as an interdisciplinary artist include directing the Reconstruction Study Project, eight years as a member of the House Full of Black Women collective, and founding the Black Women’s Self-Care Reparations project. This work guides the individual and collective healing work foundational to Deep Breath Pilates.

testimonials