About the 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.