Sevgi Leno
BA, MA, BASI Certified Pilates Instructor
Sevgi Leno is a certified Pilates Instructor. She is the owner and principal instructor at Balance Point Pilates Studio. The studio moved locations in September 2017 to a larger, more open space, but still remains in the heart of downtown Davis, Ca. In addition to her Pilates training, she has a Masters of Arts in Education from UC Davis. Before taking over the studio from former owner, Barbara Zaro, Sevgi worked for 12 years as an instructor at Balance Point while also teaching elementary school. Sevgi feels very fortunate to be able to combine her two passions, education and pilates, into a full-time career.
Sevgi’s personal path to Pilates began in 2004 when she started as a client at Balance Point Pilates Studio. Within weeks of working out on the mat and apparatus, Sevgi perceived significant changes in her energy, strength, posture, and overall muscle tone. She enjoyed how Pilates enabled her to use her body more efficiently not only in class but in her everyday life as well. Her growing enthusiasm and passion for education and living the “Pilates Lifestyle” inspired her to complete her comprehensive teacher training through Body Arts and Science International in 2007. She continues to teach the full complement of Pilates mat and apparatus classes at her studio where she also enjoys hosting the BASI program for aspiring new teachers.
Karen Gettleman
MA, Certified Pilates Instructor, RYT, MELT Instructor
Karen began teaching Pilates as an apprentice instructor in St. Louis in 2000. She earned her first Pilates certification from the Body Control Pilates Association in London in 2004, and has since received certifications from Turning Point Studio and Balanced Body University. Karen is also a Registered Yoga Teacher.
She has a strong background in anatomy, completing both gross and microscopic anatomy through the Indiana University (IU) Medical School as part of her graduate degree. She then taught undergraduate anatomy labs for IU’s Medical Sciences.
KELLY MCINTURF
Kelly began studying Pilates at the age of 16 as an additional strength and conditioning regimen for figure skating. As Kelly continued to participate in Pilates, her passion for the exercise grew, and in 2012 she completed the BASI Pilates Mat and Comprehensive Apparatus course and additional training in Pilates for the Mature Client in 2013.
In addition to being a BASI certified instructor, Kelly also holds a CA Teaching Credential and MA in Education. In the classroom during the day, Kelly thoroughly enjoys teaching pilates by night!
LISA HAYDEN
Lisa Hayden has been practicing Pilates since 2005. She joined the Balance Point Studio staff in 2009 after graduating from Body Arts & Science International. A Davis native, Lisa was trained in classical ballet and danced with the Applegate Dance Company from early childhood. Lisa loved dance and teaching and taught ballet throughout high school and college. Lisa attended UC Davis, furthering her love for dance by exploring other genres of dance–jazz, modern, and hip-hop. While studying abroad in Spain and Costa Rica, Lisa took Latin dance classes.
Pursuing her other love, teaching, Lisa returned to UC Davis, where she earned her teaching credential in 2004 and a Masters of Arts in Education in 2005. Consumed by grad school, Lisa did not take dance classes at this time, and she missed the feeling of strength, flexibility, and energy she had after a dance class. It was during this time that Lisa discovered Pilates. With her dance background, Pilates was a perfect fit, and Pilates became an integral part of Lisa’s life.
As a Pilates instructor, Lisa strives to grow as a teacher and a practitioner of the Pilates method through her own daily Pilates practice, ongoing education, and acknowledgment of the Pilates influence on maintaining a healthy, balanced life.
The balance now includes Lisa’s career as mom to her two children and her teaching career as a fourth-grade teacher.