Meet Some of Our Instructors

Jennifer Stillings Milner is a certified Pilates trainer specializing in dancers and post-injury recoveries, recently moved to Dallas from New York. As a classical ballet dancer, Jennifer danced with several companies across the country before moving to New York to do musical theatre. After a knee injury ended a successful performing career, Jennifer went back to school to get certified in the Pilates method of exercise, which she had found while performing to be an excellent complement to dance classes. Jennifer graduated from the Kane School of Core Integration, studying under the renowned Kelly Kane, and has gone on to form a loyal client base of dancers looking to improve their performance level, people recovering from surgeries or injuries, and people from all walks of life seeking a stronger body and better health.

Jennifer has trained a wide variety of clients, including Oscar winners, Olympic medalists, and world famous dancers, as well as clients seeking to kayak around Manhattan or bicycle through the Alps. In addition to teaching clients at the Kane School and Westside Dance Physical Therapy, Jennifer was also a member of the faculty of the Kane School teacher-training program.

Jennifer studied college anatomy and physiology, massage therapy, physioball with Leslie Powell, pre-natal Pilates with Debbi Goodman, and the Feldenkrais method. She has also taken seminars in Alexander Technique, kinesiology, reflexology, and health and nutrition. This wide and varied health and medical background, along with her dance experience and her own encounters with injuries, gives Jennifer a unique insight and perspective on getting and maintaining a strong, healthy body at peak performance level. She has a strong desire to work with her clients in tandem with physical therapists and other health care professionals to foster an atmosphere of wholeness in the healing process.

Jennifer's approach to physical conditioning is to strengthen weak muscle groups; correct muscular imbalances; build a strong core of support for the body; and lengthen tight muscles to encourage efficient muscle use, prevent injuries, and help encourage long-lasting, better health for the individual. She is a member of the International Association of Dance Medicine and Science.

Staff Physical Therapist and Certified Pilates Instructor
Betsy is a graduate of Lafayette College in Pennsylvania and holds a Masters of Science in Physical Therapy from Columbia University. She is also certified by Power Pilates and by the rehabilitation-based Pilates program, Polestar Pilates.

Over the past 25 years she has worked with women's health, chronic pain, orthopedic, neurologic, and cardiac patients, in clinic management, and as an Assistant Professor and Academic Clinical Coordinator of Education (ACCE) with the physical therapy academic program at UT Southwestern. As ACCE for UT Southwestern, she became involved with development of the Texas Clinical Student Assessment Tool, sponsored clinical education courses with the Consortium of Physical Therapy Educators in Texas, and presented a poster at the Combined Sections Meeting for the APTA.

In addition to post-graduate training in pelvic floor dysfunction rehabilitation and women's health physical therapy, Betsy has taken extensive course work in manual physical therapy, including visceral mobilization, myofascial release and craniosacral therapy.

Shanell fell in love with yoga the moment she awoke from her first Savasana. As her eyes flickered open she laid there sweaty, stretched out, and blissed out! This was the first time in her life she had the experience of weightlessness and complete mind clarity. That was four years ago, and since then, Shanell has been on a mission to spread her love of yoga to anyone she can.
 
Shanell began teaching yoga to family, friends, and stressed out coworkers. As her passion for the healing power of yoga increased, she knew it was time to educate herself in in-depth yoga asana, philosophy, anatomy, pranayama, and meditation studies. She completed her first 200-hour yoga certification course in a month long intense study at the Sivananda Yoga Ashram in Nassau, Bahamas. After returning to Dallas, she enrolled in another 200-hour yoga certification course at Gaia Flow Yoga in Addison. Shanell plans on continuing her yoga education and views every student as an opportunity to deepen her understanding of the healing benefits of yoga. Combining her knowledge of classical hatha yoga asanas, pranayama, philosophy, and meditation with a modern Vinyasa Flow practice. Shanell teaches a yoga practice which is rooted in the knowledge of the ancient east and tailored for the modern yoga practitioner. Her hope for all her students is that they leave their mats feeling longer, lighter, balanced, and happier!

 Dylann Miklaszewicz
Here is a little bit about me.
I have been married for 7 Years and I have 2 great Kids.  We have been living in Milwaukee Wisconsin and just moved to here to McKinney this past November. I am looking forward to my new life here. Working in a new environment and continuing to discover Pilates.  My Background is in Dance. I danced professionally for 7 years in The Cleveland San Jose Ballet and The Milwaukee Ballet. I was first introduced to Pilates when I sprained my ankle pretty badly during a performance and Pilates was part of my rehabilitation. I really liked what I learned and wanted to learn as much as I could about Pilates. Knowing I would not be able to dance forever I looked into teacher training programs. I was still dancing at that time so there wasn’t time to get good training and still be dancing. So as soon as I retired from dancing I started my Pilates Training. I went through the teacher training program at The Pilates Center in Boulder CO. and a program at Freedom Pilates Studio in Fox point, WI.  I have been teaching now for 10 years and I really love it. I enjoy watching my clients regain strength and confidence. I want my clients to be able to participate in their lives and feel great doing it. I believe that where there is the will there is a way to “Return to life” with Pilates.

Cris Buchner Stone
Cris began practicing Pilates, yoga and Gyrotonic in New York City in 2001. She instantly fell in love with the physical and mental benefits that she received from regularly practicing the classical Pilates repertoire as she pursued a demanding career in Off-Broadway theatre. When she decided to move back home to Dallas in 2010, it seemed an obvious choice to make her passion into a career by becoming a certified Pilates instructor.  She is comprehensively certified to teach Mat and all Pilates apparatus through the Kane School of Core Integration under the directorship of the renowned Kelly Kane. She strives to combine her love for the classical repertoire with the Kane School's comprehensive approach to anatomy study, bio-mechanics and special populations to create exciting and satisfying sessions for her clients.  In addition to regular continuing education, she makes it a point to get back to NYC as often as possible to continue to learn from the innovative faculty at the Kane School. She has experience working with clients with Osteoporosis, Scoliosis, disc herniations and other spinal pathologies, pre and post-natal clients, as well as all fitness levels. Cris hopes to inspire others who may not necessarily have a dance or fitness background to achieve the new levels of strength, flexibility, endurance, and well-being that she has found through her Pilates practice.