Get to know our Instructors
Stephanie Gasparo, Studio Owner
Stephanie has semi-retired and is no longer teaching at our Upland CA studio, and she remains studio owner as well as working with clients near her new home in South Carolina.
STOTT PILATES® Certified Instructor
Yoga Personal Trainer
Certified Meditation Teacher
Reiki Energy Healing
Stephanie has been teaching pilates and yoga since 2000. She is Stott certified in mat pilates, reformer, Cadillac, stability chairs and barrels. Stephanie’s training puts emphasis on optimal musculoskeletel performance in strength, flexibility and endurance, without risking injury or building bulk.
She has over 350 hours of yoga training and is certified through Yogafit. She is currently completing 500 hours of yoga training. Stephanie is trained in Reiki and enjoys the healthful benefits of energy healing. She has taught many strength training modalities but has found pilates and yoga to be superior for strength training, injury prevention, injury recovery and flexibility. Before she discovered her true passion for teaching the essence and principles of movement, Stephanie received her Bachelors Degree in law/paralegal studies.
Mari Gamans
Pilates Method Instructor
GYROTONIC® Certified Level 1 Instructor
Mari, a California native, is an ex-professional dancer with over 20 years of teaching experience. She earned her BA degree in Dance from UC Irvine with honors, specializing in Performance and Teaching. It was at UCI that she was first introduced to The Pilates Method. Supplementing her dance classes with Pilates exercises made a huge impact on her dancing, improving her technique immensely, and she was hooked for life!
Soon after graduating from UCI, she completed the Pilates Method Teacher Training Program at Studio du Corps in Costa Mesa, California under the direction of esteemed UCI Dance and Pilates professor, Diane Diefenderfer. Upon completion of this training, she was invited to start her teaching career at The Ron Fletcher Company in Los Angeles. As a result of her apprenticeship and teaching hours there, under the sought after guidance of Michael Podwal, she was awarded an honorary Ron Fletcher Company Teacher Training certification. Mari continued to expand her teaching experience by working in several Pilates and Physical Therapy studios located in the Los Angeles area including Burbank, Studio City, Topanga Canyon, Silverlake and Los Feliz.
During this time, a colleague recommend that she try The Gyrotonic Expansion System, as she might find it even more complimentary to dance techniques than The Pilates Method. She took the advice. After only one Gyrotonic session, she fell in love with the movement discipline and knew she was meant to study it further and teach it to others. She completed the Gyrotonic Level 1 Teacher Training Course with Master Trainer Lisa Marie Goodwin and began teaching right away.
Additionally, Mari is a RYT-200 hour certified Yoga Teacher through Yoga Alliance. She teaches Yoga and Pilates physical education courses at Pomona College, as well as various styles of yoga at local private studios. She also serves as one of the lead educators for the Claremont Yoga Teacher Training Program.
Mari lives in Claremont with her husband, two kids, several cats and a dog. Although her performing days are mostly over, she finds an outlet for artistic expression through continuing to be student of dance. She is eternally grateful for the opportunity to help others feel strong, connected, graceful and empowered in their bodies by sharing with them her knowledge of these beautiful and beneficial movement methodologies.
You'll find Mari in the studio weekday mornings offering groups lessons in Pilates and Gyrotonic.
Cathie Bachelder
STOTT PILATES® Trained Instructor
Certified TRX Trainer
Cathie started practicing Pilates after a debilitating back injury 15 years ago and has been studying Pilates at Om Sweet Om ever since. After seeing first hand how the movement based exercises in Pilates brought healing and motion into her own spine, she decided she had to share the gift of Pilates with others.
Cathie is trained in Stott Pilates along with TRX. Cathie has also begun her GYROTONIC Method teacher training journey! She'll be offering Gyrotonic sessions early 2022.
You'll find Cathie most days in the studio (from morning until evening) offering private, semi private and group lessons. You may even have the chance to work with her as she is our active daytime sub teacher.
Fred Hernandez
Pilates Sports Center Certified Pilates Instructor
TRX Certified
Fred has always enjoyed exercises such as Boot Camps, P90X, Insanity and also jogging and bike riding. Someone suggested for him to take a Pilates class to stretch and strengthen the muscles because of a back injury.
He quickly started taking more Pilates classes and this became his favorite form of exercise because of the intensity of the workout while being low impact (unlike many of other exercises styles).
Fred received his Comprehensive Pilates Certification thru Pilates Sports Center which includes matwork, reformer, Cadillac, chair and ladder barrel. Fred is also certified in TRX, PSM (Pilates Suspension method) and HIIT (Tabata GX).
Fred loves to teach challenging classes to get his students out of their comfort zone by combining all types of class formats into one. Fred specializes in “Cardio Pilates” and is now teaching this format on the Pilates equipment here at Om.
You'll find Fred in the studio offering private, semi private and group lessons in the evenings and Saturday afternoons.
Karen Nelson
STOTT PILATES® Certified Instructor
After many years instructing in the health club and physical rehabilitation environments, Karen has specialized in senior fitness/wellness for over 25 years incorporating Pilates into their classes.
Trained in classical ballet during her youth the standard was set for furthering her knowledge of Pilates and received her training in both Mat and Reformer through the Stott Method.
Other certifications and education include AFAA (Aerobics and Fitness Association of America), Southern California School of Yoga Science, California Community College Teaching Credential, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Art and Design.
She enjoys her “down-time” with her 2 precious grandsons, gardening, cooking for anyone and everyone, traveling, and living as mindful and creatively as possible.
You'll find Karen in the studio as one of our Pilates substitute instructors.
Angelic
Reiki
Angelic is a certified Reiki Master practitioner, Pranic Healer, Psychic and NLP Life Coach. She specializes in energy healing and bringing into balance the mind, body and spirit, guiding others to truly see and step into their potential, inner light and divine purpose. Angelic helps others to identify and achieve their personal goals by coping with the issues that are causing them distress, anxiety, and pain. She takes great joy in the progress and success of her clients, and looks forward to helping you!
Learn more about what Angelique offers by clicking on the Holistic Services tab.