About

Melanie Nasser grew up in the Woodlands before leaving to pursue a career as a Professional Dancer. She has been Principal Dancer with Tulsa Ballet as well as Ohio Ballet, and has performed Internationally on stages as far flung as Hawaii, Japan, and New York. Melanie’s interest in — and respect for — Pilates developed well before she began instructing: she is a direct beneficiary of the healing power of the method. Melanie learned the rehabilitative benefits of Pilates first hand after an ACL tear that could have been a career ending mishap. Her performing life was extended through a combination of orthopedic surgery and intensive Pilates based therapy.

When an opportunity to build a Pilates programme fell in her lap several years later, Melanie became certified through D.K. Body Balancing and retired from dance. She taught for close to a decade in Tulsa, where her clientele ranged in age from aspiring young dancers to spry senior citizens, from expectant mothers to athletes returning from injury, from business men reclaiming fitness after heart surgery to a former member of the US Olympic Tae Kwon Do team.

In Tulsa Melanie worked alongside her mentor Danielle Cap Lema who uses Dennis Gibbons’ Muscle Release Therapy, MRTh® to complement the studio’s Pilates offerings.

Melanie’s exposure to the power and benefits of Pilates combined with her mentor’s Release Work — and her never-ending quest to bring her clients the full movement potential of a well aligned body — has led her to spend the last few years exploring and learning Yamuna® Body Rolling. In 2011 she completed the full course work and all testing to become a certified YBR practitioner.

Never content to sit back and reflect on her previous accomplishments, Melanie has added to her considerable depth of knowledge and recently became a Level 4 Rossiter coach.

Melanie’s vision for centerAlign is simple: to help her clients prevent unnecessary injuries while improving and enhancing the movement potential of their bodies.

Heather Thompson was raised in League City, Texas and was very active in performing arts. She completed her Bachelors of Arts degree at California State University and it was there that she was introduced to Pilates. Upon graduation, she flew to New York and trained with one of the original elders, Romana Kryzanowska and received her teaching certification in 2000.

What started as a great job to support her performing career, turned into a great passion. Heather loves the human body and is fascinated with what it can do. She has studied with many teachers and techniques and loves the challenge every body brings to her. In 2008, she received her training in Active Isolated Stretching (AIS). This technique increases range of motion, improves athletic performance, and decreases risk of injury. It is a great complement to Pilates and she uses both techniques to help people of all walks of life feel great.

When Heather is not teaching, she enjoys the sunny outdoors running, hiking, and biking with her husband and two boys.

Maureen Spillane grew up in Connecticut, graduated from Fairfield University with a Bachelor of Arts in Politics and established a career with Aetna Life and Casualty. After living in San Diego for a number of years, she moved to The Woodlands, Texas in 1999 with her husband and their two daughters.

Several years ago, while searching for a Pilates instructor for her daughter, Maureen found Melanie Nasser and centerAlign. After seeing the progress that her daughter was making, Maureen decided to take up Pilates as well... and discovered a new passion!

She finds the experience of what Pilates can do to keep the body healthy, and the impact it has on the mind/body connection fascinating. Maureen began pursuing her own certification early in 2014, and has studied with Melanie’s teacher, Dolly Kelepecz of DK Body Balancing and the University of Nevada at Las Vegas. She is certified through DK Body Balancing in levels 1, 2 and 3 for Pilates mat and equipment. While she happily helps people of all ages strengthen their core and improve their alignment, she has found a special place in her heart for helping people who are a bit older and are struggling with issues in their backs, hips, knees, feet and with their balance. She also serves as the studio manager.

When Maureen is not focused on Pilates, she enjoys spending time with her husband, their daughters, traveling (especially to the ocean!), music, good friends, and her house full of pets!

Samantha Hendricks graduated from Sam Houston State University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Dance. She is a professional Modern Dancer in the Houston area and recently studied with a dance company in Rome, Italy. In college she was introduced to Pilates and found out how much of a difference it made in her dancing. Over time she saw the effects and possibilities that Pilates had – not just for her but for anyone.

Samantha is Pilates certified through Balanced Body, and focuses on correct body alignment, breath, core activation, flexibility, and coordination. She has experience instructing athletes, and special populations, with injury prevention, and with back pain relief.

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