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About Us
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Nellie Brook, Founder of Mixx
After earning her Master of Arts degree in exercise and sport science from the University of Sydney, Nellie spent 14 years developing and providing Pilates programs for people with specific medical requirements, such as patients with chronic back pain, spinal stenosis, hip and knee replacements, and more. She spent 6 years as the Pilates department manager for Fitness and Wellness services in New Jersey, and operated her own Pilates studio in Sydney, Australia. Now she’s bringing her years of experience and care to California, to help you achieve your goals.
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Katie K. Griffin, Instructor
Smadar Sweiry, Instructor
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Katie K. Griffin is a Bay Area Dance Artist. With over 34 years of dance experience and 26 years of teaching throughout California, she offers a unique approach to her instruction that opens the minds and bodies of her students in ways they’ve not experienced before. Katie holds her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Modern Dance with an emphasis in Modern Dance Performance from California State University Long Beach. She's an instructor for the Dance for Parkinson's community, and has recently added Pilates to her credentials. She holds her certification in Plant Based Nutrition from Cornell University and is currently delving further into body work and movement studies.
Smadar is coming to MIXX with 10 years of experience in teaching Pilates. She was first interested in Pilates because of her own back problem and was amazed to learn how Pilates improves injuries and posture. In 2011, she was licensed as a Pilates Mat Instructor and taught in Israel before moving to California in 2013. She is STOTT PILATES Certified, a mother of two, and enjoys staying active with Pilates, hiking, and yoga.
Christy Kirkpatrick, Instructor
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Christy was born and raised in Bozeman Montana. She left at an early age to train at the Joffrey Ballet School and fell in love with Pilates through her mentor at ballet school. Pilates and ballet have been an instrumental force in her life since she was very young. After dancing with Milwaukee Ballet and the SF Opera Ballet she chose to end her dance career and get a degree in social work at San Francisco State University. After graduating from SFSU, she found a new passion in working with women recovering from chemical dependency. While working at a treatment center that focused on mind, body, and spiritual connection to overcome addiction and trauma, Christy became passionate about bringing Pilates to people who might not have the resources to experience the wonderful benefits of Pilates. She lives in Los Altos with her husband, two young sons and Nutella, her adorable golden retriever.
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Jennifer Makower, Instructor
Jen stepped away from her career as a Speech-Language Pathologist working in special education in order to raise her three children. Now that her youngest is in his last year of high school, she is ready to start something new. She has always valued an exercise routine, but it wasn’t until she discovered pilates three years ago at Mixx studio that she truly enjoyed it. After watching her mom suffer at the end of life with several medical issues and physical limitations, she is committed to keeping active. Pilates is the perfect exercise to help with core strength, balance and flexibility which are all key for healthy aging. She looks forward to sharing her enthusiasm with students of all ages and abilities.
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Felicia Tsui, Instructor
Felicia's Pilates journey began during her decades long career as a worker bee in the tech industry. She discovered a studio near her son's daycare center; as her son learned how to socialize with other kids, she took the time for herself, making baby-steps into Pilates practice. In the next 12+ years, she struggled to find one hour every week attending a group session, always rushing in at the last minute and dashing out of the door quickly as soon as the class ended. But within that one hour of Pilates, she was able to simply focus on the movement of the body, and was delighted in even the smallest progress in doing the exercises. When the opportunity came to join the Mixx teacher training, she decided that it was time to develop a deeper understanding of Pilates methodology and help others to find joy in the exercise and movement. Felicia believes that staying active is an important factor to age gracefully and healthily. In her experience, Pilates provides a well-rounded workout for everyone regardless of their activity level. Outside of Pilates, Felicia spends her free time hiking, kayaking/SUPing, and seeking out good food to eat.
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Amy Cappellanti-Wolf, Instructor
Amy is a lifelong athlete and sports enthusiast. She hails from West Virginia and is a proud WVU Mountaineer where she graduated with a BS in Journalism and MS in Industrial & Labor Relations. Amy has built her career in human resources working with companies such as PepsiCo, The Walt Disney Company, Sun Microsystems, Cisco and Symantec. Along the way, Amy has run 8 marathons, raising money for Team in Training, and loves to snow, water ski and hike with her family. While she loves the endorphin rush from running, Amy was looking for a way to improve her mobility and core strength. After taking her first Pilates class at MIXX in December 2021, Amy was hooked and has since turned into a committed, Pilates enthusiast. Beyond her devotion to fitness and the great outdoors, Amy extends her enthusiasm to her cherished family. Together with her husband Doug and their two daughters, she's always eager to share her fitness adventures.
A note from Nellie:
I created MIXX after years of exploring, studying and teaching different training and exercise methods.
As a mom of three and a wife to a super busy husband with my own career ambitions, I always tried to find the complete program that best fits my (changing) body and my (busy) mind, as well as my schedule, life priorities and most importantly... my budget. Workout by workout, through struggles and success, I created the MIXX concept.
I am so happy I now get to share MIXX with you! It’s a revolutionary method, yet simple and focused on helping you reach your own goals for mind and body.
See you at the studio!
Nellie
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