Therapists & Instructors
Zeina GrifoniPhysical Therapist
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Zeina received her Masters degree in Physical Therapy at Samuel Merritt College in Oakland, California in 2002, and her Pilates Instructor Certification with Ellie Herman in 2004. She has since continued her Pilates training to include pre and post-natal pilates, pilates for Osteoporosis with instructor Sheri Betz PT, and has become a Pink ribbon Certified instructor for breast cancer rehabilitation through the Pink Ribbon Program and instructor Doreen Puglisi, as well as studied rehabilitation for breast cancer survivors with Suzanne Martin DPT.In September 2005, she opened her own practice, Synergy +. Zeina’s main focus is outpatient orthopedics, ranging from post-op rehab to sports related injuries. She specializes in Pilates based orthopedic care, sports rehab, physical fitness, exercise programming, and overall health and wellness. She teaches continuing education instruction courses to physical therapists, Pilates instructors and personal and fitness trainers. Zeina has always wanted to help others through her work. This desire has led her from a world of teaching and participating in sports, to rehabilitation. Zeina started teaching gymnastics at the age of 15, and has been teaching everything from scuba diving to swimming to circus arts ever since. Zeina practiced aerial arts for many years with a San Francisco based circus troupe, Velocity Circus. Opening Synergy +, is a dream come true for her, as it allows her to harness her energy, her athletic background, and her education into one discipline. Beside enjoying as much time as possible with her two boys, her hobbies include hiking and running, mountain biking, swimming, ballroom dancing, as well as participating in off road adventure races and mini triathlons. |
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Maria Ismen Certified Pilates Instructor |
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Maria has always led an active lifestyle and loves to ski, hike, play violin and many other outdoor activities. She ran competitively in a few long distance races and marathons, but had to stop due to low back pain. She turned to ballroom dancing, and practiced Pilates in order to enhance her dancing and keep her body pain free.Since Pilates has greatly helped Maria and she also enjoys helping others, she decided to change careers and become a Certified Pilates instructor. Having suffered and worked through neck and back pain due to scoliosis, spinal instability, and the extreme demands associated with violin playing and endurance sports, she has a great understanding of how to help others physically and mentally through Pilates. Additionally, Maria brings an emotional sensitivity and compassion that developed through her volunteer work at hospitals and in drug and alcohol rehab programs. She finds Pilates to be another way of helping people to live healthier, fuller lives, and is thrilled to be part of that process. Maria is sure that her decision to change careers will help to keep herself healthy as well as provide a way to share what she has learned with others. |
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MinJae Law Mat Certified Pilates Instructor |
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MinJae entered the Pilates and fitness world when she decided to take a series of Pilates classes several years ago. At that time she was a business professional in the corporate world and a mother of 3- working crazy hours, juggling work and family and not having any time to breathe. She fell in love with Pilates (not Joseph!) and was pleasantly surprised at just how well it worked to give her a sense of overall wellness and make her feel better physically and mentally. She became a mat certified Pilates instructor, an ACE certified personal trainer, and a Zumba certified instructor. MinJae has a well rounded experience in the fitness world, and has a deep understanding of the dilemma many professionals and parents face while attempting to balance family, work, and time for oneself to focus on health and well being. She specializes in creating functional fitness programs utilizing Pilates principles for developing core strength and flexibility. She has combined her ideas into two new classes here at Synergy+ to achieve those goals: Pilates boot camp and Cardio + Pilates. |
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- - SYNERGY+ Physical Therapy & Pilates Studio |
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