CHRISTINA'S BIO

She became involved in Pilates through her extensive fitness training. She was introduced in 1995 through a class with Julian Littleford of JL Body Conditioning in Del Mar, California.  An avid sportswoman, she used Pilates as an athletic performance enhancement.  Her move from Southern California to San Francisco in 1999 started her life changing path of advanced yoga training with Arkady Shirin, a renowned yogi.

Since then her style has been influenced by studies of the Astanga Vinyasa system with Pattabhi Jois in Mysore, India, Scaravelli yoga with Gary Carter, Tai-Chi & QiGong with Harrison Liu, Vipassana meditation with SN Goenka and nutritional studies at the Optimum Health Institute. Christina offers a strong and meticulous practice with an emphasis on alignment, breath and concentration.

Christina’s history in working and training with her Naturopath sister Gloria Jarrell is intricately tied to many traditional Eastern healing traditions as well as many non traditional esoteric modalities. Through years of study and a strong commitment to daily practice, Christina has gained a deep personal understanding of what it means to be strong and flexible and to have a functional, intelligent body. This cultivated her personal philosophy on health, which can be summed up as: Pilates and Yoga is a high-energy partnership of physical and spiritual exercise techniques to revitalize the mind and body.

She received her Pilates certification in summer 2004 from Susan Branum and Mercy Sidbury through ‘Yoga in Motion Studio’ in Napa, California. Susan Branum was certified by ‘Physical Mind Institute’ under the direction of Michele Larsson and Madeleine Black in San Francisco. Since her graduation Christina has been teaching at ‘Yoga in Motion,’ ‘Cafée of Life,’ and ‘Ultimate Fitness Pilates’ in Mill Valley, CA.

She moved to Thailand in January to complete her teacher training certification in traditional Thai Massage in Chiang Mai and is currently working as a guest teacher in residence at the Pilates Studio Bangkok teaching Yoga, Fit Ball, all levels Mat classes, reformer/cadillac class (up to 5 students) and privates.

She is currently apprenticing for yoga teacher training under tutelage of Dominique Renucci of Bangkok and has been apprenticing with Arkady Shirin of San Francisco since winter 2000.

'Certified Thai Massage Therapist'

YOGA
A complete system of conditioning, yoga is a 4000+ year-old discipline that helps to create physical and mental fitness. Meaning “union,” yoga links movement with breath. Asanas develop body awareness, muscles and flexibility, and have been grouped to allow movements to flow together with ease.

PILATES
Based on the teachings of Joseph H. Pilates, this method develops strength, flexibility and coordination while improving body alignment, awareness and balance. Each exercise is a series of movements that stretch and strengthen muscles throughout the body, releasing tension and opening the joints. You begin by developing core strength in the deep abdominal and back muscles to support and stabilize the skeletal system during movement.

TAI CHI CHUAN
is translated as the 'Supreme Ultimate Force' - also associated with the Chinese concept of yin-yang, a notion of dynamic duality (male/female, dark/light, forceful/yielding, etc.) in all things. 'Force' can be thought of here as the means or way of achieving this yin-yang, or 'supreme-ultimate' discipline.
It is thought of as a moving form of yoga and meditation combined. There are a number of forms that (not which) consist of a sequence of movements. Many of these movements are originally derived from the martial arts (and perhaps even more ancestrally than that, from the natural movements of animals and birds) although the way they are performed in Tai Chi is slowly, softly and gracefully with smooth and even transitions between them. The practical exercises of Tai Chi are also situated in a wider philosophical context of Taoism, the philosophy that espouses a calm, reflective and mystic view of the world steeped in the beauty of nature.

QIGONG
QI(CHI) = ENERGY GONG(KUNG) = SKILL
QIGONG = TH E SKILL OF ATTRACTING VITAL ENERGY
Qigong is a self-healing art that combines movement and meditation. Visualizations are employed to enhance the mind/body connection and assist healing.
Regular practice of Qigong can: prevent and treat illness, reduce stress, establish balance and integrate mind/body/spirit - bringing peace.
Qigong, is an integral part of Chinese Traditional Medicine. The gentle movements, easy postures and simple meditation techniques bring about a balanced energy flow, the end result is optimum health of the body and mind. Qigong is not derived from martial arts such as Tai Chi. Qigong is purely to nurture the energy flow with no opponent in mind, stressing harmony within and harmony with the universe.  There is movement Qigong and stillness Qigong, and one should do both.
We blend our Qi with that of the rivers and oceans and the forests and mountains, and also draw upon their Qi to strengthen ourselves. As we progress to practicing serious self healing and to projecting the healing Qi to others, the concept of "being as one with the universe" becomes evidently crucial.

VIPASSANA
which means to see things as they really are, is one of India's most ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gotama Buddha more than 2500 years ago and was taught by him as a universal remedy for universal ills.
This non-sectarian technique aims for the total eradication of mental impurities and the resultant highest happiness of full liberation. Healing, not merely the curing of diseases, but the essential healing of human suffering, is its purpose.
Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body, and the continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind.
The scientific laws that operate one's thoughts, feelings, and sensations become clear. Through direct experience, the nature of how one grows or regresses, how one produces suffering or frees oneself from suffering is understood. Life becomes characterized by increased awareness, non-delusion, self-control and peace.

NOETIC SCIENCES
‘Noetic’ is derived from the Greek word ‘nous’ meaning mind, intelligence or ways of knowing. Therefore, ‘noeticsciences’ are those that study the mind and its diverse ways of knowing in a truly interdisciplinary fashion.
Studying them provides us with the opportunity to experience the Art and Science of Union with reality. Through my studies I have learned to become a citizen in a universe larger than my aspiration and more complex than all my dreams. It provides a practical path that lets us express and manifest both our human potential, as well as our social purpose.

NUTRITION
Many centuries ago, Hippocrates, known as the "father of medicine", taught that wholesome natural foods could restore health. The human body is self-regenerating and self-cleansing and, when given the proper tools with which to work can maintain its natural state of well-being.