Focus has a team of experienced and professional Instructors, all of whom
are certified by the most comprehensive internationally recognised
instructor-training course in the industry, Polestar Pilates. In addition, all of our Instructors also participate in on-going in-house instructor education.
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Daniel Dittmar
Owner of Focus Movement
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Matwork and Reformer Senior Educator
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
Runity Master Trainer and Exercise Physiologist
Bachelor of Applied Science (Human Movement)
Daniel first came across the integration of Pilates with physiotherapy in 1998 when he was living in Australia. He immediately realised the huge potential and great benefits this method could have on fitness enthusiasts, people undergoing rehabilitation and even elite sportsmen and women. Since then, he has been teaching Pilates and personal training throughout Asia and Australia, including the world’s top destination spa, Chiva-Som in Thailand.
This experience, combined with his Bachelor’s in Applied Science (Human Movement Studies), has given him broad exposure to the health and fitness industry. His wide ranging exposure to various fitness training methods convinced him of the impact Pilates can have on a person’s life. Thus, Daniel decided to concentrate on teaching and developing Pilates for fitness and rehabilitation. The last few years he has been traveling Asia teaching the Polestar Pilates instructor training courses as well as presented several times at tthe Polestar Pilates Asia conferences.
Daniel shares “I strongly believe that our bodies have an inherent ability to heal itself and perform at peak levels without injuries, given the right environment, care and commitment.”
Daniel Dittmar
Head Instructor
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Michele Loh
Polestar Pilates Educator
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
GYROTONIC® Level 1 Certified
Bachelor of Applied Science (Human Movement)
A long time yoga practitioner, Michele has always been passionate about movement. She was introduced to the precision and scientific foundations of the Pilates Method due to a back injury years ago. Having healed her chronic back pain through Pilates, she was then inspired to start her journey towards becoming a qualified Polestar Pilates instructor.
Her caring teaching style, keen eye for movement and attention to detail quickly puts clients at ease, and coaxes them towards improving their body awareness and alignment. Michele enjoys creating unique exercise modifications and tailor-made programmes to develop each client’s core strength, correct muscular imbalances, as well as promote greater ease of movement and healthy biometrics. She is currently a Polestar Pilates mentor and has also attained certification for the GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® to expand her movement repertoire.
GYROTONIC® and GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® are registered trademarks of Gyrotonic Sales Corp and are used with their permission.
Michele Loh
Senior Instructor
GYROTONIC® Instructor
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Sun Bok
Diploma in Sports and Exercise Sciences
Certified Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer (FISAF INTERNATIONAL)
Certified Fitness Instructor Course Level 1 (Singapore Sports Council)
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
Polestar Reformer Certified
Polestar Matwork Trained
Recurrent injuries sustained in the course of her work as a group exercise instructor led Sun to the study and practice of Pilates, which proved to be an indispensible tool in healing her body and preventing additional injury.
A typical session with Sun brings together her vibrant, energising personality with an impressive range of knowledge garnered from her years teaching group exercise, personal training and Pilates. “Specialising in personal training allows me to customize exercises for a wide range of lifestyle, health and body types,” She points out. Above all, Sun’s ultimate goal is to heal her clients and make them feel stronger. “I emphasise the importance of safety, as well as of increasing body awareness and movement in common daily movements. The result is improved alertness, balance, flexibility and coordination.”
Sun Bok
Senior Instructor
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Cha Mi Jung
Polestar Pilates Mentor
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
TRX Certified
Chami grew up in Seoul (South Korea) and from a young age has led an active lifestyle, enjoying snowboarding, scuba diving, golf and yoga. In 2003, Chami moved to Shanghai for work before moving to Singapore in 2010 with her family.
Common amongst many post-partum women, Chami started experiencing lower back pain after giving birth to her children. She happened upon Pilates whilst in Singapore, which healed her lower back pain, and has since been drawn by its rehabilitative benefits to her physical fitness including eliminating muscle tension, and increasing strength and flexibility. She was amazed to discover how practicing Pilates dramatically improved her physical strength and flexibility, which allowed her to better enjoy her daily activities.
Having experienced the transformative benefits of Pilates, she was driven to seek a deeper understanding into the method. In 2015, Chami undertook the Polestar Pilates Instructor training programme, and looks forward to sharing her experience with others to help them lead a healthier and more refreshing lifestyle.
Chami loves to help her clients feel energised and confident through developing good posture and movement techniques. “The door to beneficial physical fitness lies in understanding your body. The basic components are the same, but each individual is unique in their combination. The dynamic, yet structured exercises of Pilates allows tailor-made, beneficial and most importantly, safe exercises for each individual.” – Chami.
Cha Mi Jung
Senior Instructor
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Beatriz Barreto
Bachelor of Physical Education
Mat Based Pilates Certified – Pilates Institute (UK)
Pilates Reformer Certified – ALM Pilates (Portugal)
Antigravity Fitness and Xtend Barre Instructor Certified
Stott Pilates Trained
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Showing a great enthusiasm for sports since young, Beatriz is passionate about leading an active and healthy lifestyle. After completing her Bachelor in Physical Education from Rio de Janeiro University in Brazil, Beatriz has been working in the fitness industry for over 19 years and had worked in various health clubs teaching a wide range of classes.
Beatriz was first introduced to Pilates during her school days and has been practicing since. She later took a step further to get qualified as a Pilates instructor in 2002 and enjoys helping her clients to learn to improve their quality of life through body awareness and Pilates movement.
Beatriz Barreto
Senior Instructor
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Julie Park
Polestar Pilates Mentor
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
GYROTONIC® Level 1 Certified
Julie is a Polestar Pilates Comprehensive series, Pilates Method Alliance certified Pilates and GYROTONIC® instructor. As a Polestar Mentor, she guides budding instructors on how to teach Pilates effectively. She also mentored and translated for more than 5 full rounds of Polestar Pilates Comprehensive series as well as various GYROTONIC®, Anatomy and fitness based courses and can teach fluently in English or Korean.
She never imagined herself working as a Pilates instructor as before she was just an avid fitness advocate that realised there was more to fitness than just going to the gym. After she first experienced Pilates for her own health, it gave her a chance to observe, learn about her own posture and explore new movements, thus she continued learning. She loved the feeling of accomplishment and achieving new goals in movement and physical capacity.
She feels that by practicing Pilates and GYROTONIC®, it allows people to enjoy their daily life more with freer, healthier and more energetic body movements.
Julie Park
Senior Instructor
GYROTONIC® Instructor
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Jiho Park
TRX Certified
STOTT PILATES Certified
Total Barre Instructor Certified
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Trained
More than 10 years ago, a chronic pain brought Jiho to Pilates and it has had an enormous impact on her life ever since, allowing her to continue to do the things she loves.
Teaching Pilates enables her to share her passion for movement and to partake in people’s journey of connecting deeply with their physical selves. Jiho aims to help her clients move confidently, strongly and gracefully through their lives.
Jiho Park
Instructor
Close
Haley Soh
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Trained
Haley is an advocate for self-health and wellness and strongly believes everyone has the potential to improve on all aspects of life, especially in the area of health and fitness.
Haley’s passion for fitness began when she started playing sports and competing in the nationals basketball competition during her secondary school days. Ever since then, fitness has been an integral part of her life, thanks to the motivation from family and coaches. She wants to be that same motivation for others and help them attain functional fitness for better flexibility, strength and agility through Pilates. She believes that making each routine functional for clients is key and will help them remain successful in the future, no matter what their goals are.
In her free time, Haley enjoys listening to K-pop and checking out new vegan restaurants.
Haley Soh
Instructor
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Fiona Ho
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Fiona was first introduced to Pilates by a friend, after being diagnosed with degenerative disc eight years ago and was required to make weekly visits to the physiotherapist. She later found that regular Pilates practice helped improved her back condition, reducing the number of physiotherapy treatment sessions needed.
However, a corporate career in the Human Resource industry for seven years led to daily back stiffness. Hence in 2014, Fiona decided to take up Pilates professionally with Polestar Pilates Education at Focus Pilates and received her professional certification last year.
Through it all, Fiona learnt what it means to “be in control of your body and not at its mercy” – Joseph Pilates, and hopes to share the knowledge she has gained and the benefits of Pilates to everyone.
Fiona Ho
Instructor
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Rina Quek
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Rina has always been enthusiastic about sports. She was actively involved and in some cases instructed in inline skating, canoeing, running and Aikido.
Rina has been coping with lower back pain and strains on joints, and due to a Spinal Disc Herniation incident, was recommended by her physiotherapist to try Pilates as a post-rehabilitation exercise.
Within a few months as a client of Focus Pilates, Rina experienced a wealth of benefits and a transformation.“There was a silver lining from my incident. It triggered and motivated me to make changes to my lifestyle and behaviour. The strengthening and toning of muscles improved my movement, awareness and balance. Most importantly, it reduced my back aches and helped me to regain my active lifestyle”.
Rina took up the Polestar Studio instructor course for self-improvement, and more importantly to share and encourage others to enjoy the benefits and transformation she has personally experienced.
Rina Quek
Instructor
Instructor
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Wong Zi En
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
As an avid runner, Zi En first began Pilates in 2010 to incorporate strength and flexibility aspects in her fitness routine; however what was supposed to be a complementary activity, became a passion, which she has since incorporated into her daily lifestyle.
In addition to the fitness benefits of increased strength, improved posture and enhanced flexibility, Zi En also found that she felt healthier and more energetic. She also found that Pilates helped her relax and eased the kinks in her neck after a long day at her corporate job.
Yearning to have a deeper understanding of Pilates, Zi En enrolled and completed the Polestar Instructor Training Programme. Zi En believes that Pilates can significantly improve one’s quality of life and hopes to share this gift with everyone.
Wong Zi En
Instructor
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Mike Hickman
Original Strength Instructor Level 1 & 2
Strength Matters Everyday Athlete Coach Level 1
Level 1 & 2 Kettlebell Instructor
Runity Run Coach
SledFit Instructor
ACE – Sports nutrition and weight management
ACE – Athletic Performance
Mike is an American Council for Exercise (ACE) certified Personal Trainer and has been involved with sports since being a child and played rugby, he later discovered that he had the disposition for endurance sports and has completed numerous marathons, ultra-marathons, triathlons including Ironman.
He was also part of a crew that rowed two boats around the Island of Singapore non-stop and has cycled to Everest base camp. Throughout all of the years of endurance racing Mike continued to regularly practice Pilates to maintain mobility and flexibility.
A few years ago Mike left the corporate world to follow his passion for working with people to redefine their limits and make improvements in their health and fitness. Mike is involved in the Run Conditioning and Strength & Conditioning classes and brings his unique sense of ‘fun’ to each of the sessions.
Mike Hickman
Instructor
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Mayni Leong
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Mayni’s love for Pilates began 15 years ago when she was first introduced to an exercise program that would help make her look “longer and leaner”. Before she knew it, Pilates turned into a passion when she felt the benefits of Pilates in her own body, which went well beyond the aesthetical results.
Pilates has help her re-build and re-discover her strength after having two children, and it continues to help her be pain free despite her mild scoliosis and other postural issues. She believes that every body has its beautiful imperfections and creating self-awareness and teaching the body to move intelligently is the key to being pain free despite these imperfections.
Mayni Leong
Instructor
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Mins Teo
Trained in Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance
Hatha Vinyasa Yoga (RYT200) in Thailand and Singapore
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Trained
Mins started Pilates when she was 16 years old as a way to complement her dance training as it keeps her strengthened while remaining lean. Constantly exploring different approaches to healing the body, she focuses a lot on body awareness in stillness and motion (influenced by the Feldenkrais method).
Mins believes it’s important to have a healthy mind-body connection and how we can calm and heal the mind through the body, using Pilates, Yoga and movement meditation. She feels that having a better body awareness leads to a better appreciation of life and she trusts that conscious practice of movements helps achieve it.
She looks forward to sharing the experiences of moving positively and creatively, also in finding new perspectives and uplifting one’s bodies, minds and spirits with that.
Mins Teo
Instructor
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Kelly Wong
Polestar Matwork Certified
Polestar Reformer Certified
Kelly’s first attempt at Pilates began with her thinking that it was “just stretching”. She quickly found out that it was certainly not as easy as she’d thought, and left the class with aching core muscles that she’d never been acquainted with before. With subsequent lessons, she was surprised at the changes that Pilates had on her body, by improving the mobility of her spine, lengthening, toning and strengthening her core.
Coming from a corporate job where the length of her days is confined to a desk, Kelly loves how Pilates adds a dose of movement into her life. She took up a certification as a Polestar Mat Instructor to deepen her practice, was hooked on it, and is now pursuing her second certification as a Reformer Instructor. She enjoys how Pilates is low impact, yet achieves a dynamic balance of strengthening and stretching, making it a great complement to all other workouts.
Fascinated at the science behind Pilates and how it helps to make everyday movements more efficient, Kelly is a strong advocate of the benefits of Pilates and is happy to share that with the people around her. She is determined to motivate her students to love movement as much as she does.
Kelly Wong
Instructor
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Melinda Lee
Authorized GYROTONIC® Pre-Trainer Educator
GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® Certified
Certified in GYROTONIC® Jumping Stretch Board, GYROTONER®, Leg Extension Unit, Archway
Registered Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist (RCST)
Certified Tension Releasing Exercises (TRE®) Provider
Balanced Body Mat and Equipment Pilates trained
Bachelor of Arts (Anthropology & Theater)
Mel’s lifelong passion for movement, health, and the lived experience of creative spirit in the body has ventured into many cultures, communities, and pathways home. A dance and theater performer since young, raised between Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United States, Mel studied neo-traditional and modern dance styles and collaborative theater, establishing herself for many years as a New York City-based downtown dance artist, health writer, and arts manager.
As a trainer and educator, Mel specializes in the awareness of feeling-sense of the body as the ultimate tool for nervous system regulation, resilience building, and recovery. She has been informed by the past 7 years of teaching through mixed physiotherapy, movement and meditation environments to bridge functional, structural, somatic and expressive experiences of alignment, anatomy and personal agency. Loving aunty to 3 kids below the age of 10, Mel is also a trained doula and advocate for gentle births and the work of intergenerational healing.
GYROTONIC® and GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® are registered trademarks of Gyrotonic Sales Corp and are used with their permission.
Melinda Lee
GYROTONIC® Instructor
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Nicole Wee
Shivshakti Yoga Certified (International) India and Singapore
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Nicole came into Pilates purely by curiosity. Being a fitness group instructor and yoga instructor for many years, she has always been asked about the difference between yoga and Pilates. She decided to dive into it to find out more and since then she has been hooked. Pilates has not only heightened her body awareness but also equipped her with the freedom to pursue her passion in life.
Like any endurance athlete, I love the ‘pain’ during gruelling training sessions and races. However, just like everybody else, I dislike the pain that arises from muscle imbalance and poor body awareness. I was pleasantly surprised by how Pilates has helped me to not only train efficiently but more importantly, bring me back to basics and re-teach my body to move in an optimal manner, even for the simplest things such as sitting at a desk. As I began to understand the science behind Pilates and embrace it as part of my life, I also wanted to share this fulfilling journey with the people around me.
My motivation is simple: To help my clients work on their body so that their body can in turn work for them. We should never to take our bodies for granted and continue to ensure they perform at their best.
Nicole Wee
Instructor
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Quek Xue Wei
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
A keen runner and yoga practitioner, Xue Wei also dabbles in spinning and circuit training. She first started mat Pilates in 2012 to supplement her active fitness routine and began exploring reformer classes out of curiosity. Realising the tremendous benefits Pilates had to offer, Xue Wei soon experienced an increase in body awareness, improved posture and reduced common body aches associated with working long hours at the desk.
She believes that Pilates is an effective method for correcting body imbalances and reducing pain arising from poor posture and movement. Determined to help people move better and increase their quality of life, Xue Wei is now part of the team as a Polestar Pilates Instructor.
Quek Xue Wei
Instructor
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Isabell Tay
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Isabell is an avid sports person with a keen interest for anything active. She mixes up her fitness routine with a host of activities, and can be found rock climbing, running, cycling, practicing Pilates, Muay Thai and yoga as well as pole dancing.
Working as a marketing professional, Isabell believes that fitness should be a lifestyle choice to improve our overall wellbeing, and that it’s important to stay active outside of the office. She has found that often as adults we are held back by injury, however has discovered that Pilates is the ultimate rehabilitation tool to rebalance the body, allowing us to get back into physical activity.
Isabell has been practicing at Focus for over 4 years, and in 2015 decided to take her passion for Pilates to the next level and become a Polestar Pilates Instructor. She is eager to pass on her ‘active living’ philosophy to others and inspire them to become fit and healthy in a fun way.
‘Pilates is my key to re-energising my body, so I can get more out of life!” – Isabell.
Isabell Tay
Instructor
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Dragana Obajdin
BSc Physiotherapy, Medical College Belgrade, Serbia
Clinical Pilates and Polestar Pilates Rehabilitation Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
Dragana is a highly experienced Physiotherapist with 30 years experience treating patients using physiotherapy. She specialises in treating different musculoskeletal disorders that affect the back, neck, upper and lower limbs, sports injuries and neurological deficits.
Dragana took up Pilates and completed courses in Clinical Pilates and Polestar Pilates to complement her physiotherapy training. She is able to adapt Pilates exercises for her therapy programme, especially for patients with back and neck issues.
She has found Pilates instrumental in speeding up a patient’s recovery period. It also gives long term benefits including strength and flexibility, good balance, alignment, body awareness with motor control and helps reduce pains and improves a person’s quality of daily and sports activities.
Dragana Obajdin
Head Physiotherapist
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Christine Koh
Doctor of Physical Therapy, Chapman University, California, USA
B.S. Kinesiology, San Diego State University, California, USA
Polestar Pilates Mentor
Polestar Pilates Rehabilitation Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
Sports Trauma Management
Christine started her career practicing as an orthopaedic physical therapist in California, and has since chalked up experience treating musculoskeletal injuries in Singapore and England.
She incorporates manual therapy and Pilates exercises in her treatment sessions to speed up recovery, as she thinks it is key to the rehabilitation process that one experiences pain free movement as soon as possible to prevent secondary compensations.
Over the years, she has worked closely with various orthopaedic doctors, sports doctors, and spine specialists from different countries to provide the best multi-disciplinary medical team management, and helped athletes from university and national teams to return to competition. Christine is certified in Sports Trauma Management as well, and is keen to introduce Pilates to the sports community to improve their game.
Her other clinical experience includes Pediatrics, Neurology, Gerontology, and Aquatic therapy. She strongly believes in the importance of patient education and patient empowerment to affect positive changes in all of her clients.
Christine Koh
Senior Physiotherapist
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Vanessa Wong
BSc Physiotherapy, Curtin University, Australia
Dry Needling Trained
Polestar Pilates Rehabilitation Certified
After graduating from Curtin University with Bachelor of Physiotherapy in 2011, Vanessa worked in a private practice in Perth for five years, treating a variety of musculoskeletal injuries, sporting injuries, and occupational related injuries.
Also, being a sports trainer in AFL, Soccer and Rugby during her undergraduate studies had provided her with invaluable experience in managing various injuries in athletes including state and national levels.
Vanessa is also proficient in dry needling and certified in Spinal Manual Therapy from Manual Concepts (Australia). She is currently undertaking the internationally recognised Polestar Pilates training to further deepen her previous Clinical Pilates knowledge.
Vanessa believes that a complete rehabilitation programme should incorporate Pilates in recovery and she is eager to help clients regain their fitness level and ensuring them to get back to their optimum health.
Vanessa Wong
Physiotherapist
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Cheah Hui Lin
BSc Physiotherapy, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Polestar Pilates Rehabilitation Trained
Having worked as a physiotherapist in a local hospital in Singapore since 2015, Hui Lin has gained invaluable experience in neurology, geriatric, cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, and orthopaedics. She finds joy in seeing clients improve and she believes in empowering them in understanding their own body.
Ever since Hui Lin was introduced to Polestar Pilates, she has been drawn to the knowledge and benefits it offers to people of varying fitness level or physiological conditions. She feels one of the many health benefits of Pilates is that it targets important stabiliser muscles which many of us neglect and encourage the holistic movement integration of the entire body system.
With experience in both Physiotherapy and Pilates, Hui Lin looks forward in empowering her clients with better body awareness, movement strategies and physical fitness.
Cheah Hui Lin
Physiotherapist
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Daniel Dittmar
Owner of Focus Movement
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Matwork and Reformer Senior Educator
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
Runity Master Trainer and Exercise Physiologist
Bachelor of Applied Science (Human Movement)
Daniel first came across the integration of Pilates with physiotherapy in 1998 when he was living in Australia. He immediately realised the huge potential and great benefits this method could have on fitness enthusiasts, people undergoing rehabilitation and even elite sportsmen and women. Since then, he has been teaching Pilates and personal training throughout Asia and Australia, including the world’s top destination spa, Chiva-Som in Thailand.
This experience, combined with his Bachelor’s in Applied Science (Human Movement Studies), has given him broad exposure to the health and fitness industry. His wide ranging exposure to various fitness training methods convinced him of the impact Pilates can have on a person’s life. Thus, Daniel decided to concentrate on teaching and developing Pilates for fitness and rehabilitation. The last few years he has been traveling Asia teaching the Polestar Pilates instructor training courses as well as presented several times at tthe Polestar Pilates Asia conferences.
Daniel shares “I strongly believe that our bodies have an inherent ability to heal itself and perform at peak levels without injuries, given the right environment, care and commitment.”
Daniel Dittmar
Head Instructor
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Michele Loh
Polestar Pilates Educator
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
GYROTONIC® Level 1 Certified
Bachelor of Applied Science (Human Movement)
A long time yoga practitioner, Michele has always been passionate about movement. She was introduced to the precision and scientific foundations of the Pilates Method due to a back injury years ago. Having healed her chronic back pain through Pilates, she was then inspired to start her journey towards becoming a qualified Polestar Pilates instructor.
Her caring teaching style, keen eye for movement and attention to detail quickly puts clients at ease, and coaxes them towards improving their body awareness and alignment. Michele enjoys creating unique exercise modifications and tailor-made programmes to develop each client’s core strength, correct muscular imbalances, as well as promote greater ease of movement and healthy biometrics. She is currently a Polestar Pilates mentor and has also attained certification for the GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® to expand her movement repertoire.
GYROTONIC® and GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® are registered trademarks of Gyrotonic Sales Corp and are used with their permission.
Michele Loh
Senior Instructor
GYROTONIC® Instructor
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Sun Bok
Diploma in Sports and Exercise Sciences
Certified Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer (FISAF INTERNATIONAL)
Certified Fitness Instructor Course Level 1 (Singapore Sports Council)
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
Polestar Reformer Certified
Polestar Matwork Trained
Recurrent injuries sustained in the course of her work as a group exercise instructor led Sun to the study and practice of Pilates, which proved to be an indispensible tool in healing her body and preventing additional injury.
A typical session with Sun brings together her vibrant, energising personality with an impressive range of knowledge garnered from her years teaching group exercise, personal training and Pilates. “Specialising in personal training allows me to customize exercises for a wide range of lifestyle, health and body types,” She points out. Above all, Sun’s ultimate goal is to heal her clients and make them feel stronger. “I emphasise the importance of safety, as well as of increasing body awareness and movement in common daily movements. The result is improved alertness, balance, flexibility and coordination.”
Sun Bok
Senior Instructor
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Cha Mi Jung
Polestar Pilates Mentor
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
TRX Certified
Chami grew up in Seoul (South Korea) and from a young age has led an active lifestyle, enjoying snowboarding, scuba diving, golf and yoga. In 2003, Chami moved to Shanghai for work before moving to Singapore in 2010 with her family.
Common amongst many post-partum women, Chami started experiencing lower back pain after giving birth to her children. She happened upon Pilates whilst in Singapore, which healed her lower back pain, and has since been drawn by its rehabilitative benefits to her physical fitness including eliminating muscle tension, and increasing strength and flexibility. She was amazed to discover how practicing Pilates dramatically improved her physical strength and flexibility, which allowed her to better enjoy her daily activities.
Having experienced the transformative benefits of Pilates, she was driven to seek a deeper understanding into the method. In 2015, Chami undertook the Polestar Pilates Instructor training programme, and looks forward to sharing her experience with others to help them lead a healthier and more refreshing lifestyle.
Chami loves to help her clients feel energised and confident through developing good posture and movement techniques. “The door to beneficial physical fitness lies in understanding your body. The basic components are the same, but each individual is unique in their combination. The dynamic, yet structured exercises of Pilates allows tailor-made, beneficial and most importantly, safe exercises for each individual.” – Chami.
Cha Mi Jung
Senior Instructor
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Beatriz Barreto
Bachelor of Physical Education
Mat Based Pilates Certified – Pilates Institute (UK)
Pilates Reformer Certified – ALM Pilates (Portugal)
Antigravity Fitness and Xtend Barre Instructor Certified
Stott Pilates Trained
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Showing a great enthusiasm for sports since young, Beatriz is passionate about leading an active and healthy lifestyle. After completing her Bachelor in Physical Education from Rio de Janeiro University in Brazil, Beatriz has been working in the fitness industry for over 19 years and had worked in various health clubs teaching a wide range of classes.
Beatriz was first introduced to Pilates during her school days and has been practicing since. She later took a step further to get qualified as a Pilates instructor in 2002 and enjoys helping her clients to learn to improve their quality of life through body awareness and Pilates movement.
Beatriz Barreto
Senior Instructor
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Julie Park
Polestar Pilates Mentor
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
GYROTONIC® Level 1 Certified
Julie is a Polestar Pilates Comprehensive series, Pilates Method Alliance certified Pilates and GYROTONIC® instructor. As a Polestar Mentor, she guides budding instructors on how to teach Pilates effectively. She also mentored and translated for more than 5 full rounds of Polestar Pilates Comprehensive series as well as various GYROTONIC®, Anatomy and fitness based courses and can teach fluently in English or Korean.
She never imagined herself working as a Pilates instructor as before she was just an avid fitness advocate that realised there was more to fitness than just going to the gym. After she first experienced Pilates for her own health, it gave her a chance to observe, learn about her own posture and explore new movements, thus she continued learning. She loved the feeling of accomplishment and achieving new goals in movement and physical capacity.
She feels that by practicing Pilates and GYROTONIC®, it allows people to enjoy their daily life more with freer, healthier and more energetic body movements.
Julie Park
Senior Instructor
GYROTONIC® Instructor
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Jiho Park
TRX Certified
STOTT PILATES Certified
Total Barre Instructor Certified
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Trained
More than 10 years ago, a chronic pain brought Jiho to Pilates and it has had an enormous impact on her life ever since, allowing her to continue to do the things she loves.
Teaching Pilates enables her to share her passion for movement and to partake in people’s journey of connecting deeply with their physical selves. Jiho aims to help her clients move confidently, strongly and gracefully through their lives.
Jiho Park
Instructor
Close
Haley Soh
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Trained
Haley is an advocate for self-health and wellness and strongly believes everyone has the potential to improve on all aspects of life, especially in the area of health and fitness.
Haley’s passion for fitness began when she started playing sports and competing in the nationals basketball competition during her secondary school days. Ever since then, fitness has been an integral part of her life, thanks to the motivation from family and coaches. She wants to be that same motivation for others and help them attain functional fitness for better flexibility, strength and agility through Pilates. She believes that making each routine functional for clients is key and will help them remain successful in the future, no matter what their goals are.
In her free time, Haley enjoys listening to K-pop and checking out new vegan restaurants.
Haley Soh
Instructor
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Fiona Ho
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Fiona was first introduced to Pilates by a friend, after being diagnosed with degenerative disc eight years ago and was required to make weekly visits to the physiotherapist. She later found that regular Pilates practice helped improved her back condition, reducing the number of physiotherapy treatment sessions needed.
However, a corporate career in the Human Resource industry for seven years led to daily back stiffness. Hence in 2014, Fiona decided to take up Pilates professionally with Polestar Pilates Education at Focus Pilates and received her professional certification last year.
Through it all, Fiona learnt what it means to “be in control of your body and not at its mercy” – Joseph Pilates, and hopes to share the knowledge she has gained and the benefits of Pilates to everyone.
Fiona Ho
Instructor
Close
Rina Quek
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Rina has always been enthusiastic about sports. She was actively involved and in some cases instructed in inline skating, canoeing, running and Aikido.
Rina has been coping with lower back pain and strains on joints, and due to a Spinal Disc Herniation incident, was recommended by her physiotherapist to try Pilates as a post-rehabilitation exercise.
Within a few months as a client of Focus Pilates, Rina experienced a wealth of benefits and a transformation.“There was a silver lining from my incident. It triggered and motivated me to make changes to my lifestyle and behaviour. The strengthening and toning of muscles improved my movement, awareness and balance. Most importantly, it reduced my back aches and helped me to regain my active lifestyle”.
Rina took up the Polestar Studio instructor course for self-improvement, and more importantly to share and encourage others to enjoy the benefits and transformation she has personally experienced.
Rina Quek
Instructor
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Wong Zi En
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
As an avid runner, Zi En first began Pilates in 2010 to incorporate strength and flexibility aspects in her fitness routine; however what was supposed to be a complementary activity, became a passion, which she has since incorporated into her daily lifestyle.
In addition to the fitness benefits of increased strength, improved posture and enhanced flexibility, Zi En also found that she felt healthier and more energetic. She also found that Pilates helped her relax and eased the kinks in her neck after a long day at her corporate job.
Yearning to have a deeper understanding of Pilates, Zi En enrolled and completed the Polestar Instructor Training Programme. Zi En believes that Pilates can significantly improve one’s quality of life and hopes to share this gift with everyone.
Wong Zi En
Instructor
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Mike Hickman
Original Strength Instructor Level 1 & 2
Strength Matters Everyday Athlete Coach Level 1
Level 1 & 2 Kettlebell Instructor
Runity Run Coach
SledFit Instructor
ACE – Sports nutrition and weight management
ACE – Athletic Performance
Mike is an American Council for Exercise (ACE) certified Personal Trainer and has been involved with sports since being a child and played rugby, he later discovered that he had the disposition for endurance sports and has completed numerous marathons, ultra-marathons, triathlons including Ironman.
He was also part of a crew that rowed two boats around the Island of Singapore non-stop and has cycled to Everest base camp. Throughout all of the years of endurance racing Mike continued to regularly practice Pilates to maintain mobility and flexibility.
A few years ago Mike left the corporate world to follow his passion for working with people to redefine their limits and make improvements in their health and fitness. Mike is involved in the Run Conditioning and Strength & Conditioning classes and brings his unique sense of ‘fun’ to each of the sessions.
Mike Hickman
Instructor
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Mayni Leong
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Mayni’s love for Pilates began 15 years ago when she was first introduced to an exercise program that would help make her look “longer and leaner”. Before she knew it, Pilates turned into a passion when she felt the benefits of Pilates in her own body, which went well beyond the aesthetical results.
Pilates has help her re-build and re-discover her strength after having two children, and it continues to help her be pain free despite her mild scoliosis and other postural issues. She believes that every body has its beautiful imperfections and creating self-awareness and teaching the body to move intelligently is the key to being pain free despite these imperfections.
Mayni Leong
Instructor
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Mins Teo
Trained in Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance
Hatha Vinyasa Yoga (RYT200) in Thailand and Singapore
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Trained
Mins started Pilates when she was 16 years old as a way to complement her dance training as it keeps her strengthened while remaining lean. Constantly exploring different approaches to healing the body, she focuses a lot on body awareness in stillness and motion (influenced by the Feldenkrais method).
Mins believes it’s important to have a healthy mind-body connection and how we can calm and heal the mind through the body, using Pilates, Yoga and movement meditation. She feels that having a better body awareness leads to a better appreciation of life and she trusts that conscious practice of movements helps achieve it.
She looks forward to sharing the experiences of moving positively and creatively, also in finding new perspectives and uplifting one’s bodies, minds and spirits with that.
Mins Teo
Instructor
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Kelly Wong
Polestar Matwork Certified
Polestar Reformer Trained
Kelly’s first attempt at Pilates began with her thinking that it was “just stretching”. She quickly found out that it was certainly not as easy as she’d thought, and left the class with aching core muscles that she’d never been acquainted with before. With subsequent lessons, she was surprised at the changes that Pilates had on her body, by improving the mobility of her spine, lengthening, toning and strengthening her core.
Coming from a corporate job where the length of her days is confined to a desk, Kelly loves how Pilates adds a dose of movement into her life. She took up a certification as a Polestar Mat Instructor to deepen her practice, was hooked on it, and is now pursuing her second certification as a Reformer Instructor. She enjoys how Pilates is low impact, yet achieves a dynamic balance of strengthening and stretching, making it a great complement to all other workouts.
Fascinated at the science behind Pilates and how it helps to make everyday movements more efficient, Kelly is a strong advocate of the benefits of Pilates and is happy to share that with the people around her. She is determined to motivate her students to love movement as much as she does.
Kelly Wong
Instructor
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Melinda Lee
Authorized GYROTONIC® Pre-Trainer Educator
GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® Certified
Certified in GYROTONIC® Jumping Stretch Board, GYROTONER®, Leg Extension Unit, Archway
Registered Biodynamic Craniosacral Therapist (RCST)
Certified Tension Releasing Exercises (TRE®) Provider
Balanced Body Mat and Equipment Pilates trained
Bachelor of Arts (Anthropology & Theater)
Mel’s lifelong passion for movement, health, and the lived experience of creative spirit in the body has ventured into many cultures, communities, and pathways home. A dance and theater performer since young, raised between Singapore, Hong Kong, and the United States, Mel studied neo-traditional and modern dance styles and collaborative theater, establishing herself for many years as a New York City-based downtown dance artist, health writer, and arts manager.
As a trainer and educator, Mel specializes in the awareness of feeling-sense of the body as the ultimate tool for nervous system regulation, resilience building, and recovery. She has been informed by the past 7 years of teaching through mixed physiotherapy, movement and meditation environments to bridge functional, structural, somatic and expressive experiences of alignment, anatomy and personal agency. Loving aunty to 3 kids below the age of 10, Mel is also a trained doula and advocate for gentle births and the work of intergenerational healing.
GYROTONIC® and GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® are registered trademarks of Gyrotonic Sales Corp and are used with their permission.
Melinda Lee
GYROTONIC® Instructor
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Nicole Wee
Shivshakti Yoga Certified (International) India and Singapore
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Nicole came into Pilates purely by curiosity. Being a fitness group instructor and yoga instructor for many years, she has always been asked about the difference between yoga and Pilates. She decided to dive into it to find out more and since then she has been hooked. Pilates has not only heightened her body awareness but also equipped her with the freedom to pursue her passion in life.
Like any endurance athlete, I love the ‘pain’ during gruelling training sessions and races. However, just like everybody else, I dislike the pain that arises from muscle imbalance and poor body awareness. I was pleasantly surprised by how Pilates has helped me to not only train efficiently but more importantly, bring me back to basics and re-teach my body to move in an optimal manner, even for the simplest things such as sitting at a desk. As I began to understand the science behind Pilates and embrace it as part of my life, I also wanted to share this fulfilling journey with the people around me.
My motivation is simple: To help my clients work on their body so that their body can in turn work for them. We should never to take our bodies for granted and continue to ensure they perform at their best.
Nicole Wee
Instructor
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Quek Xue Wei
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
A keen runner and yoga practitioner, Xue Wei also dabbles in spinning and circuit training. She first started mat Pilates in 2012 to supplement her active fitness routine and began exploring reformer classes out of curiosity. Realising the tremendous benefits Pilates had to offer, Xue Wei soon experienced an increase in body awareness, improved posture and reduced common body aches associated with working long hours at the desk.
She believes that Pilates is an effective method for correcting body imbalances and reducing pain arising from poor posture and movement. Determined to help people move better and increase their quality of life, Xue Wei is now part of the team as a Polestar Pilates Instructor.
Quek Xue Wei
Instructor
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Isabell Tay
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Isabell is an avid sports person with a keen interest for anything active. She mixes up her fitness routine with a host of activities, and can be found rock climbing, running, cycling, practicing Pilates, Muay Thai and yoga as well as pole dancing.
Working as a marketing professional, Isabell believes that fitness should be a lifestyle choice to improve our overall wellbeing, and that it’s important to stay active outside of the office. She has found that often as adults we are held back by injury, however has discovered that Pilates is the ultimate rehabilitation tool to rebalance the body, allowing us to get back into physical activity.
Isabell has been practicing at Focus for over 4 years, and in 2015 decided to take her passion for Pilates to the next level and become a Polestar Pilates Instructor. She is eager to pass on her ‘active living’ philosophy to others and inspire them to become fit and healthy in a fun way.
‘Pilates is my key to re-energising my body, so I can get more out of life!” – Isabell.
Isabell Tay
Instructor
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Dragana Obajdin
BSc Physiotherapy, Medical College Belgrade, Serbia
Clinical Pilates and Polestar Pilates Rehabilitation Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
Dragana is a highly experienced Physiotherapist with 30 years experience treating patients using physiotherapy. She specialises in treating different musculoskeletal disorders that affect the back, neck, upper and lower limbs, sports injuries and neurological deficits.
Dragana took up Pilates and completed courses in Clinical Pilates and Polestar Pilates to complement her physiotherapy training. She is able to adapt Pilates exercises for her therapy programme, especially for patients with back and neck issues.
She has found Pilates instrumental in speeding up a patient’s recovery period. It also gives long term benefits including strength and flexibility, good balance, alignment, body awareness with motor control and helps reduce pains and improves a person’s quality of daily and sports activities.
Dragana Obajdin
Head Physiotherapist
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Christine Koh
Doctor of Physical Therapy, Chapman University, California, USA
B.S. Kinesiology, San Diego State University, California, USA
Polestar Pilates Mentor
Polestar Pilates Rehabilitation Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
Sports Trauma Management
Christine started her career practicing as an orthopaedic physical therapist in California, and has since chalked up experience treating musculoskeletal injuries in Singapore and England.
She incorporates manual therapy and Pilates exercises in her treatment sessions to speed up recovery, as she thinks it is key to the rehabilitation process that one experiences pain free movement as soon as possible to prevent secondary compensations.
Over the years, she has worked closely with various orthopaedic doctors, sports doctors, and spine specialists from different countries to provide the best multi-disciplinary medical team management, and helped athletes from university and national teams to return to competition. Christine is certified in Sports Trauma Management as well, and is keen to introduce Pilates to the sports community to improve their game.
Her other clinical experience includes Pediatrics, Neurology, Gerontology, and Aquatic therapy. She strongly believes in the importance of patient education and patient empowerment to affect positive changes in all of her clients.
Christine Koh
Senior Physiotherapist
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Vanessa Wong
BSc Physiotherapy, Curtin University, Australia
Dry Needling Trained
Polestar Pilates Rehabilitation Certified
After graduating from Curtin University with Bachelor of Physiotherapy in 2011, Vanessa worked in a private practice in Perth for five years, treating a variety of musculoskeletal injuries, sporting injuries, and occupational related injuries.
Also, being a sports trainer in AFL, Soccer and Rugby during her undergraduate studies had provided her with invaluable experience in managing various injuries in athletes including state and national levels.
Vanessa is also proficient in dry needling and certified in Spinal Manual Therapy from Manual Concepts (Australia). She is currently undertaking the internationally recognised Polestar Pilates training to further deepen her previous Clinical Pilates knowledge.
Vanessa believes that a complete rehabilitation programme should incorporate Pilates in recovery and she is eager to help clients regain their fitness level and ensuring them to get back to their optimum health.
Vanessa Wong
Physiotherapist
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Cheah Hui Lin
BSc Physiotherapy, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland
Polestar Pilates Rehabilitation Trained
Having worked as a physiotherapist in a local hospital in Singapore since 2015, Hui Lin has gained invaluable experience in neurology, geriatric, cardiopulmonary, musculoskeletal, and orthopaedics. She finds joy in seeing clients improve and she believes in empowering them in understanding their own body.
Ever since Hui Lin was introduced to Polestar Pilates, she has been drawn to the knowledge and benefits it offers to people of varying fitness level or physiological conditions. She feels one of the many health benefits of Pilates is that it targets important stabiliser muscles which many of us neglect and encourage the holistic movement integration of the entire body system.
With experience in both Physiotherapy and Pilates, Hui Lin looks forward in empowering her clients with better body awareness, movement strategies and physical fitness.
Cheah Hui Lin
Physiotherapist
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please send us your resume!