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)
Language: English
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 the 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 (Kinesiology)
Language: English & Cantonese
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 educator 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
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
Certified Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer (FISAF INTERNATIONAL)
Certified Fitness Instructor Course Level 1 (Singapore Sports Council)
Language: English & Mandarin
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
Close
Cha Mi Jung
Polestar Pilates Mentor
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
TRX Certified
Language: English & Korean 🇰🇷
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
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Pilates Reformer Certified – ALM Pilates (Portugal)
Mat Based Pilates Certified – Pilates Institute (UK)
STOTT Pilates® Trained
Antigravity Fitness and Xtend Barre Instructor Certified
Language: English & Portuguese 🇵🇹
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
Language: English & Korean 🇰🇷
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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Haley Soh
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Language: English & Mandarin
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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Rina Quek
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Language: English & Mandarin
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, 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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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
Language: English
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
Language: English
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.
“Impact the world through intelligent movement”
Mayni Leong
Instructor
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Mins Teo
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance Trained
Hatha Vinyasa Yoga (RYT200) in Thailand and Singapore
Language: English & Mandarin
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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Quek Xue Wei
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Language: English
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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Nicole Wee
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Shivshakti Yoga Certified (International) India and Singapore
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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Margaret Lim
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
STOTT Pilates® Level 1 Certified
STOTT PiIates® Injuries & Special Populations
Pregnancy & Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist (PCES) Certification
Language: English
Due to her early years of ballet training, Margaret was immediately drawn to the fluidity and movement precision in Pilates, and quickly fell in love with it. She was amazed at how Pilates added to her strength, flexibility and posture just after a few sessions.
Margaret loves the holistic approach of Pilates that engages the mind’s awareness of the body and how it moves. Having had a bimalleolar ankle fracture, it strengthened her belief that Pilates is a cornerstone of rehabilitation and a versatile tool to rehabilitate and mobilise the body. The best reward in her opinion, is being able to educate clients on healthy movements and the principles behind Pilates that have made it so effective and successful. Today, she continues to expand on her anatomy and Pilates knowledge to help clients achieve their personal goals around sports and function, and to be able to live their life to the fullest.
Margaret’s passion for movement and fitness started since childhood. She was previously trained as a cross-country runner and competed at inter-school level. Pilates, running and HIIT workouts are some of her favourite ways to move. She recently returned to Singapore after having lived and taught in Australia for several years. She is a mother of two, loves coffee and is working on taming a sweet tooth.
Margaret Lim
Instructor
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Zoya Holland
Polestar Reformer Certified
Level 3 Mat Pilates Certified (Future Fit – UK)
200hr Yoga Alliance Certified
Level 3 Personal Trainer
Reiki Practitioner
Nutritionist
Language: English & Russian
Zoya started practicing Pilates and Yoga as a way of improving her own sports performance as a swimmer, and soon realised the tremendous positive effects on her general mental and physical health. Pilates and Yoga have seen her through ups and downs and so she has made them into her life and profession leaving the world of corporate law behind 10 years ago.
Zoya is certified in Polestar Reformer and Mat Pilates and has an extensive experience in teaching Hatha, Vinyasa, Restorative and Yin Yoga after completing her Yoga certification. She has also been certified as an Advanced BodyBalance and CxWorx instructor from top training facilities in Les Mills UK.
Today, she believes the ways of mindful movement and holistic living to be very personable and unique. Hence, she hopes to get a chance to help every person find theirs and enjoy a happier healthier life.
Zoya Holland
Instructor
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Jia Ying Liao
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
200hr Yoga Alliance Certified
Language: English & Mandarin
Jia Ying first fell in love with Pilates when she realised that the improvements to her strength, flexibility and movement from practising Pilates complemented her yoga practice.
Over the years, Jia Ying experienced first hand how Pilates has been integral in conditioning her body to pick up new sports, rehabilitate from various injuries and manage her lower back pain caused by a spinal disc bulge.
These experiences, and recognising the need to maintain and sometimes improve functional movement as we age, Jia Ying took up the Polestar Pilates instructor course to boost her existing anatomical and Pilates knowledge so that she could help herself and others achieve a better quality of life.
She looks forward to sharing her knowledge and experiences with others, and holding space for them to practice so that they too can experience the positive benefits that come with moving mindfully and efficiently.
When not hanging out in the studio, Jia Ying unleashes her creativity in the kitchen and is constantly on the hunt for good eats.
Liao Jia Ying
Instructor
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Elva Chen
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Polestar Mat Certified
Language: English & Mandarin
Elva was first introduced to Pilates by her Physiotherapist in 2009 for a sport-related leg injury. She also fractured her leg in a ski accident in 2012. Pilates not only helped her with the recovery from the two injuries, it also improved her body awareness for injury prevention, posture, core strength and flexibility with balance control.
Elva has been practising Pilates in Singapore and Hong Kong for over 10 years. In her endeavour to delve into the principles of Pilates and share the benefits with others, Elva decided to pursue the career of being a Pilates Instructor.
Elva Chen
Instructor
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Dragana Obajdin
BSc Physiotherapy, Medical College Belgrade, Serbia
Clinical Pilates and Polestar Pilates Rehabilitation Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
Language: English & Serbian 🇷🇸
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
Language: English & Mandarin
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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Emma Lawson
BSc Physiotherapy (Hons), University College Dublin, Ireland
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
STOTT Pilates® Mat and Reformer Trained
Language: English
Since migrating to Singapore in 2012, Emma has gained extensive experience in local hospitals and clinics across the fields of critical care, cardiopulmonary, orthopaedics and musculoskeletal Physiotherapy.
She was first introduced to Pilates during University after suffering a back injury and was amazed at the healing power that allowed her to regain the strength and mobility required to continue her studies. This personal experience encouraged her to further study Pilates and understand how it’s benefits can be translated into Physiotherapy treatments.
Emma believes in an integrated approach to rehabilitation through hands on techniques and exercise therapy, to facilitate clients to return to their activities as smoothly and as quickly as possible.
Emma Lawson
Physiotherapist
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Karen Yu
BSc Physiotherapy (Hons), Curtin University, Australia
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Language: English & Mandarin
Karen left the corporate world to become a physiotherapist, to help people who had lost the ability to do what they love due to pain or an injury. She has worked in inpatient and outpatient settings in hospitals in both Singapore and Western Australia. She has also had experience with sports injuries from working with rugby and football clubs in Perth. She joined Focus to pursue her passion for treating musculoskeletal conditions. She believes in a holistic approach to patient care, and provides a combination of exercise and manual therapy to help her patients achieve their goals.
Karen likes running, tennis, rugby and board sports.
Karen Yu
Physiotherapist
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Gordon Soh
Healthcare Merit Scholarship, Ministry of Health Singapore
BSc Physiotherapy (Hons), Trinity College Dublin
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Trained
Language: English & Mandarin
Gordon is a seasoned and experienced Physiotherapist with 6 years of experience working in a wide variety of healthcare settings from the Intensive Care Unit to the Specialist Outpatient Clinics in Hospitals and various polyclinics across Singapore. He specialised in the Sports & Musculoskeletal injuries and served as a Team Lead for the Sports Physiotherapy team in a local hospital, working closely with various orthopaedic surgeons in the management of Sports injuries & post-operative rehabilitation.
Gordon first took up Pilates to complement his active lifestyle and immediately recognised the synergies between movement concepts in Pilates and his work as a rehabilitation professional. Gordon believes the foundation of a good rehabilitation journey is to progressively optimise movement through exercise therapy. He integrates manual techniques and pain relieving modalities as part of his treatment to provide the best possible outcomes for his patients.
In his leisure time, Gordon is a SSI certified Dive Master and enjoys running and calisthenics!
Gordon Soh
Physiotherapist
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Claudia Chew
BSc Physiotherapy (Hons), Trinity College Dublin
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Trained
Language: English & Mandarin
With 6 years of experience in a local hospital, Claudia has expertise in various fields from cardiopulmonary care to community health rehabilitation. She chose to specialise in musculoskeletal physiotherapy as it constantly challenges her to grasp the most effective way in treating patients, bringing them through all phases of healing, from initial diagnosis to restorative stages of recovery.
When Claudia first tried Pilates, it resonated with her job as a Physiotherapist as she saw the importance of optimising patients through their movement patterns. Combining manual therapy and Pilates exercises, she hopes to enhance patient management for musculoskeletal pain and bring them closer to achieving their goals.
In her free time, she enjoys running and peddling to the beat in rhythmic spin classes.
Claudia Chew
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)
Language: English
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
Close
Michele Loh
Polestar Pilates Educator
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
GYROTONIC® Level 1 Certified
Bachelor of Applied Science (Kinesiology)
Language: English & Cantonese
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
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
Certified Fitness Instructor and Personal Trainer (FISAF INTERNATIONAL)
Certified Fitness Instructor Course Level 1 (Singapore Sports Council)
Language: English & Mandarin
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
Close
Cha Mi Jung
Polestar Pilates Mentor
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
TRX Certified
Language: English & Korean 🇰🇷
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
Close
Beatriz Barreto
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Pilates Reformer Certified – ALM Pilates (Portugal)
Mat Based Pilates Certified – Pilates Institute (UK)
STOTT PiIates® Trained
Antigravity Fitness and Xtend Barre Instructor Certified
Language: English & Portuguese 🇵🇹
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
Close
Julie Park
Polestar Pilates Mentor
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
GYROTONIC® Level 1 Certified
Language: English & Korean 🇰🇷
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
Close
Haley Soh
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Language: English & Mandarin
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
Close
Rina Quek
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Language: English & Mandarin
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, 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
Close
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
Language: English
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
Language: English
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.
“Impact the world through intelligent movement”
Mayni Leong
Instructor
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Mins Teo
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Classical Ballet and Contemporary Dance Trained
Hatha Vinyasa Yoga (RYT200) in Thailand and Singapore
Language: English & Mandarin
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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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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Nicole Wee
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Shivshakti Yoga Certified (International) India and Singapore
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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Margaret Lim
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
STOTT Pilates® Level 1 Certified
STOTT PiIates® Injuries & Special Populations
Pregnancy & Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist (PCES) Certification
Language: English
Due to her early years of ballet training, Margaret was immediately drawn to the fluidity and movement precision in Pilates, and quickly fell in love with it. She was amazed at how Pilates added to her strength, flexibility and posture just after a few sessions.
Margaret loves the holistic approach of Pilates that engages the mind’s awareness of the body and how it moves. Having had a bimalleolar ankle fracture, it strengthened her belief that Pilates is a cornerstone of rehabilitation and a versatile tool to rehabilitate and mobilise the body. The best reward in her opinion, is being able to educate clients on healthy movements and the principles behind Pilates that have made it so effective and successful. Today, she continues to expand on her anatomy and Pilates knowledge to help clients achieve their personal goals around sports and function, and to be able to live their life to the fullest.
Margaret’s passion for movement and fitness started since childhood. She was previously trained as a cross-country runner and competed at inter-school level. Pilates, running and HIIT workouts are some of her favourite ways to move. She recently returned to Singapore after having lived and taught in Australia for several years. She is a mother of two, loves coffee and is working on taming a sweet tooth.
Margaret Lim
Instructor
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Zoya Holland
Polestar Reformer Certified
Level 3 Mat Pilates Certified (Future Fit – UK)
200hr Yoga Alliance Certified
Level 3 Personal Trainer
Reiki Practitioner
Nutritionist
Language: English & Russian
Zoya started practicing Pilates and Yoga as a way of improving her own sports performance as a swimmer, and soon realised the tremendous positive effects on her general mental and physical health. Pilates and Yoga have seen her through ups and downs and so she has made them into her life and profession leaving the world of corporate law behind 10 years ago.
Zoya is certified in Polestar Reformer and Mat Pilates and has an extensive experience in teaching Hatha, Vinyasa, Restorative and Yin Yoga after completing her Yoga certification. She has also been certified as an Advanced BodyBalance and CxWorx instructor from top training facilities in Les Mills UK.
Today, she believes the ways of mindful movement and holistic living to be very personable and unique. Hence, she hopes to get a chance to help every person find theirs and enjoy a happier healthier life.
Zoya Holland
Instructor
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Jia Ying Liao
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
200hr Yoga Alliance Certified
Language: English & Mandarin
Jia Ying first fell in love with Pilates when she realised that the improvements to her strength, flexibility and movement from practising Pilates complemented her yoga practice. Over the years, Jia Ying experienced first hand how Pilates has been integral in conditioning her body to pick up new sports, rehabilitate from various injuries and manage her lower back pain caused by a spinal disc bulge.
These experiences, and recognising the need to maintain and sometimes improve functional movement as we age, Jia Ying took up the Polestar Pilates instructor course to boost her existing anatomical and Pilates knowledge so that she could help herself and others achieve a better quality of life.
She looks forward to sharing her knowledge and experiences with others, and holding space for them to practice so that they too can experience the positive benefits that come with moving mindfully and efficiently.
When not hanging out in the studio, Jia Ying unleashes her creativity in the kitchen and is constantly on the hunt for good eats.
Jia Ying Liao
Instructor
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Elva Chen
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Polestar Mat Certified
Language: English & Mandarin
Elva was first introduced to Pilates by her Physiotherapist in 2009 for a sport-related leg injury. She also fractured her leg in a ski accident in 2012. Pilates not only helped her with the recovery from the two injuries, it also improved her body awareness for injury prevention, posture, core strength and flexibility with balance control.
Elva has been practising Pilates in Singapore and Hong Kong for over 10 years. In her endeavour to delve into the principles of Pilates and share the benefits with others, Elva decided to pursue the career of being a Pilates Instructor.
Elva Chen
Instructor
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Dragana Obajdin
BSc Physiotherapy, Medical College Belgrade, Serbia
Clinical Pilates and Polestar Pilates Rehabilitation Certified
National Pilates (NPCP) Certified
Language: English & Serbian 🇷🇸
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
Language: English & Mandarin
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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Emma Lawson
BSc Physiotherapy (Hons), University College Dublin, Ireland
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
STOTT Pilates® Mat and Reformer Trained
Language: English
Since migrating to Singapore in 2012, Emma has gained extensive experience in local hospitals and clinics across the fields of critical care, cardiopulmonary, orthopaedics and musculoskeletal Physiotherapy.
She was first introduced to Pilates during University after suffering a back injury and was amazed at the healing power that allowed her to regain the strength and mobility required to continue her studies. This personal experience encouraged her to further study Pilates and understand how it’s benefits can be translated into Physiotherapy treatments.
Emma believes in an integrated approach to rehabilitation through hands on techniques and exercise therapy, to facilitate clients to return to their activities as smoothly and as quickly as possible.
Emma Lawson
Physiotherapist
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Karen Yu
BSc Physiotherapy (Hons), Curtin University, Australia
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Certified
Language: English & Mandarin
Karen left the corporate world to become a physiotherapist, to help people who had lost the ability to do what they love due to pain or an injury. She has worked in inpatient and outpatient settings in hospitals in both Singapore and Western Australia. She has also had experience with sports injuries from working with rugby and football clubs in Perth. She joined Focus to pursue her passion for treating musculoskeletal conditions. She believes in a holistic approach to patient care, and provides a combination of exercise and manual therapy to help her patients achieve their goals.
Karen likes running, tennis, rugby and board sports.
Karen Yu
Physiotherapist
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Gordon Soh
Healthcare Merit Scholarship, Ministry of Health Singapore
BSc Physiotherapy (Hons), Trinity College Dublin
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Trained
Language: English & Mandarin
Gordon is a seasoned and experienced Physiotherapist with 6 years of experience working in a wide variety of healthcare settings from the Intensive Care Unit to the Specialist Outpatient Clinics in Hospitals and various polyclinics across Singapore. He specialised in the Sports & Musculoskeletal injuries and served as a Team Lead for the Sports Physiotherapy team in a local hospital, working closely with various orthopaedic surgeons in the management of Sports injuries & post-operative rehabilitation.
Gordon first took up Pilates to complement his active lifestyle and immediately recognised the synergies between movement concepts in Pilates and his work as a rehabilitation professional. Gordon believes the foundation of a good rehabilitation journey is to progressively optimise movement through exercise therapy. He integrates manual techniques and pain relieving modalities as part of his treatment to provide the best possible outcomes for his patients.
In his leisure time, Gordon is a SSI certified Dive Master and enjoys running and calisthenics!
Gordon Soh
Physiotherapist
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Claudia Chew
BSc Physiotherapy (Hons), Trinity College Dublin
Polestar Comprehensive Studio Trained
Language: English & Mandarin
With 6 years of experience in a local hospital, Claudia has expertise in various fields from cardiopulmonary care to community health rehabilitation. She chose to specialise in musculoskeletal physiotherapy as it constantly challenges her to grasp the most effective way in treating patients, bringing them through all phases of healing, from initial diagnosis to restorative stages of recovery.
When Claudia first tried Pilates, it resonated with her job as a Physiotherapist as she saw the importance of optimising patients through their movement patterns. Combining manual therapy and Pilates exercises, she hopes to enhance patient management for musculoskeletal pain and bring them closer to achieving their goals.
In her free time, she enjoys running and peddling to the beat in rhythmic spin classes.
Claudia Chew
Physiotherapist
We’re hiring!
We are always on the lookout for skilled individuals to join our close-knit team, from Reception Staff to Instructors to qualified Physiotherapists. If you have the passion in Health and Fitness and feel that you have the necessary skills to be part of our family, please send us your resume!