Our Instructors
Katie Page | BASI Certified Instructor| Studio Owner
Katie Page was raised in Huntsville, Texas. She attended Sam Houston State University, where she received her degree in Education. After graduation, Katie taught first grade for three years. After the birth of her daughter, she decided to turn her hobby and love of fitness into her job! She was a group fitness instructor for 13 years. Her certifications include BASI Comprehensive Pilates certification (2010), AFAA( Aerobics and Fitness Association of America), and Keiser Cycling, and she has attended numerous other continuing education courses for Step, Kickboxing, Pilates, Yoga, Weight Training, and Aquatics.
She has been teaching Mat Pilates for 10 years and is growing her knowledge as a BASI instructor daily. Katie aims to draw interest in Pilates from the general population. She wants to help clients incorporate Pilates into their weekly fitness routine by cross-training to prevent injury while relaxing and rejuvenating. When Katie is not teaching Pilates, she loves spending time with her husband and two children. She enjoys volunteering with her church as well as in the community.
“I enjoy leading a client through exercises designed to improve strength, flexibility, and overall fitness while ensuring the clients’ safety at all times. I strive every day to be friendly, outgoing, motivating, and have an energetic personality.”
Laura Meitzen | BASI Certified Instructor|BASI Faculty| Studio Owner
Laura was raised in Spring, Texas, where she spent most of her time dancing ballet at the American Academy of Dance in Houston. Throughout her training, she was able to travel around the nation, attending various prestigious workshops. In 2001, Laura was invited to attend an art competition in Miami, where she received a scholarship to attend the University of Oklahoma. While there she was a member of the University’s Oklahoma Festival Ballet, dancing in many ballets on campus and around the world. Soon after, Laura started dancing professionally with the Bruce Wood Dance Company in Ft. Worth, Texas. After 20 years of dance, ballet started taking a toll on her body, and she realized it was time to stop. Having done Pilates while dancing, she turned back to it immediately. Laura fell in love with the practice and soon realized that this was how she could keep mind-body awareness and movement, help others, and make a living!
She soon discovered the Body Arts Science International (BASI) certification program and is certified on all equipment and mat. Along with her certification she has taken many other workshops in Pilates including Pilates for the athlete, deconditioned, the mature client, dancers and injuries and pathologies. Most recently Laura has become a faculty member of the prestigious BASI Pilates method, where she teaches others how to become instructors. She loves working with a wide variety of clientele in hopes that they can either improve their craft or just feel better!
Emma Wagenvelt | BASI Certified Instructor
Emma was born and raised in the United Kingdom and moved to the US in 2010. As an avid runner, Emma practiced Pilates for several years to condition her body and prevent injury. When her son was born in 2014, practicing Pilates really “clicked” for her, as she realized it was the most effective form of exercise to regain her strength and reconnect with her body as a new mother.
After moving to The Woodlands in 2015, Emma decided to turn her passion for health and wellness into a career, and in 2016 she enrolled in the BASI certification program at Breathe. Emma loves sharing her love of Pilates, and her goal is for clients to feel centered, rejuvenated, and empowered after each session.
Katie Cook | BASI Certified Instructor
Katie Cook holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Dance from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, receiving honors for the Senior Modern Performance Award, Promising Artist Award, and the Elizabeth Ann Pulaski Memorial Scholarship. Katie found her love of pilates by way of dance. She briefly studied it in college and found its importance to her well-being when she suffered a back injury while performing. Pilates helped rehab the injury, giving her a stronger foundation to continue her talents. Katie recently relocated to the area from the east coast, where she worked professionally as a dancer/teacher/choreographer for the last 15 years after receiving her degree.
Katie has a deep kinesthetic understanding of the body and how it moves because of her dance background. She feels Pilates allows individuals of all fitness levels to work from the inside out and strives for clients to feel connected to their bodies, both physically and mentally. After having her second child this past year, she wanted to further her knowledge of Pilates. She enrolled in the BASI Certified Teacher Program at Breathe and is excited to now be part of the team as a fully certified teacher.
Liz Hamlin | Power Pilates Certified Instructor
Liz was born and raised in Southern California. She has been an athlete and has always been passionate about fitness and health. She played various sports, starting at age 5, and continued throughout high school, focusing on volleyball, soccer, and softball. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Film Studies at UC Santa Barbara and worked in the film industry following graduation. It was not long, however, before she realized this was not the right career path for her. She became a Certified Personal Trainer through International Sports Sciences Association but then quickly discovered Pilates and knew, without a doubt, this was the path she wanted to pursue.
Liz completed the comprehensive Pilates certification through Power Pilates in 2010. She takes regular sessions with other teachers and attends continuing education workshops frequently, always wanting to continue growing as a teacher and practitioner. Pilates has enhanced Liz’s performance as an athlete, significantly increasing her core strength and improving her posture. It is because of Pilates that Liz can say that, after having a C-section in 2016, she feels stronger and more connected to her core today than she did pre-pregnancy. She loves sharing the gift of Pilates with her clients, regardless of their fitness level, and seeing the positive changes manifest in their lives. Liz is also a certified TRX (suspension training) instructor and has found this exercise method to greatly compliment her Pilates practice.
Sandy Shumate | Balanced Body Certified Instructor
Sandy is originally from Grand Rapids, Michigan, where she danced for several years as a principal dancer with the Grand Rapids Ballet. Eventually becoming bored with a mostly classical ballet repertoire, Sandy left the company and ventured to New York City, where she spent two years freelancing and studying various modern dance forms. After retiring from dance, she attended Hope College in her home state, receiving a B.A. in Theater and then an M.F.A. in Acting from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. Getting married brought her to the Houston area, where she settled in and focused her extensive movement background on the study of the benefits of Pilates, eventually working toward a comprehensive certification through Balanced Body.
Sandy especially loves introducing her class participants to the simplicity of the Pilates technique, a renewed appreciation of the dynamics of breath, and the joy of mastering physical challenges that exist in every person. Drawing from her experience teaching dance and acting, Sandy enjoys the challenge of communicating effectively with each individual, guiding them into a greater understanding of their bodies. She is delighted to be a part of Breathe Pilates Studio.
In addition to teaching, Sandy enjoys gardening, cooking, and caring for her husband, Johnny, and their Brittany Spaniel, Anabel.
Silvia Zárate | Stott Certified Instructor
Silvia is a 200 hr Registered Yoga Teacher. She completed her certification with Jason Crandell, and, throughout her 25 years of practice, she has studied and has had the guidance of Sean Corn, Ann Dahn and Hector Terán. She also completed the Yoga Education Collective Level 1 and 2 Pranayama Teacher Training.
Silvia studied Classical Ballet at the Academia de Ballet de Coyoacán in México City, where she also taught children’s ballet and dance therapy from 1992 to 1995.
From 1995 to 2002 she was a physical trainer at Yazbaz Bodies in Mexico City where she taught aerobics and kickboxing classes. She was also a functional training and a Barre teacher at Tetetlán, Mexico. She has a Stott Pilates Reformer Teacher Certification and in 2020 she earned her Barre Teacher Certification.
Silvia was a long-distance runner and competed in various races such as the New York City, Boston, and Chicago Marathons.
Within the academic context, Silvia holds a master’s degree in Arts and Humanities Education from New York University and a master’s degree in Art History from the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Pedagogy from the Universidad Panamericana and studied Philosophy at the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de Mexico.
She has worked as an art consultant, a museum educator and art administrator both in Mexico and in the United States.
Body movement has always been the axis of her life and she loves nothing more than to share it.
Abigail Gonzales | PhysicalMind Pilates Certified Instructor
Abigail grew up in Corpus Christi, TX, and has always been a mover. She spent much of her youth in the ballet studio and studied summer sessions with Joffrey Ballet, Ballet Magnificat! And Virginia School of the Arts. She was exposed to Pilates as a dancer and loved how it made her body feel and strengthened her range of motion and technique. She got her BFA in Ballet from Texas Christian University and practiced Pilates on the mat and reformer throughout her dance degree. Upon graduation, she pursued a full certification through the PhysicalMind Institute and began teaching Pilates and dance in Fort Worth.
Upon moving back to Corpus Christi, she danced professionally as a freelance dancer and choreographer. She helped establish 2 Pilates programs and taught for various studios and gyms, gaining experience in different fitness areas, including indoor cycling, barre, and boot camp classes. Always loving health and wellness, she and her husband started their own wellness business D&A Essentials, in 2013, focusing on educating about natural health alternatives. She and her husband have lived in Houston since 2014 and have 4 sweet little kids. Abigail loves to teach and educate on how the body works together. She is thrilled that she has the opportunity to help people live the best lives they can.