Teachers
Erica Lukes
Erica is an internationally recognized teacher that began her Pilates practice in 1997 after a horseback riding injury left her with a broken back and chronic pain.
She began taking Pilates and quickly realized the importance of this work to help the body rehab from injury and chronic pain.
In 1999 she enrolled in the intense teacher training with PhysicalMind Institute ® located in Santa Fe.
In 2001 she opened her first commercial space was asked by PhysicalMind Institute (The Method Pilates) to become a Master Pilates trainer. She was the first teacher in Utah that had the ability to certify Pilates teachers on an international level. She continued her personal education by taking courses from Polestar Pilates, Barbara Huttner, Kim Lee and Siri D. Gallino and she completed a 500 hour yoga certification with Nancy Ruby.
Her expertise in Pilates based rehab has made her highly sought after by clients with hip and knee replacements spinal fusions, herniated discs and chronic pain.
During her career, Erica worked with Bally's Total Fitness, Balanced Body® and PhysicalMind Institute to develop instructor training that is now implemented worldwide.
She was awarded with "Best Fitness Guru" by Salt Lake Magazine. Total Body Pilates coveted international recognition from Balanced Body and was featured in "Pilates Style" magazine.
In her free-time she is a professional vocalist, winning "Best Female Vocalist" from Private Eye ( "City Weekly"). She belted out the tunes at the 2002 Winter Olympics and has been featured on many recordings.
Erica has been the guest on many different radios shows and hosts a weekly radio show called "UFO Classified". She appears on "Destination America" on the TV show, "UFOs: The Lost Evidence".
Lauren Cross
Lauren Cross has been instructing Pilates since 2007. She trained under Michelle Larsen and Kevin Bowen at Core Dynamics. She has also attended workshops focusing on: the aging body, body mechanics, and athletic injury prevention. Lauren is currently completing a certification in Manual Stretch Therapy under Roger Kraig of Flexibility First in Arizona. She is also a Usui lineage Reiki practitioner.
In 2015, Lauren became the first Pilates Instructor for a Major League Soccer team.
Real Salt Lake hired Lauren to work with USMNT player Kyle Beckerman, who is a Pilates enthusiast, and quickly gained much of the team to work with. The club now boasts a small studio and some of MLS' healthiest players. Much of her work is focused on achieving balance within the body; symmetry, proper muscle activation and abundant range of motion. Lauren considers injury prevention one of her favorite specialties as it highlights the capabilities of Pilates. She has also worked with other professional, collegiate and Olympic athletes. Lauren herself has been awarded with multiple International and National equestrian wins as well as a collegiate scholarship.
Kimi Bateman
Kimi Bateman's love of fitness started at a very young age. She's a professionally trained dancer and by the time she was 19, moved to LA and had the most amazing experiences as a performer. Her credits include working with artists such as Britney Spears, 98 degrees,
The Offspring, Sugar Ray, Santana, and many more. She has also danced in several
movies, national commercials, and has traveled to several other countries to perform in shows.
Along with the love of dance, she discovered Pilates and became certified in 2012. She began teaching at a physical therapy office in Las Vegas. She also became an Ace certified personal trainer and group fitness instructor and has worked for 24 hour fitness and Lifetime fitness. In 2015 she moved to Utah and started working at Total Body Pilates. Teaching and seeing people achieve their fitness goals motivate her. She's a mom of two, has the most incredible family, and loves any chance to be active outdoors.
Natalie Brown
I have a passion for teaching Pilates and helping my clients discover their best selves. Everyone says that I know. It sounds like a canned response, but Pilates truly helped me to rediscover my strength following a debilitating accident that left me without the use of my right leg for the better part of an entire year. I was hiking in Kauai and fell in Waimea Canyon, completely dislocating my ankle, crushing my talus bone and tibia into splinters, spiral fracturing my leg in 2 places and tearing all the ligaments up both sides. This was just one month after receiving my black belt in Kenpo. The morning of the accident I was in the best shape of my life, and by that evening I was being told they would do everything they could to make sure I got to keep my foot, best case scenario I’d be walking again in a year. ONE YEAR! I was devastated! My recovery was one of the hardest things I’ve ever done in my life, but after dedicating so much of who I am to martial arts, I knew my heart would never be happy if I gave up on myself.
When I was finally cleared to begin physical therapy, my orthopedic surgeon recommended Pilates injuries (Kenpo. Luckily, thanks to all my prior ha ha) I already had an incredible PT whom I adore and his wife was also a Pilates instructor and an amazing therapist herself.
So I spent much time at their clinic. Three to four times a week I was there for PT and private Pilates sessions to help me regain range of motion in my ankle. Long story short, within six months, I was on the treadmill RUNNING with a normal gait, and about 95% of my range of motion had been restored. Pilates cut my recovery time IN HALF literally!
My Pilates instructor was so impressed by my progress that she encouraged me to become a Pilates instructor, knowing that I already had a working knowledge of anatomy and a good understanding of kinesiology. So I did! I wanted to be able to help people the way that she helped me. I love being able to give someone their light back, to restore hope and help my clients become their best selves. I have experienced the power of pilates first hand, and I can say that it truly gave me my life back. I just want to be able to share that with other people.
Even if you are not recovering an injury, Pilates is so beneficial for many reasons.
Pilates is truly for EVERYBODY and I’m excited to be working with and learning from Erica at Total Body Pilates. Come take a class from me; I’d love to meet you!