Pilates Annex - About Us

Emily Bogard
Emily Bogard, the founder and director of the Pilates Annex, is a postural alignment specialist trained in STOTT™ Conditioning Pilates with certifications from the PhysicalMind Institute and Kane School of Core Integration. She is also a certified Yamuna Body Rolling instructor and holds a BS and MS in Physical Education/Dance from Indiana University. She has been involved in the field of integrated movement for the past 25 years. Her concept of the PilatesMind is a focus combining the training of the mind and body to achieve a balanced and energized postural alignment for all movement activities.

Her own technique of Postural Patterning is a unique approach to understanding body mechanics through experiential anatomy, and is based on developmental movement patterns to promote efficient and stress free muscular-skeletal organization. Drawing from her studies of Pilates, the Alexander Technique and the Body-Mind Centering principles of Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, Emily teaches an approach to alignment that enables people from all walks of life to enjoy a physical freedom based on spinal stability and mobility. She has taught for the Theater and Ballet Departments, the School of Music and School of Fine Arts at Indiana University.

Brittany Crosby
Brittany Crosby is a graduate of Indiana University with a degree in Holistic Health and Awareness. She received her Pilates certification through Indiana Univeristy Kinesiology Department’s professional intensive course in Pilates Matwork, and is currently completing a certification in STOTT™ Pilates Intensive Reformer Training. She has a diverse and expansive background in modern dance that has taken her around the world and has performed as dancer with Carnival Cruise Lines. Her work in Pilates and dance has helped to foster her interest in optimal health and well-being. She teaches for both the Pilates Annex and the IU Student Sports and Recreation Center. Brittany continues to expand her teaching and study of the body, movement and fitness. (top)

Paulina Makowska
Paulina Makowska has recently moved to Bloomington from Szczecin, Poland where she was a certified Dance Movement Therapist, dancer and choreographer. She is currently completing both her STOTT™ Matwork and Intensive Reformer training. Locally, she has danced and choreographed for Windfall Dancers. She also has extensive experience in Contact Improvisation. Besides teaching at the Pilates Annex Paulina works as a case manager for addiction in Centerstone for Bloomington Hospital.(top)

Melissa Noble
Melissa Noble is a Licensed Massage Therapist and has studied Pilates since 1992 in Seattle where she was first certified by apprenticeship with Cary Regan. She has taught at several Pilates studios, dance studios, the University of Washington and taught Instructor training for the Physical Mind Institute. In 1999, with three business partners, she opened Bodycenter Studios in Seattle, WA and became a STOTT™ Pilates Licensed Training Studio.

In 2005 she became a certified STOTT™ Instructor and Instructor Trainer. She has danced professionally in Seattle and studied many kinds of movement and bodywork such as Somatics, Skinner Releasing, Alexander and Tragger. She completed a Doula Training with Seattle Midwifery School and is a licensed practioner of Acutonics and Reike. (top)

Laurel Adams
Laurel Adams became involved with Pilates through her involvement within the dance world. Dancing from an early age, she stayed active in dance during and after college, performing with professional dance companies in Missouri and Michigan, as well as with Indiana Dance Theatre in Bloomington, Indiana. She has also taught modern and jazz dance at The Dance Studio in Kirksville, Missouri, and at the IU School for Contemporary Dance. Her certification in Pilates came through the YMCA, teaching Pilates classes at the Bloomington YMCA since 2004. (top)