Karin Twigg

Karin Twigg, the founder of Awaken, initially discovered Pilates while living in San Francisco. With her background in dance, Pilates was intuitive and in sync with her personal style of exercise.  She loved the way it made her body feel and wanted to share that experience with others.  Karin received mat training from Physical Mind Institute then her full certification in The Pilates Method at A Body Prepared in West Hollywood, CA. In August of 2002, Karin moved to Minneapolis to be closer to family and by April of 2003 Awaken was open for business. Karin has done countless trainings with The Pilates Studio of Boulder, CO and went through the Gyrotonic foundation teacher training program in 2004. Karin is a faculty instructor with Balanced Body and offers the complete Balanced Body training program at Awaken.  Her passion is to help clients create inner strength and realize the potential their bodies have.  After having a beautiful baby girl in March 2009, Karin has an additional passion of working with women to heal from the trauma of pregnancy and birth. Karin is a Doula and loves to help women through the birth process. 

Karin is PMA certified and holds a B.A. degree in Marketing from the University of Iowa.  

Christian Twigg

Christian has always had a passion for challenging movement and exercise.  It was through studying yoga on the road while touring with musical group N.E.R.D. that led him to Gyrotonic.  Christian was immediately drawn to this rhythmic movement system originally called "yoga for dancers".  Christian now holds trainings in Gyrotonic, Gyrokinesis, Thai Yoga Massage, TRX, Pilates and Yoga.  He loves to utilize all these amazing disciplines in his sessions to help people open the body physically and energetically.   He has a passion for teaching those who really want to change their bodies and deepen their understanding of movement.  Christian was written up in Metro Magazine and The Star Tribune (Oct. 2007).  In his free time you can find him swimming in Lake Harriet, catching a yoga class around town and being with his daughter, Eleanor. 

Kristen Wozniak

Kristen V. Wozniak started her pilates journey in 2006.  She began to study the classic method of Pilates in Minneapolis, later becoming certified through Balanced Body University at Awaken Pilates in 2008.  Kristen has worked with a variety of people ranging from marathon runners to clients with scoliosis and Multiple Sclerosis. Kristen likes to create a comfortable environment, which brings better student-teacher communication, thus leading to a better overall experience for the student.

Kristen attended the University of Minnesota, receiving her Bachelor of Art’s in Global Studies with a Minor in Anthropology.  In addition Kristen loves to travel, especially to Italy, and continues to speak Italian when ever possible.  She has a passion for making people feel their best through the practice of Pilates and her goal at the end of each session is to have people feeling stronger, more flexible and relaxed.

Stephanie Scott

Stephanie turned to pilates in 2008 in search of a way to gain strength and stability in her body. She immediately appreciated the depth of the work, and its ability to identify and strengthen the weaknesses in her body. She has experience working with pregnancy, spondilolythesis, and scoliosis. Stephanie completed her certification through Balanced Body University under Karin Twigg. She has trained in springboard diving for 5 years and gymnastics for 10 years. Stephanie currently enjoys running, cycling, and swimming in her spare time.

Jesse Bennett

Jesse began practicing yoga and Pilates in 1998. Practicing both yoga and Pilates transformed how she felt in her skin, in her body, and in her mind. Falling in love with both disciplines and seeing how they truly compliment each other inspired her to study, teach, and share yoga and Pilates with others.
After graduating from The University of Southern California in 2001 Jesse completed her first Pilates mat certification with Power Pilates. She went on to recertify with Integrated Balance Pilates in mat, reformer, spine corrector, and Cadillac. Jesse’s yoga training is through Shiva Rea’s: Samudra Global School for Living Yoga. Under Shiva Rea, Jesse traveled to Seattle to complete Embodying the Flow: Foundational Vinyasa Flow Teacher Training, then traveled to Kripalu to study Fluid Power I & II. Jesse has also studied with Doug Swenson, Bea Raydo, and Rolf Gates.
Jesse’s goal for her students to have their practice be their sanctuary -to let the mat be a place to go for comfort, growth, fun, laughter, and strength. Jesse is from Lake Tahoe, California.

Pam Lundequam DPT

Pamela Lundequam first experienced Pilates while in Physical Therapy school, and she was instantly hooked on how great she felt.  She completed her comprehensive Pilates education through Balanced Body University here at Awaken in 2008.  She  has earned a bachelors degree in Kinesiology from the University of Minnesota and a Doctorate in Physical Therapy from Washington University in St Louis.  She has specialized in pediatrics within her physical therapy practice and uses Pilates regularly with her patients.
Pamela loves working with clients at Awaken, assisting them towards their goals.  She integrates her Physical Therapy and Pilates skills to help all ages create healthy and strong bodies. 

Michelle Libi

Michelle Libi initially began Pilates while healing from an injury.  She was immediately struck by how it transformed her body and expanded her overall awareness of movement .  Michelle has a Master's degree in counseling psychology and is licensed as a marriage and family therapist.  She has been in private practice for 11 years. Michelle takes an integrative approach to her work and believes that the mind - body connection is often at the center of healing; she feels that Pilates embodies this connection.  Michelle is currently a student in the Balanced Body Teacher Certification Program at Awaken.  She loves to run and enjoys exploring different forms of movement.

Holly Husom

Holly first discovered her passion for Pilates in 2003.  With her background in ballet, Pilates felt both natural and challenging, and she loved how each class made her feel stronger and more aligned. After moving to Minneapolis, she became a student at Awaken and fell in love with the style of teaching and the ability to continue to grow in the work.  She wanted the opportunity to help others learn and grow through Pilates, and completed her certification through Balanced Body University under Karin Twigg.  Holly has a passion for creativity and movement and loves guiding clients and seeing their progress.  In addition to teaching Pilates, Holly has a B.A. in Marketing from the University of Wisconsin and works in Advertising.  In her spare time, Holly enjoys yoga, kayaking, hiking and traveling.

Amy Jo Preisler

Amy Jo came to Awaken in 2005, completely new to Pilates.  Challenged and intrigued, she began taking classes to learn more and fell in love with the movement, the positive way that it challenged her mind and body, and the style of teaching.  It quickly became not only her favorite form of exercise, but a way to also rehabilitate an injury, as well as a form of relaxation and meditation for her.  She loves how you can always continue to grow and develop in the work, getting deeper into the movement.  Amy Jo decide to go through the Balanced Body University certification program so that she could help others find their passion for Pilates and feel the mental and physical benefits of the exercise.  In addition to Pilates, Amy Jo also takes spin classes and loves to read, travel, and cook.

Amy Wolf

Amy Wolf has always had a love for dance and movement.  She discovered Pilates at Awaken while pregnant with her first child in 2003.  Her passion for Pilates led her to become certified in 2006 at Align Pilates.  Amy also completed the Gyrotonic teacher training in 2006.  Amy's current passion is Zumba.  She loves the way it frees your mind, body and spirit.

Amy holds a Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.  She can be heard performing with the choral group Sonomento and Duluth Festival Opera to name a few.  She also enjoys time with her family, pets and a good book.

Wendy Thomas

Wendy Thomas has always had a passion for movement and encouraging others to join her in finding the freedom to move with ease. She began with dance, studying at the Perpich Center for the Arts and earning a B. F. A degree from Mason Gross School of the Arts in Dance and Choreographer, but moved into Pilates after a back injury while dancing professionally. Immediately she realized how helpful the method was for her and began studying to share the benefits with others. She became a fully certified STOTT® Pilates Method trainer in New York City as well as courses through PHI/Balanced Body.  Wendy has taken various workshops to be able to work with people with special conditions and circumstances.  She is NASM and Labon Movement Analysis certified.  She feels honored to have worked with 911 survivors on breathing, CEO’s on posture, individuals with nerve conditions on motion quality and Mom’s-to-be! She has so much gratitude from all that she learns from her clients. With a kind and light-hearted manner, her goals are to assist those she works with to access their deepest stabilizing muscles for stability, joint efficiency and breathe for optimal alignment so they can leave each session feeling longer, stronger and free to do what they do best.

Outside the studio, Wendy loves listening to music, arts and crafts, running, dancing with friends and is always looking forward to getting to the cabin for waterskiing or relaxing beach time.

Victoria Olender

Born in California, Victoria has traveled to study with Master teachers in India, Greece, Great Britain and Russia. She is certified in GYROTONIC and GYROKINESIS and is a GYROTONIC Pre-Trainer under Authorized Master Trainer Angela Crowley. She is a certified Ashtanga Yoga instructor and Floor-Barre teacher and she holds a  675 hour certification in Pilates and is a Pilates teacher trainer. These methods have provided a profound healing for her after injuries sustained from several car accidents and dance performances. Victoria has been a guest instructor in New York for the past three summers, and has presented at the American College Dance Festival and at Link Vostok in Russia. She is pursuing her MFA in dance and exploring the peaceful bliss of free diving with dolphins.