CHECK practitioner, athletic trainer, custom fitness programs, Oakland, CA

Victor H. Quintana, (founder, CHEK practitioner,holistic wellness coach) began planting the seeds for Equilibrio Wellness at a very young age. His early interest in health and desire to help others manifested in high school volunteer work as a crisis intervention listener and continued to take shape throughout his college education. As an undergraduate at UC Berkeley, he created an interdisciplinary degree program, studying the link between society, culture, and modern health. These studies created the ideological foundation for his life’s work and nurtured his desire to experience other models of society, culture and health, taking him to Mali, West Africa- as a Peace Corps village health worker.

It was while living in his new Dogon Village for two years, that Victor’s vision of becoming an urban village health worker and opening up a Holistic Wellness Studio became more vivid. Upon completing his service, he continued his education at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City, studying nutritional theories within a holistic model of health. This program, coupled with his interest in human movement and dedication to various forms of exercise and martial arts paved the way for a successful personal training practice, and helped clarify his life’s work. Upon moving back to the Bay Area to start laying down the foundations for Equilibrio Wellness, he became a Certified Strength and Conditioning Coach and wanting to further his education, entered the elite C.H.E.K. Institute Practitioner program.

Currently Victor is a Level 1 Practitioner and a Level II Holistic Lifestyle Coach. Victor has founded Equiibrio Wellness with the intention of providing a diverse, modern urban community with a sacred space to be educated, inspired, and empowered to live healthy, fulfilling lives full of love and vitality!

Ayse Berkes (co-founder, Pilates director) is passionate about inspiring people to get healthy and strong, in body, mind, and spirit. As a certified Pilates instructor, personal trainer and holistic wellness coach, she has co-founded Equilibrio Wellness with the goal of creating a sacred space, where people of all walks of life can find the support and encouragement they need to live a life of joy and vitality. Ayse brings over 10 years of studying and teaching movement, and using movement as a tool for self-empowerment and healing. She brings an intelligent, creative and fun approach to her Pilates/ personal training sessions, with the goal of instilling in her clients a sense of body awareness and empowerment that extends beyond the studio. Repeatedly, her clients come back to her reporting, not only increased strength, agility, and better posture, but also a new sense of understanding and appreciation of their body.

Ayse stumbled upon Pilates in college, as a late-starter in dance dealing with chronic knee pain. She was amazed by its power to help heal, strengthen and smarten the body and devoted herself to an in depth study of the method, taking her on a journey to New York city. Since becoming certified by Ellie Herman in 2005, she has had the opportunity to work with a wide range of clients, from total exercise newbies, people with all sorts of injuries and conditions, mothers to be, etc. to athletes and performers in both New York and the Bay Area. At Equilibrio Wellness, she uses Pilates, functional training and various movement modalities to customize programs suited to all sorts of needs. She is constantly rewarded as her clients progress into greater overall health, achieving pain-free movement and a calmer mind.

Ayse continues to draw inspiration from a dedicated practice of Pilates, yoga, dance, and C.H.E.K.-based functional exercise and continues building her practice through additional trainings and workshops with experts in various movement and healing modalities. Most recently, she has completed an injury rehabilitation course with master teacher and rehab specialist Nora St. John, so that she can better serve clients with injuries and pain. Her recent personal struggles with a chronic illness has motivated her to further her studies in holistic healing and nutrition; in 2009, Ayse completed a Holistic Lifestyle and nutrition coaching certification from the C.H.E.K. Institute and has since been sharing what her studies and personal struggles have taught her about healing the body, mind, and soul through proper nutrition and self-care and mindful, soulful movement and living!

Coming Soon!

Jennifer Mirrich, (massage therapist) graduated from the Ralston School of Massage in Reno, Nevada in 1999. Her work involves a very holistic and therapeutic look at the body. She has undergone many trainings in Trigger Point, PNF stretching and shortening techniques, and Sports Massage. She also does prenatal, and Reiki work as well. You could describe her massage as one that is different each time with a surprising metaphoric bag of tools.

In 2005, Jennifer began the study of an ancient healing modality called, Jin Shin Jyutsu. She loves to demonstrate this art form and it's healing capabilities which are endless. Just ask her for a short session to find out how it works!

When Jennifer isn't doing massage she is studying Apparel Design and art. She gets her strength and motivation through the outdoors and nature.

Coming Soon!

To read about Andy Clower and how he can help you reach your fitness goals, check out his website:

www.fitness-evolved.com/about_us.html

Michael McClain, Certiﬁed Personal Trainer
National Personal Trainer Institute
American Council on Exercise

“Life has a way of taking us places we never thought we would go, so we need to be ready to keep up with the pace of the adventure.”

Having grown up in the country with a life of work on the farm, the importance of exercise was instilled in me as a youth. After 4 years in the United States Air Force stationed in Japan and Germany and a follow-on of 5 years of project management throughout the Middle East, East Africa, and Asia, I returned to the United States bringing my spirit for adventure, organizational skills, and passion for ﬁtness.
Having continued my own strength training and then, a frequent competitor in many half marathons in the over 200-pound weight class, I began my study of kinesiology which led me to greater understandings of exercise.

My approach to ﬁtness is very simple: “Live well to be well!” Fitness regimens, like any project, needs direction to keep energies focused and maximize effectiveness. By taking a deeper look at motivating factors, as well as lifestyle patterns and nutritional needs combined with physical assessments, we can create a program that is customized to meet your goals and take your health to the next level.

I bring to every session well organized workouts utilizing traditional exercise techniques, functional movement and an overall holistic approach that leads to results. Whether you are a competitive athlete or newcomer to ﬁtness, I am ready to empower and educate you towards better health and ultimately your goal.

Kampol Crews is a massage professional. He began studying massage in 5th grade camp when a counselor sprained her ankle. She lead an activity she could do lying down. A parallel world opened up where thoughts, breath, and body combined to create more joy. This reminded him of Jedi Knight training. Kampol shared massage with all of his friends and his mother who worked as a nurse's aide in Concord, CA.

In 1987 he attended Humboldt State University with the idea of changing the world. He started training in Aikido and loved its philosophy. During a tough time he dropped out of college to be an interrogator in the US Army Special Forces. He thought he joined the darkside. He returned to college after Desert Storm to study the mind and how it creates the world.

After graduating in 1997 with a B.A. in Social Sciences, Kampol took on a series of professional careers. He noticed how people fit themselves into roles and work structures rather than create a living that fits them. This led to self-destructive consumerism, diets, and drinking. "What would make life better?," he began to ask.
So he explored for answers in massage school at Harbin Hot Springs. Watsu captivated him with its communion with inner and outer nature. He took his massage table to San Francisco and worked from people's homes. Then at the Institute of Psycho-Structural Integration in Culver City he learned to blend Tai-Chi into massage.

He came back to the Bay Area in 2005 and met the love of his life, Eugenia, dancing in the Northern California Dance Collective, his old stomping grounds . He was determined to do massage work. He honed his craft at Nickel, Spa Bar, Diamond Wellness, and Spa Chakra feeling blessed by the people he has met. Now at Equilibrio Wellness he explores integrating massage into everyday life.

People sit at desks and computers too many hours a day. Kampol loves showing people how they can relieve their stress doing something simple everyday-such as taking a good breath and letting go whatever tension filling thoughts and feelings in our bodies. He thinks massage is too important to just leave to professionals and encourages everyone to squeeze the ones they live in monthly Couples Massage Workshops. Kampol practices Deep Tissue, Swedish Esalen, Thai and Watsu using insight and experience for what will best work for you. His clients return for deep relaxation and his reliable stress and pain relief.

Nives Wetzel de Cediel is an internationally trained visual and performing artist with 20 years of experience in performance and dance education. Nives has studied and performed Spanish, Brazilian and Cuban dance with groups such as Bailes Flamencos, Ginga Brasil, Fogo na Roupa and Kubata. She studied Capoeira for 8 years with the late Mestre Carlos Aceituno and is currently the Artistic Director of Batucada do Leste - Escola da Samba. Nives is concerned with the energy and emotion dance solicits - the ‘power’ of dance to communicate.

In her highly aerobic classes and wokshops, Nives will introduce participants to a variety of Afro-Brazilian dance forms such as Samba, Samba Reggae and Afoxe. This is achieved by ‘flowing’ from one movement to another making subtle changes in tempo, posture, arm position and attitude. The classes will consist of an invigorating warm-up, isolations, foot samba, technique, choreography and a grounding cool down. Nives will emphasize body awareness and establish cultural context for the various Brazilian dance forms she will share.

Stay tuned for the next inspirational workshop at Equilibrio Wellness, or contact Nives directly to learn about her ongoing dance classes: sambambai2@aol.com