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From an early age Christa Rypins trained long, hard hours to become an exceptional ice skater. When she retired, after performing for 15 years with the world’s largest ice shows, the toll the intense training had taken on her body became apparent. To relieve her chronic pain, Christa turned to Yoga, Pilates, Somatic Movement, Zen Meditation, and the Franklin Method of Anatomical imagery. She has brought the same focus and intensity to learning and applying these disciplines that she brought to becoming the world’s only one-woman act as an ice skating juggler In 1998, thyroid cancer ended Christa’s skating career but intensified her focus on creating physical, mental and emotional balance. She has maintained a daily Zen awareness practice for 20 years. This practice, combined with her work ethic, make her an ideal instructor for folks looking for profound physical, emotional, and lifestyle changes. As a certified Yoga and Pilates instructor, she offers a personalized workout that relieves pain, builds core strength, and increases flexibility. Through her study of experiential anatomy, she knows first-hand the mechanics of how joints and muscles work. Christa stays at the top of her own game by working out daily and developing herself, through regular professional trainings, to learn more about Yoga, Pilates, and Imagery. After one hour with Christa clients report less pain. They walk away with easy exercises to do on their own and possess clear mental pictures of how their body moves. Christa’s perception, knowledge, and intuition guide her in knowing what each client needs and just how hard they can push their body, or how much relaxation to restore. |
Christa is the founder of Intelligent Body Movement Studio in Murphys, California, where she offers private and group instruction for all levels. She is from the Kripalu yoga tradition, which focuses on meditation through movement. She became a Pilates instructor with Tom McCook at The Center of Balance, and taught at his studio for three years, during which time it was voted Best Pilates & Yoga Studio in the Bay Area by San Francisco Magazine. She has developed a line of yoga clothing and produced three movement DVDs, including Yoga for Meditators, Yoga for a Better Back (with sports medicine chiropractor John Sousa), and Yummy Yoga: Gentle Stress Relief for the Hips, Back and Neck.