Kathleen Keller is a teacher, a mentor, an explorer and risk-taker, a life-long student of health and fitness, and a warm, supportive and creative spirit driven to helping her clients and students achieve optimum health. She has devoted her life to the practice and teaching of bodywork and fitness. Drawing on her extensive experience, diverse training and decades of teaching in six countries, she has developed THE KELLER METHOD™, a distinctive approach to fitness and well-being that focuses on functional movement education, self-empowerment and positive reinforcement.
Kathleen’s unique approach blends Therapeutic Ball Release, Evolved Pilates methods and Myofascial Anatomy with several diverse streams of related bodywork techniques. Her distinctive teaching style emphasizes imagery and cueing through words and touch. Kathleen operates her practice out of LifeMark™ Physiotherapy Clinic at the Springborough Professional Centre in S.W. Calgary, AB.,Canada. She has developed a series of training courses for health-care professionals on how to use her innovative techniques with clients/patients to enhance treatment, promote self-healing and prevent injuries. She also offers private instruction for the general public.
About Kathleen’s method
Kathleen has been teaching Pilates since 1997 and is dual-certified in Pilates Apparatus and Mat by Polestar® Hong Kong and STOTT® Toronto, coupled with an extensive apprenticeship and on-going training in rehabilitation. Her additional training encompasses BASI: Body Arts & Science International (California), and The Pilates Center Boulder methods. In addition to Therapeutic Ball and Evolved Pilates, TKM™ includes adaptations of Kinesis Myofascial Integration® KMI (Thomas Myers Anatomy Trains), Feldenkrais Techniques®, Franklin Method®, Alexander Techniques, Restorative (YIN) Yoga and Rolfing Movement. This results in a well-rounded method with a progressive and balanced approach to achieving overall body wisdom and health.
About Kathleen’s background
A former national level competitive gymnast and professional dancer, Kathleen began teaching athletics, fitness and dance in 1978 in Vancouver, Canada. In her twenties, she began studies in kinesiology and the pursuit of a career in the health and fitness field.
After teaching dance and fitness, and performing for 20 years, Kathleen discovered Pilates in the mid- ’90s. Her initial studies began at The Method Center, a Polestar® rehabilitative studio in Vancouver under her first mentor, Rena Shields. She completed her Polestar® Studio certification under master educator Dawnna Wayburne in Hong Kong. Her STOTT® Reformer & Mat certification was completed in Vancouver and in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia under master educator Heather Low of Meridian Pilates, Vancouver.
In addition to her dual certification and rehabilitative apprenticeship, Kathleen has also completed a comprehensive apprenticeship on all apparatus at the Canadian Pilates Institute in Vancouver under the guidance of Linda Zurak, a Pilates Center Boulder graduate.
In 2002, Kathleen was recruited by the family of the Malaysian Prime Minister to manage the opening of a string of studios in Malaysia and to train local women as Pilates instructors. At that time, Pilates was virtually unheard of in Southeast Asia, a region about 10 years behind North America in fitness knowledge. Here, Kathleen introduced the first international level of Pilates and Therapeutic Ball Releasetechniques to Malaysia, started up and managed two new studios, instructed clients and led teacher-training apprenticeship programs. Throughout Kuala Lumpur and various Malaysian provinces, she also led workshops for local physiotherapists and chiropractors.
In 2005, Kathleen was recruited to be the International Pilates Educator for a large chain of high-end health clubs in Indonesia — a country of 237 million people with, at that time, not one local international level Pilates instructor. She introduced the first international level Pilates teacher training program for locals and Therapeutic Ball Release techniques to that region, spoke at conferences, gave workshops and trained hospital physiotherapists and chiropractors. She directed the programming for nine clubs in both Indonesia and Malaysia and began the development of her own instructor-training courses, THE KELLER METHOD™.
In 2006, Kathleen moved to Spain, in order to more fully concentrate on the development of her instructor-training syllabus. During this time, she taught her methods to groups of physiotherapists in Spain, and in London, England. In 2007 she relocated back to Canada.
Biography of Studies and Related Fields
POLESTAR Pilates ® - Certified Studio Instructor: Cadillac, Chair, Barrels, Mat & Reformer - Hong Kong, 2003
MERIDIAN Pilates - Cadillac, Chair & Barrels - Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia - 2003
BASI Pilates Method (Body Arts and Science International): Two week intensive with Rael Isacowitz - California, 2002
Canadian Pilates Institute - Comprehensive 350 hour apprenticeship in all apparatus and two years of experience in the Pilates Center Boulder style - Vancouver, 2002 – 2000
STOTT® Pilates - Certified Instructor: Reformer and Mat - Vancouver, 1999
The Method Center – A Polestar Rehabilitation Studio: Nine month apprenticeship, trained on all equipment with an emphasis on small apparatus including: foam rollers, ring, discs, balance board and therabands - Vancouver, 1997
Yamana® Body Rolling Practitioner - Certified Level 2, Body Logic of New York, Vancouver, 2000.
CANFIT PRO - National Fitness Conference Presenter, Vancouver 2000 –1999, Calgary 2007
Health & Fitness Certificate: Simon Fraser University, Vancouver, Canada, 1984
Paul Check, Swiss Ball Master Educator: Attended numerous courses
Canadian Pilates Association - Former Board Member
Reiki Practitioner Level 1
In addition to the training above, Kathleen has also studied and /or attended intensive workshops with many other notable master teachers in related practices and the Pilates method including:
