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Meet the Studio Owners

Kona Pilates LLC , GYROTONIC® Kona and Yoga Flow Hawaii™ are headed by a husband and wife team who are talented professionals with a passionate commitment to the restorative and healing power of movement and manual/massage featuring Therapeutic Exercise, Yoga, Yoga Therapy, STOTT PILATES, GYROTONIC® exercise, as well as Therapeutic Massage and Manual Therapy. Whether in a private/duet lesson, group class, massage/manual therapy session, or teacher training, our foremost priority is to be responsive to your needs, devising sessions to specifically meet your goals of health and well-being on a unique and individual basis.

"May the beauty of what we love

be what we do." --- Rumi


Laura (Lihau) Crittendon, LMT, DMT, CYT       
        Transformational Teacher
        Senior GYROTONIC Instructor       
          International certified and licensed GYROTONIC®
          and  GYROKINESIS® Trainer / Therapist,
        Licensed GYROTONIC®  Pre-Trainer,
         Licensed Pilates Master Trainer,
        Certified Yoga Teacher/Therapist (CYT),
        STOTT PILATES Certified Instructor,
        Therapeutic Exercise Specialist,
        Dance/Movement Therapist (DMT),
        Professional Belly Dancer (Tribal Nouveau),
        Creator of Chi Kung for HealingTM
        Licensed Massage Therapist LMT (MAT 4226 / MAE 1991)

        Studio Founder/Owner
 



A personal note from Laura ~


Aloha! I teach Pilates and GYROTONIC® sessions that are creative, playful, fun, educational, inspiring, and transformational -  for beginners and advanced students alike. I also offer Yoga Flow for Your Soul™, Yoga in Motion (aka Gyrokinesis), Tribal Nouveau Belly Dance, Chi Kung, and  Therapeutic Exercise sessions and classes. I believe that health comes from harmony of mind, body and spirit, and that exercise is a vehicle for self exploration, healing, wholeness, and joy. I find the movement and healing arts of Pilates, Yoga, Dance, and GYROTONIC® have infinite possibilities to help people achieve their wellness and fitness goals. I love helping people learn about their bodies, watch as they learn to connect with the deep and vast well of energy (chi or prana) inside them, and witness as they transform both physically, emotionally, and spiritually. It also brings me great joy to help people alleviate pain, stiffness, stress and tension and to return to a life of freedom of movement. To aid in this journey, I draw upon all of the tools in my tool belt and bring a custom blend of these unique gifts to each session. In addition to private lessons and group equipment classes, I teach Yoga Flow for Your Soul™ classes as well as our GYROTONIC® for your Inner Dancer program and love watching my students (male and female alike) move to their own inner rhythm.


About Laura:  Laura's first job, at age 17, was as a physical therapy assistant in Southern California. She worked with all levels of rehabilitation from athletes to stroke patients. She was offered this job and was blessed to train extensively with this leading sports physical therapist after completing a lengthy physical therapy program for her knee following a severe skiing accident. It was this early experience, both as the client and later as the therapist, that helped to shape her career choice to date.  (Learn about Laura and the History of the Studio.)


Professional Training: To date, Laura has accumulated over 30 years experience and thousands of hours of advanced training and education in body-mind-spirit health, therapeutic exercise, and manual/massage therapy. She is state licensed and board certified as an Integrative Medical Massage Therapist and Movement Therapist. Laura graduated from the Hawaiian Islands School of Massage with advanced training in Vodder Manual Lymphatic Drainage, CranioSacral, Myofascial, NeuroMuscular, and Exercise Therapies. In 2002, she graduated as Valedictorian from the University of Hawaii with an Honors degree in Psychology and a minor in Hawaiian. In graduate school Laura studied Transpersonal Psychology, Mind-Body Medicine Research, Integrative Health, and Consciousness Studies. Laura has trained with Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) founder Jon Kabat-Zinn. In addition, she trained professionally as a Transpersonal Psychotherapist as well as professional Hula dancer (having danced in three Merrie Monarch Hula Festivals under Kumu Hula Etua Lopez). Passionate about community service, Laura has volunteered thousands of hours working with the severely mentally ill in Kona.



Movement Arts Education:

  • Physical Therapy Assistant;
  • Licensed Massage and Movement Therapist (trained extensively in rehabilitation and injury prevention);
  • Certified Lymphatic Therapist;
  • GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® certified Trainer;
  • Certified on the GYROTONIC® Specialized Equipment;
  • Certified and Licensed GYROTONIC® Pre-Trainer (teaching the teachers);
  • GYROKINESIS® Breathwork Course with Juliu Horvath;
  • GYROTONIC® Applications for Dancers;
  • GYROKINESIS® Beginner Level 2;
  • GYROTONIC® Level 2 pre-training;
  • Pilates Master Trainer (Pilates Academy International);
  • STOTT PILATES® Certified Instructor on all apparatus;
  • Certified "Pilates for Golf®" Coach;
  • Yoga Teacher and Therapist;
  • Dance/Movement Therapist;
  • Meditation and Chi Kung Instructor;
  • Certified personal trainer;
  • 2nd degree black belt instructor and award-winning contemporary forms competitor;
  • Professional Hula dancer;
  • Certified in Black Sheep BellyDance and 8 Elements BellyDance Initiation
  • Professional BellyDancer.


Types of Sessions Offered:

  • Group Pilates Equipment Classes
  • Group GYROTONIC® Pulley/Tower and Circuit Classes
  • Group GYROTONIC® for your Inner Dancer Class
  • Group GYROKINESIS® Classes
  • Private / Duet Pilates, GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® sessions
  • Private / Duet Chi Kung for HealingTM sessions
  • GYROTONIC® pre-training courses. Please email with your inquiries.
  • Private Pilates Instructor Training courses. Please email with your inquiries.
  • Massage and Manual Therapy
  • Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) series
  • Yoga Private Lessons and Therapeutic Exercise Sessions
  • Yoga Flow for Your Soul™ Classes
  • BellyDance classes and Private Lessons


I look forward to being your guide along your path towards the fulfillment of your wellness and exercise goals. I believe that together we can achieve anything that we set our minds to.



     Namaste,

               Laura
"Dear Laura,
I wonder if you can really imagine the full & very powerful impact you have had on me, in spirit, mind and body. Like you've said before, seeds have been planted and my garden is looking very rich and fertile. I'm healthy now! The gifts you have offered me in, in my experience, are nothing short of profound and I feel extremely blessed. I love being around you and you are so beautiful inside & out. I offer you my deepest gratitude and appreciation and my love as your friend always."

-- Denise D.

"I work in a high stress job. The breathing techniques ALONE that I learned from Laura in our GYROTONIC lessons alone have really helped me. The breathing helps me to stay focused and reduce my stress. And the physical practice of GYROTONIC and GYROKINESIS has really helped me reduce the physical affects of stress on my body. I am sleeping better, feeling better, I've trimmed up, AND I am more happy than I have been in years! Namaste and Mahalo for everything!"

-- Jessica L.

"I've tried Belly dance before. I tried classes and a DVD. I always felt like I just wasn't getting it or I would end up getting hurt. And now I know why! I wasn't being taught how to use the right muscles. When you explained how the movements were being made, and with each specific muscle, I could literally feel my body getting it. My hubby says I am already holding myself different. And, I dropped an entire size in my shorts. Wow! Talk about benefits."
 

Steve Von Hargett, LMT, COTTSteve Von Hargett, LMT
        Senior Pilates Instructor

        Structural Massage / Manual Therapist,
        Certified Onsen Technique® Therapist (COTT),

        Principal Massage Therapist,

        Rehab Pilates Specialist, STOTT PILATES Certified

        Instructor, Certified and Licensed GYROTONIC® Trainer,

        Therapeutic Exercise Specialist,

        Studio co-founder


Steve has over 18 years experience teaching movement and 7,000+ hours of training in therapeutic exercise and massage/manual therapy. He is state licensed and board certified as an Integrative Medical and Manual Massage Therapist and is the Studio co-owner. He graduated from the Hawaiian Islands School of Massage with advanced training in NeuroMuscular, Spinal Muscle Therapies, and Structural Manual Therapy techniques. Steve applies a firm pressure in his work, yet balanced with incredible sensitivity and "amazing heat" (healing Chi Kung) from his hands. As a full scholarship recipient, Steve's undergraduate education was in the fine arts giving him "an eye" for proper structural alignment in both movement and massage.


Steve is a comprehensively trained, internationally certified STOTT Pilates® Instructor, trained extensively in the STOTT Pilates Rehabilitation Program (with head physical therapist Melanie Byford-Young) and is a Certified and Licensed GYROTONIC® Trainer, including the GYROTONIC® Specialized Equipment. (He also holds the rank of 3rd Degree Black Belt Instructor in mixed martial arts). Steve brings to the Studio a unique blend of knowledge and expertise of movement and the mind-body connection. Steve is the head instructor at our sister school Hawaii Freestyle Martial Arts   (bringing character development and fitness to the youth and young-at-heart of Kailua-Kona.)


As a movement instructor, Steve brings to the Studio a unique blend of knowledge and expertise of movement and the mind-body connection. He exemplifies how Pilates and GYROTONIC® help an "X-games" athlete (surfing, motocross, skateboarding, BMX, kickboxing) age gracefully and perform better (as well as rehabilitate from injuries and surgeries as a result of sports injuries).


As a massage therapist, Steve specializes in Onsen® Structural Manual Therapy sessions (aligning the human structure so that the movement arts have their greatest affect). Steve is the only Hawaii Certified Onsen Technique® Therapist. In addition, Steve is our "shoulder specialist" (Both for learning new patterns of movement as well as therapy treatments to address chronic pain and decreased function).


Steve's specialty is combining Onsen Therapy with the Movement Arts of Pilates and GYROTONIC® so that what is released and balanced during the bodywork session can be re-educated into proper bio-mechanical movement to ensure pain-free results that last.


"Steve,
I really thought that the pain in my shoulder was going to last my whole lifetime. In two sessions you not only educated me as to what was happening in my shoulder, you relieved the shoulder pain itself. I can now work and not be in pain or on pain medication. Thank you. I will never forget this."

-- Phyllis S.

"I work in the hospitality industry. Several years ago I hurt my back at work. I saw the doctor, received medication for the pain, and was sent to physical therapy. Yet my back pain still persisted pretty severely. Now I am doing Pilates and Gyrotonic with Steve. In the first month of Pilates and Gyrotonic lessons my back pain decreased to where it was hardly noticeable. I cannot believe the difference this has made in the quality of my life. Thank you!"

-- Pamela D.

 





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