Our Instructors
"A good teacher does not teach facts, he or she teaches enthusiasm, open-mindedness and values." -Gian-Carlo Rota
Each CORE master trainer is an accomplished and distinguished career teacher with more than 20 years of teaching experience.
We have dedicated many years to training aspiring teachers and built word-of-mouth reputations that keep our books full.
Under the guidance of a master trainer you’ll learn how to grow and nurture a motivated clientele and build a reputable practice.
Whether you are just starting your teacher training journey or are an experienced practitioner looking for new skills to expand your repertoire, an experienced, committed guide is a critical part of your teacher training program.
CORE Movement Education’s team of teacher trainers have more than 60 years of combined experience teaching mind-body movement. We have completed comprehensive classical Pilates teacher training programs from five different programs over the last twenty years, giving us a unique perspective on the strengths and weaknesses of various approaches to training teachers. Our experience with multiple Pilates teacher training programs has also given us a much wider repertoire of exercises and variations on exercises than we would have if we had stuck with a single classical lineage.
Our CORE suspension teacher training team has likewise experienced multiple approaches to training Pilates teachers to work with Redcord apparatus, allowing us to tailor our curriculum to the specific needs of the Pilates teacher working in an integrated Pilates-Redcord environment.
All of our teacher trainers have worked in integrated environments with movement-based Physical Therapists, providing us deep experience with applying the Pilates method, GYROTONIC® exercise and Redcord apparatus with post-rehabilitation populations.
As a team, we strongly believe in the power of the trainer-trainee relationship and in providing a comprehensive experience that includes observation, personal practice and regular feedback to help our trainees become the best teachers they can be.
Jessica Gowen
Licensed Teacher Trainer, The Pilates Center (TPC)
GYROTONIC® Instructor & Master Trainer
Jessica’s mind-body wellness journey began in Washington, DC, in 1998, where she took Pilates at Excel Movement Studios while working as a reporter and editor at a policy-oriented publishing firm. After swimming competitively from the age of four, Jessica suffered spinal and sternal fractures in a 10 meter platform diving accident while training for her collegiate swim team. The injury ended her swimming career and ultimately led her to Pilates as she attempted to heal her own body. After experiencing the method's transformational effects, she left the policy world to teach Classical Pilates.
While at Excel, she studied with Rachel Taylor Segel and Amy Taylor Alpers at an early PMA conference. She was immediately drawn to their unique approach to teaching classical Pilates with an authentic voice and a deep understanding of functional movement and ideokinesis. She began to travel to their studio, The Pilates Center (TPC), in Boulder, CO. In 2012, Jessica bridged through TPC’s Advanced Teacher Training Program and became an advisor for TPC Trainees in the southeast.
Jessica discovered the GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® in 2004. She loved how it complemented her Pilates training and challenged her to reexamine all she knew about movement – both as practitioner and teacher – with a new lens. She has completed certifications in Gyrotonic teaching, GYROKINESIS® teaching, all of the specialized Gyrotonic equipment and Paul Horvath’s post-rehabilitation work for the pelvic and shoulder girdles and scoliosis . She was certified in both systems by the method's creator, Juliu Horvath. She is also an Authorized Gyrotonic Expansion System Pre-Trainer and a Master Trainer.
Jessica believes continuing education is crucial to every Pilates and Gyrotonic Instructor’s growth. She has taken hundreds of hours of continuing education courses around the country, covering a spectrum of subject matter including working with post-rehab clients experiencing back and shoulder pain, refining her use of voice and touch, teaching Pilates to pregnant and postpartum women, modifying exercises for those with osteoporosis, and challenging elite athletes with the Gyrotonic Method.
In addition to her journey as a movement teacher and trainer of teachers, Jessica is also a passionate entrepreneur. She founded CORE in 2006 to create her ideal wellness environment: a positive, friendly, team of experts that attracts outstanding instructors while providing exceptional client care. Over the years, she also implemented teacher training programs in Pilates, Gyrotonic, and Core Suspension. In 2020, she moved CORE’s operations online due to COVID.
In 2021, Jessica and her CORE team joined forces with Activcore, a national leader in blending Physical Therapy and Performance, to further develop professionally as an industry leader in the Atlanta area, and to grow the company’s online performance offerings on a national scale. The merger led to CORE Movement Education becoming a stand-alone teacher training practice led by Jessica. Activcore serves as a host site for CORE Movement Education’s teacher training programs.
Jessica is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Allegheny College, where she earned a B.A. in Political Science in 1997. She holds a Master of Public Management degree from the School of Public Policy at the University of Maryland at College Park. A Decatur native, she lives in Ormewood Park with her family.
Georgia Dalton
GYROTONIC® Instructor
trained under Master Trainer Jessica Gowen at CORE Movement Education in Atlanta, Georgia. She is also a full time Company Dancer with The Atlanta Ballet.
Georgia’s passion for health and wellness began at a young age as she pursued a professional ballet career. In 2018, she graduated from Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music, where she received a B.S. in Ballet and Minor in Marketing. She then went on to join the Boston Ballet for two seasons. It was in Boston where she was introduced to the
GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® as a method of physical therapy and cross training. She immediately recognized how GYROTONIC® complemented her ballet training and fell in love with the system.
Georgia relocated to Atlanta, Georgia in 2020 to join the Atlanta Ballet. With the desire to deepen her practice, Georgia connected with Jessica, and began her GYROTONIC® teacher training journey in the summer of 2021. She was certified by Debra Rose at San Francisco Gyrotonic in 2022. Georgia is excited to help others achieve their health and wellness goals.
