Your Teachers

    • Steph Grey

      I started teaching Pilates in 2005 and after many years double jobbing in both the Pilates and IT worlds, I founded Live & Breathe Pilates in 2008. I finally took the plunge into full time teaching in 2012 when I opened the Live & Breathe Pilates studio on Camden Row where I continue to pass on my passion about Pilates and mindful movement practices to my clients as well as other teachers.
      I’ve a special interest in working with those recovering from injury or suffering from chronic conditions and I use Pilates and movement as a tool to rebuild confidence and strength, to enable my clients to continue to do the things they want to do.
      As faculty for BASI Pilates, I am also a mentor for Pilates teachers in training and provide ongoing movement classes and workshops for teachers. As a mentor, imparting evidence based knowledge to the next generation of teachers has many rewards as I see our Pilates community grow in Ireland and beyond.

      I am also proud to hold a Slings Myofascial Training Teacher Advanced Level Diploma with art of motion academy.

      Steph Grey

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      Steph’s Qualifications

      I have presented at international conference as well as teaching regular workshops and courses for teachers from around the world.
      Integrity is central to everything I do and I’m an empathetic listener and excellent communicator.
      I love to learn and can consistently be found nerding out on anatomy, fascia and movement and talking the ear off anyone who’ll listen about the never ending connections between mind and body.
      Certifications include :-

      • STOTT Pilates Level 2 Full Certification
      • BASI Pilates Comprehensive Certification
      • BASI Pilates Mentor Program
      • BASI Pilates Faculty
      • Prenatal & Postnatal Pilates Exercise Specialist
      • Osteoporosis Exercise Specialist
      • Breast Cancer Rehab Exercise Specialist incl Pink Ribbon Program
      • Hypermobility Exercise Specialist
      • Women’s Health Exercise Specialist – Pre & PostNatal
      • Pilates for Scoliosis
      • BASI Pilates – Pilates for Injuries & Pathologies
      • STOTT Pilates – Pilates for Injuries & Special Populations
      • Anatomy Trains in Motion
      • PowerFingers Master Instructor
      • NLP Practitioner
      • Pilates & Exercise for MS and Neurological Conditions Specialist
      • Cadaver Anatomy Workshops, Keele University & Cambridge University
      • Explain Pain – NOI Group
      • Madeline Black Method Immersives
      • Wendy LeBlanc Arbuckle – Immersive Program
      • Slings Myofascial Training Teacher Advanced Level Diploma

      I also continue to study with Karin Gurtner, Madeline Black, Wendy LeBlanc Arbuckle and Rael Isacowitz.
      You can learn more about what makes Steph tick in our Getting to Know Your Instructor Series: Steph.

    • Katrin Neue

      Originally from Germany, Katrin began her journey in movement teaching with her first certification in Munich in 2000. Her exposure to Pilates and passion for teaching deepened during her dance education training in Hamburg, where she specialised in Contemporary dance and Ballet. In 2009, she moved to Ireland to pursue an MA in Contemporary Dance Performance. Following her initial training with Susan Church, she started teaching Pilates in 2012.
      Katrin teaches Pilates, Barre and Somatics both in groups and in private sessions.

      Katrin Neue

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      Over the years, Katrin has expanded her expertise from dance and Pilates to include Somatic Education. She became a certified Hanna Somatic Exercise Coach in 2014 and a Clinical Somatic Educator in 2017. Her teaching approach focuses on natural, pain-free movement, emphasizing well-controlled, mindful practices. Her classes often incorporate Somatic Movement warm-ups, which help clients develop deep body awareness and release habitual tensions, allowing for greater freedom of movement.
      At Live & Breathe, she teaches both group and private Pilates sessions, as well as Barre classes, with a special interest in recovery after injuries and surgeries. As a long-standing faculty member of Essential Somatics, she is actively involved in the international ES Movement Teacher training program. She is also a registered professional member of the International Somatic Movement and Therapy Association (ISMETA). Katrin is a native German speaker.
      You can learn more about what makes Katrin tick in our Getting to Know Your Instructor Series: Katrin.

    • Margo Hough

      Margo began her training as a Pilates teacher in 2012 soon after she realised that Pilates could help her heal chronic injuries and strengthen in ways she had never been able to before. As a teacher Margo works with her clients to bring focus to the body’s movements and reflexes so that it functions better.
      She utilises Pilates to help people make lasting changes that will increase their flexibility, balance and agility and help to prevent injury. She holds certifications from Balanced Body and from Corrective Integrative Neuro-Kinetics.

      Margo Hough

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      Margo is a lifelong athlete having spent most of her time while growing up outside Washington, D.C. playing basketball, tennis and golf she now enjoys playing Gaelic Football as well.
      Margo teaches both group and private sessions.
      You can learn more about what makes Margo tick in our Getting to Know Your Instructor Series: Margo.

    • Cáit Healy

      Cáit first discovered Pilates in 2007 and always loved how it helped improved her well being.
      She believed that Pilates is for everyone and that it is never too late to make it part of your day. She extolled the virtues of Pilates to all and was a kind and generous teacher. Cáit died in October 2022 and is sorely missed by all of us in the studio and her many clients.

      Cait Healy

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      Cáit taught both group and private sessions in the studio. Since her death, we have been inundated with good wishes and stories from clients of how she helped them, even while undergoing cancer treatment herself. She was generous always with her time and knowledge and was a good friend as well as a colleague to us all. She will always be with us in spirit in the studio.

      You can learn more about what made Cáit tick in our Getting to Know Your Instructor Series: Cáit.

    • Rachel Hollywood

      Having always had an interest in health and fitness Rachel’s love of Pilates goes back many years, having discovered it whilst pregnant with her first child. Rachel loved the way Pilates felt in her body and how it helped to correct the misalignment in her spine as a result of carrying around a heavy baby bump.

      Rachel contiunes to split her careers between banking and her passion for Pilates.

      Rachel Hollywood

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      Rachel is a qualified BASI Pilates Comprehensive Teacher. Through BASI Pilates Rachel has also completed further education including;

      • Pilates for Osteoporosis
      • Pilates for the Mature Client
      • Pilates for Children
      • Pilates for Scoliosis
      • Pilates for Injuries & Pathologies
      • Pink Ribbon Program for breast cancer recovery
      • Infant Massage and many others too

      Rachel prides herself on making her classes fun as well as educational and is passionate about sharing the knowledge she has learned to enable clients to have improved body awareness allowing them to integrate Pilates principles into their everyday lives.

      Rachel currently teaches group and one to one classes and intends to further her study of Pilates for many years to come. Originally from Wales, Rachel now lives in Dublin with her husband two children and their dog. Having started her Pilates training at Live & Breathe, Rachel is delighted and honoured to be back in the studio, this time as a teacher.

      You can learn more about what makes Rachel tick in our Getting to Know Your Instructor Series: Rachel.

    • Tamara Orto

      Tamara Orto, originally from Lipari (Sicily), has a background as a professional contemporary dancer, having trained at the International Choreographic Centre “Opus Ballet” in Florence. With a passion for the human movement, she began teaching dance at 22 years old, which fuelled her confidence and desire to teach quality movement and Pilates too.
      In 2019, Tamara completed her International Polestar Mat Pilates Teacher Training in Rome. She relocated to Dublin where she has been teaching since 2020 and has been working with us in Live & Breathe since 2022.
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      Tamara Orto

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      In 2022, she completed her first Reformer instructor certification with Progressive Pilates Academy and always continues her education through attending other courses and workshops.
      Tamara has also completed the BASI Pilates Comprehensive Global Program teacher training, which covers Mat, Reformer, Cadillac, Wunda Chair and Barrels, further enriching her expertise in movement education. She is also certified to work with those affected by breast cancer through the Pink Ribbon Pilates Program.
      She teaches group classes and is available for one to ones also. She is a native Italian speaker.
      You can learn more about what makes Tamara tick in our Getting to Know Your Instructor Series: Tamara.

    • Alex Conlon

      Alex is ogiginally from Dublin and is a trained actor and certified BASI Pilates Comprehensive Teacher. Having always been active in sport since she was a child and into her adulthood, it was 2017 when she discovered Pilates due to a personal injury.
      She quickly fell in love with the practice and could see the profound impact it had on people’s rehabilitation, recovery and overall well being.

      Alex Conlon

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      When the Pandemic hit in 2020, Alex decided to explore her other passion and trained as a Pilates Teacher with BASI Pilates Comprehensive Program and hasn’t looked back. She has a keen interest in injuries & pathologies as well as creative & athletic movement, enjoying both the rehabilitation aspects of the work as well as the challenge and fun that can be found. She is an avid learner and am passionate about working in community with other people.

    • Ann Sheehy

      Ann trained as an actor and singer in New York City and at Trinity Rep Conservatory in Providence, Rhode Island. At the Conservatory she studied Alexander Technique, Dance and Movement, where she became particularly interested in the expressive capacities of the human body, as well as the range of practices used to cultivate them.
      Having moved to Dublin with her husband and given birth to two children, she found within herself a desire not only to work on her own body, mind and spirit, but to help other women work on theirs in a supportive, communal environment away from the competitive gym culture popular at the time. Ann found Pilates to have the spirit of guided self-realisation she sought in that it was based on coming to know your body and what it tells you. .

      Ann Sheehy

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      She studied with Abbe Harris, who encouraged her to become an instructor, while also introducing her to Feldenkrais. Ann went on to train with Stott Pilates in Mat and Reformer, working with Dani Gonzales. For the past several years she have practiced with us at Live & Breathe Pilates.

      Along the way she have tried to expand her array of mind-body approaches, becoming, for example, an instructor of the Miracle Ball Method, a somatic practice and completing Liz Koch’s PSOAS Application Course. Ann has also taken courses with Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen, of Body Mind Centering; Martha Peterson, Essential Somatics; and David Zemach-Bersin and Marek Wyszynski Physical Therapy and Feldenkrais NYC.

    • Maider Arrausi

      Maider started practicing Pilates and yoga back in 2010 and soon both practices became central to her life. Through Pilates she found a stronger physical and psychological core, a sense of personal strength. After years of practice, she trained to become a teacher, initially in Mat Pilates and then in a short Reformer course. She then decided to retrain with BASI and qualified as a BASI Comprehensive Pilates Instructor.

      Maider Arrausi

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      Maider is fascinated about the subtle changes Pilates can bring to our
      daily activities such as cycling, walking, standing and yoga. Moving and breathing well, can shape how we hold the everyday conversations of life.Community, connection and presence in movement are things she believes in.
      You can learn more about what makes Maider tick in our Getting to Know Your Instructor Series: Maider

    • Maly Polotto

      Maria Lydia (Maly) has been enthusiastic about sports all of her life. She first certified Pilates Matwork in Argentina in 2007 and and attained her certification on the Pilates equipment in Madrid, Spain in 2011. On moving to Ireland, to improve her communication skills, she completed a full certification with Polestar Pilates UK, finishing in 2020.

      Maly Polotto

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      Her Pilates passion did not finish here. As she loves to teach people different and creative movement skills, she has taken further training in pre and post natal Pilates (Polestar Pilates), Pilates for Seniors (Lolita San Miguel), Pilates for Injuries & Pathologies with BASI Pilates and works with those affected by breast cancer through the Pink Ribbon Program. Maly’s classes will leave you energised, stretched and you will also be challenged to get the most of your practise.

    • Eileen Heffernan

      Coming from a dance background, Eileen has always had an interest in movement and fitness. While living in Canada in the early 2000’s, she discovered Pilates and instantly felt drawn to the method. She went on to train at the STOTT Pilates headquarters in Toronto and
      completed her certification in Matwork, Reformer and full studio apparatus.

      For more than 20 years, she ran her own small Pilates studio on Baggot Street (where she first met Steph) until its recent closure and she has helped hundreds of people of all ages and abilities to reach their goals and improve wellbeing.

      Eileen Heffernan

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      As all good teachers, Eileen is always looking to improve her knowledge and has taken part in many short courses and workshops over the years, including pre and post natal, injuries and special populations and Ballet Barre.
      She has also done a Matwork bridging course with APPI (Australian Physio and Pilates institute), which she found very useful when working with injuries and pathologies.

    • Mairead Deblaca

      Mairead was introduced to BASI Pilates and the Live & Breathe Pilates studio when her friend gave her a birthday gift of classes in 2018. She was hooked after one! She loved how Pilates slowly brought strength and flexibility to her body, but it was the mind body connection that really had her interest. Once COVID hit, she attended online classes daily, and saw the benefit of a mindful movement practice and how applying concentration and focus in sessions relaxed and calmed her. Mairead was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2020 and once recovered from surgery, it was Pilates that she again turned to, to build back her strength, her flexibility and address postural changes.

      Mairead Deblaca

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      Mairead was drawn to teaching Pilates to understand the why behind the exercises, to learn how she could adapt the movements for her body and she wanted to learn more about BASI Pilates, the courses that Live & Breathe host.
      In 2022 Mairead qualified as a BASI Pilates Matwork Teacher. She also completed further education with the Pilates for Injuries & Pathologies courses, which teaches how to work with clients with injury. Her classes are fun and lively with an emphasis on the why behind each exercise. She is passionate about sharing her breast cancer recovery story and the personal experience to help clients improve their body awareness and bring mindful movement to their lives. Mairead teaches group classes for us and is studying for her BASI Pilates Comprehensive Teacher certification. The learning for Mairead never ends and she plans to further her study of Pilates for many years to come. Having started her Pilates journey at Live & Breathe, Mairead is excited and honoured to be back in the studio, this time as a teacher.

    Contact us today if you have questions for any members of our team, or would like a private consultation.