Our Instructors

Margi Douglas

Owner and Certified Pilates/Alexander Instructor

Margi opened the Pilates Garage in 2002 after her certification and training with Alycea Ungaro at Tribeca Bodyworks (now Real Pilates) in Manhattan and went on to do continuing education at the Kane School with Michelle Cohen and Power Pilates’ Bob Liekens. She trained to teach Alexander Technique under master ATI (Alexander Technique International) teacher Chloe Wing in New York City.  She holds an MFA in Acting and is now teaching the Alexander Technique in Columbia’s graduate acting program as well as Tom Todoroff acting conservatory in NYC. Her teaching at the studio blends her classic Pilates training with Pilates methodology and rehab work learned at the Kane School, and her understanding and use of the body from Alexander Technique. Currently she is studying with Master Teacher Jessica Wolf who has revolutionized the breath work within the Alexander field through what she terms “the Art of Breathing.” Her mission is to help performers and non-performers find strength, ease and presence in their whole selves. 

Pilates Mat Saturdays at 9 am

Alexander Tech Mondays at 6:30 pm

Jennifer Kjos

Certified Pilates Instructor

Jennifer Kjos began studying pilates as a young dancer in Miami, Florida and continues to utilize the technique herself to this day. A firm believer in pilates for its ideal balance of strength and flexibility, Jennifer has been teaching for more than 20 years and is consistently interested in the body and alignment. When Jennifer is not teaching she works in the field of dance and performance. Some other certifications include Gyrotonic and Reiki. Here for you to build a pleasurable relationship with your body, to relieve pain, and to reach any other personal goals for your ongoing well-being. 

Available Tuesday afternoons

Hannah Lawrence 

Certified Pilates Instructor

Hannah is a California native who moved to NYC after getting her BFA in Musical theatre. Hannah is a fully certified Pilates instructor through the Kane school and a Vinyasa Yoga instructor from Three Sister’s Yoga. Through her love for dance and movement, she fell in love with Pilates during college while shadowing a teacher. While taking more Pilates, Hannah realized the impact and effect Pilates could have for singers and dancers, and needed Pilates to have a larger role in her life. Hannah’s mat class is energetic, specific, full of laughs, a warm environment, focuses on breath, and the development of your own personal Pilates vocabulary for any level. Her mat class is great for beginners, as well as more versed Pilates students who are interested in the classic poses you love with an added twist.

Judy Thurau 

Certified Pilates Instructor

Judy has struggled with alignment issues and pain due to scoliosis her entire life. To stay in shape, she studied karate for years, ultimately receiving her brown belt. Unable to continue due to pain, she tried different treatment programs and exercise modalities. After breaking her ankle in 2006 and her alignment and pain worsened, a friend recommended Pilates. Pilates brought body awareness, mobility, and strength while being pain-free. Pilates has since become part of her daily life. Being so inspired and hopeful by her experience and benefits, her mission is to help others do the same. Judy strives to show others how to better organize their body through awareness, breath, and movement and live a life of wellness. She’s worked with clients that have presented with scoliosis, osteoporosis, knee, back, hip, and shoulder injuries, and pre-and post-natal care. Judy has received her anatomy, mat, and equipment certifications through Kane School of Core Integration and is thrilled to be part of the PG team.

Paige Drach

Certified Mat Pilates Instructor

Paige is originally from New Jersey, where she began training in ballet at the age of 5. For 12 years, she danced at the Academy of Ballet NJ in West Berlin, New Jersey, performing in full-length ballets such as The Nutcracker, Swan Lake, The Sleeping Beauty, Cinderella, and Coppélia. Paige also studied ballet at notable summer intensive programs with American Ballet Theatre, Joffrey Academy of Dance Chicago, The Joffrey Ballet School in New York, and Ballet Chicago. Throughout her ballet training, Pilates conditioning classes were often incorporated into the curriculum to enhance dancer’s strength, mindfulness, and alignment. Fascinated by the body awareness that Pilates brought into her dancing, Paige was inspired to become a certified mat Pilates instructor through East River Pilates’ teacher training program. Paige also earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Women’s and Gender Studies with a minor in Arts and Entertainment Management and a minor in Spanish from Pace University. She is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Dance Education from NYU with a concentration in American Ballet Theatre ballet pedagogy.

Available for Private Mat Pilates Sunday afternoons

Community Mat Sundays at noon

Jessica Ree

Certified Pilates Instructor

Jessica Ree started taking Pilates at 14 after a dance-related back injury left her looking for more strength for her over-flexible body. She started in California with Rael Isacowitz. After years of taking Pilates, she decided to combine her love of Pilates with her love of teaching. She became certified through Body Tonic Pilates Gymnasium in Brooklyn, NY. Jessica has also taken courses on exercise during pregnancy. She enjoys introducing Pilates to new students.

Donnell Oakley 

Certified Pilates Instructor

Donnell is Pilates certified through Polestar Pilates LLC and has been teaching private and group instructions around New York since 2003.  Her interest in movement began as a young dancer and has continued through her dedicated study of anatomy, bio mechanics, and various dance styles.  She places an emphasis on fluidity and seeing the body as a whole in which its constituent parts work to contribute to that whole.  The goal is to transform our restrictive and possibly painful habits into an unbound and well-aligned moving body.  Donnell has worked with clients challenged by scoliosis, plantar fasciitis, post-op prostatectomy pelvic floor dysfunction, spinal disc herniation, spinal stenosis, bursitis, various shoulder injuries and worked with prenatal and postpartum women. Donnell eagerly continues to broaden her understanding of the body in motion through various workshops at the Kane School of Core Integration/Kinected, Steele Pilates, The Pilates Garage, The Franklin Method, her employment at Corinthian Physical Therapy from 2009-2015 and as a professional contemporary teacher, dancer and choreographer. Most recently she attended Healthy Necks with Kelly Kane and Deepening Therapeutic Skills with Kelly Kane and Scott Lyons. She has loved considering The Pilates Garage to be one of her homes since 2005. 

Available to teach on Zoom only

Theresa Squire

Co-owner & Certified Pilates Instructor

Theresa is a costume designer, pilates instructor and former dancer who loves dancing around with her little girl. Pilates helped her recover from multiple knee injuries (including ACL reconstruction) and has supported her through pregnancy and beyond. Her love of teaching and helping others lead to her certification at the Kane School of Core Integration in New York. She continues to further her education through workshops and master classes. Her clients have a wide variety of goals beyond just getting in shape. They range from addressing chronic issues and injury recovery to surf camp prep and getting in tune with their body. Whatever your interest, her sessions are tailored to your overall goals as well as the needs of any given day.

Pilates Mat Tuesdays 7 pm

Satori Folkes-Stone

Certified Mat Pilates Instructor

Los Angeles born and raised Satori Folkes-Stone is an inaugural alumna of the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance. Just after graduation, she made her 2020 Broadway debut in Ivo Van Hove’s Westside Story. Pilates and other somatic practices played a major role in her dance training and injury rehabilitation. Satori finds Pilates to be a pleasant and intuitive path towards healing. In her teaching practice, Satori centers breath, self-love, and embodiment. She’s interested in how rigor and ease can be close friends and how we might whole-heartedly accept and support the body we bring to the mat every day. Satori is most excited by populations that need a gentle or unique approach to their practice to manage injuries or a changing body.

Available lunch hours Tuesdays & Wednesdays.

Community Mat Wednesdays at 1pm.