meet the team

 

Jennifer DeLuca

Owner / Director

 

  • Owner Jennifer DeLuca brings the legacy of Joseph H. Pilates to Brooklyn. She is a second generation Pilates teacher, native New Yorker, former professional dancer, movement nerd, mom, cancer survivor, and community activist. She is sought after for her keen eye, understanding of body mechanics, and her application of Pilates to the body in front of her. In the studio, Jennifer is known as a healer, leader, and motivator. In the industry she is known for her honesty, mentorship, and integrity. Her down-to-earth approachability infuses BodyTonic’s welcoming environment.

    Jennifer has over 25 years of Pilates teaching experience and has worked with children, adults, exercise-phobes, and professional athletes. She has had a roster of celebrity clients whose visits to BodyTonic will always be kept private. She has been featured in numerous publications, has taught Pilates in several countries, and has written the book Pilates For Wimps, Total Fitness for the Partially Motivated.

certified teachers

 

Kisa Ashraf

  • After starting her career in Supply Chain and Operations, Kisa struggled with the sedentary lifestyle and poor posture that came with long hours at a desk. In search of a solution, she turned to Pilates to restore movement and improve her overall well-being. Inspired by the benefits she experienced, Kisa pursued a 600-hour comprehensive Pilates teaching certification through Real Pilates to share the benefits of Pilates. Passionate about promoting strength, movement, and mindfulness, Kisa is dedicated to helping clients move better and feel their best.

 

Kathleen Caragine

  • Kathleen Caragine first came to BodyTonic to work at the desk in 2017 but her first experience in Pilates was in college as a part of the dance curriculum. During the pandemic, she couldn’t think of a better way to spend her time than to become a teacher herself! She worked with Jennifer each week and completed her training in 2022!

    The adaptability of Pilates is what drives her to go deeper into it. As a dancer, she loves finding exercises that enhance and strengthen her own ability to move. She finds it fascinating to work with clients at all entry levels and enjoys finding the access for each individual. She loves how genuine the staff and clients are at BodyTonic and how invested our clients are in the teachers, just as we are in them. Kathleen wants her clients to leave feeling more confident in their bodies from when they arrived.

    When she isn’t teaching you can find her taking dance classes, hanging out with friends, and crocheting clothing.

 

Angelina Laguna

  • Angelina first came to Pilates through her dance education and injury recovery. She began working at BodyTonic in 2023 after graduating from the Conservatory of Dance at Purchase College with a BFA. In school, she also received her Pilates Mat certification under the direction of Lisa Frey and Simona Cipriani and began teacher training with Jennifer shortly after joining the BodyTonic desk team.  

    Angelina appreciates how the Pilates method’s requires the practitioner to focus deeply to achieve specific and functional movement. She finds Pilates is a refreshing step away from the aesthetic awareness necessary in many dance spaces. Angelina is inspired by witnessing her clients make personal discoveries about their physicality and movement patterns. She looks forward to providing her clients with a practice leading them towards freedom and ease in their bodies. 

    Outside of BodyTonic, Angelina is a performer, artist, and community organizer.

Tomoko Yoshida

  • Tomoko Yoshida first came to BodyTonic in 2017 from Japan as a brand new mom looking for a good exercise system for her new mom body. She loved Pilates so much, she immediately enrolled in the BodyTonic Teacher Training Program and graduated in 2018.

    Tomoko comes from a community health education background. That awareness and mission is always reflected in her style of teaching. She is continuously intrigued by how Pilates can connect, strengthen and uplift the mind, body and spirit for every type of body. She is influenced greatly by Jennifer DeLuca and Enja Schenck and all of her fellow Pilates teachers. In BodyTonic she has found a community/workplace filled with respect and opportunities to learn and grow. Outside of work she is inspired by nature, fellow humans and their creativity.

    Tomoko is available to teach sessions in English and Japanese. She wants her clients to leave feeling uplifted and proud.

senior teachers

 

Jonathan Doherty

  • Jonathan Doherty first discovered Pilates in college but it wasn’t love at first sight! He found it to be tedious and tried it for 2 weeks before dropping the course. Years later, he tried an apparatus class at BodyTonic and something clicked. He completed his Teacher Training at Real Pilates under Alycea Ungaro in 2019. Today, he sees Pilates as a versatile and multifaceted workout and he loves how every session feels different than the last.

    Jonathan’s teaching style is influenced by his life as a dancer. He feels a strong connection to the work of Merce Cunningham. His most influential continuing education is Jennifer DeLuca’s workshop, "The First Time Session: The What and the Why." During and after the isolation of the pandemic, he found himself referring to his notes many times. New clients walk through the door, sometimes with little to no understanding of the Pilates method, and they leave feeling safe, confident and challenged.

    Jonathan is a HUGE social butterfly. When he’s not at work you can often find him at some event or social gathering. He loves the welcoming, safe vibe at BodyTonic. “There is no pressure to be perfect here, which is so unique in our current social media world.”

 

Peggy Gallagher

  • Peggy Gallagher first came to BT in 2000, to study with Jennifer DeLuca and Caitlin Cook. She completed her Comprehensive Pilates Teacher Training under their direction in 2004 after completing over 900 seminar, observation and practice hours.

    As a perpetual learner, Peggy has completed many hours of continuing education, with a highlight being the FAMI (functional anatomy movement integration) workshop at Mt. Sinai Medical Center. Her anatomy and kinesiology courses of study began with Irene Dowd in 1995 and have continued with a 25 year mentorship. Peggy is deeply influenced by Ms. Dowd, Bonnie Bainbridge Cohen and studies in Laban Movement Analysis.

    Her approach to teaching is supportive, encouraging, and accommodating. If a client feels a sense of accomplishment and leaves the session feeling successful and strong, Peggy is happy.

    She is a true believer in the power and brilliance of the Pilates method and is proud to be an educator in this realm.

    The BT community, clients (many known to her for almost 20 years) and co-workers are her family! The neighborhood is her birthplace. All in all, there's no place like home.

 

Hristoula Harakas

  • Hristoula Harakas is originally from Greece and first came to BodyTonic in 2003, completed the Teacher Training Program under Jennifer DeLuca and Caitlin Cook in 2004 and was hired as a teacher at BodyTonic in 2005!

    Hristoula has attended workshops with Irene Dowd, Enja Schenck, Blossom Leilani Crawford, Clare Dunmphy Hemani, Brooke Siler, Kathi Ross Nash, Sonje Mayo, Jillian Hessel and more. As a professional dancer and Dance Education major, her area of expertise is in various techniques and options for movement, and different ways of seeing the body. She has had a lifetime of education in dance, bodywork, and somatics. Hristoula has collaborated with and danced for many artists and considers them all to be influential in her work, with Merce Cunningham and Mikael Baryshnikov being the highlights.

    What she loves most about Pilates is its non-discriminatory effectiveness; it simply works for everyone. Hristoula has taught the most athletic and the most compromised clients, spanning all ages, levels of athletic ability and cognitive understanding. She pays very close attention in her sessions and hopes the result leaves clients feeling enthralled, humbled and eager for more.

    What she appreciates most about BodyTonic is the community. The staff, leadership and clientele are generous, kind, adaptable, and committed. It feels like a home.

    When she’s not working, Hristoula loves being with her family, enjoying art and vacationing by the sea.

Carolina Siqueira

  • Carolina Siqueira is originally from Brazil and first discovered Pilates there as a dancer in 2006. She completed her Pilates Teacher Training in 2014 at the esteemed Romana’s Pilates in NYC. Carolina loves being a part of BodyTonic! She finds it to be a community that supports people—clients and teachers—to be happy. She finds the “no judgment, no pressure to perform” vibe of the space to be incredibly refreshing in the fitness world.

    Carolina is influenced by her mentor, Javier Velasquez. The history of Mr. Pilates’ equipment and technique is a favorite obsession of hers. Carolina is currently getting her Personal Training Certification and with that she brings a strong physicality to her sessions. She is always amazed at how complete the Pilates Method is. Moving in all planes, stretching, strengthening, stabilization and the joy you get from the movements make it the most wonderful system of exercise.

    She wants her clients to leave the session feeling like they had fun, had a great time exercising and did something amazing for themselves.

    Carolina is available to teach in English and Portuguese.

Candice Thompson

  • Candice Thompson began her Pilates journey as a young dancer, and continued her study at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, under Pilates elder, Kathleen Stanford Grant. After dancing with Milwaukee Ballet Company for five years, she returned to NYC and came to BodyTonic in 2006 as a client.

    She completed her Pilates Teacher Training at BodyTonic in 2009, under the direction of Jennifer DeLuca (Romana Kryzanowska) and Caitlin Cook (Madeline Black). Since then, she has received certifications in Gyrotonic Expansion System® and Redcord®, along with advanced anatomy training through the Harkness Center for Dance Injuries.

    Her teaching style combines the practical and aspirational aspects of Pilates, embodied so beautifully by the knowledgeable staff and dedicated clients at BodyTonic.

    Candice enjoys offering the self-discovery inherent in the Pilates method, a process that has kept her coming back to her own Pilates practice for over two decades. When she is not at the studio, Candice is writing about dance, doing something creative with her hands, and enjoying family time with a precocious preschooler.

coming soon