about me//
METAMORPHOSIS
THROUGH
MOVEMENT
"I worked with Celeste during my first pregnancy. She and I immediately clicked...I love her teaching style. She was able to push me and be safe in terms of pregnancy guidelines.
I had a smooth labor and recovery in large part because of her. My body snapped back into place. The minute I was allowed to go back after I had my baby, I ran back to the Reformer to see her."
- Lauren Blum: Journalist, Screenwriter, Mom
“Celeste was recommended as the right teacher for me while recuperating from a car accident and abdominal surgery. She slowly helped me reconnect to my body and was generally a very positive influence in my life; so much so that I recommended her to my son, who also became her client in LA.
When doing any kind of personal instruction or work like Pilates, occasionally you end up with a practitioner who does not have healthy boundaries; and the purpose of the service is forgotten. But with Celeste, I was dealing with a person who was both present and had boundaries. She expected me to do my part. She motivated me to be the best student I could be."
- Lynne Fain: Life Coach, Psychologist
“After five years of working with Pilates teachers, Celeste is the first one I wanted to train with one-on-one. It’s her profession, not just a job. She's the only one who really takes my disabilities into consideration but doesn’t work around them. Instead, she works to improve them.
Now I’m the poster child at my doctor’s office."
- Pam Everett: Retired Social Worker, City of Los Angeles
Celeste Knickerbocker is a Pilates and GYROTONIC® instructor with an in-depth background in rehabilitative fitness training, therapeutic massage, and PT modalities. She discovered Pilates as a teenager majoring in dance and has nurtured a personal dedication to the practice for over two decades. From her very first Pilates mat class, she knew it was something she would do for the rest of her life. It opened her eyes to more physically therapeutic forms of exercise and strength training.
After enjoying a decade+ career in the corporate world, Celeste finally pursued her passion for working with holistic movement and completed her Balanced Body Comprehensive Pilates training at EHS Institute in San Francisco in 2012. Honored to have received her education from a highly respected group of teachers in the Bay Area, she advanced her skills among some of the most creative minds in Los Angeles.
She was introduced to the GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® in 2013 and was impressed by this effective exercise art. Many hours of study in this technique culminated in a trip to Germany in 2015, where she received her Level 1 Certification. Over the years, she has also earned certifications in GYROTONIC® Level 2 and Specialized Equipment, Group Fitness Instruction, TRX®, Advanced Massage Therapy, PT Assistance, and Yoga-based Pelvic Floor specialization.
Thanks to her lengthy background in dance and therapeutic movement, she is confident in her ability to work with all body types and to help people prevent or recuperate from injuries. She finds interacting with a variety of people while helping to improve their overall health and well-being, deeply fulfilling. Her zeal for free-flowing movement comes to her naturally, grateful for a childhood and a life full of creative expression, travel, art, music, and the great outdoors of California, Texas, and Alaska. She hopes to imbue this spirit to her friends and clients, in a joyful and fun manner.
Her passion for healthy movement continues to thrive among her colleagues and clients here in Austin since she arrived in 2017. Because she is always expanding her education and knowledge base as well as constantly taking on new students, she was "up-leveled" to Master Trainer at Castle Hill Fitness in 2020.
Celeste is now looking to incorporate more nutrition and healthy aging techniques into her practice, so she has recently begun a Health Coach curriculum in order to be a more all-encompassing instructor with the ability to offer a broader spectrum of health information to her clients.
GYROTONIC® and GYROTONIC EXPANSION SYSTEM® are registered trademarks of Gyrotonic Sales Corp and are used with their permission.