Sara lives in Alexandria, VA with her husband, two children, and their dog. She relocated from NYC in November of 2006. Shortly after moving she met Ann Bartlett, owner of the Body In Balance Center (www.bodyinbalancecenter.com), and has been on an amazing journey ever since. There she has been able to continue the work she loved while living in NYC-teaching Pilates, yoga, creative movement, and working as an Integrative Health Coach. In her free time (ha!) she loves to practice yoga, dance, bike ride, and cook amazing meals with and for her family.
 
While in NYC, she earned her BA in English and American Literature with a minor in Dance Education at New York University. After graduation, she worked as a professional dancer, and children’s dance teacher for many years before becoming a full-time preschool teacher. As someone who loves to learn, she deepened her yoga practice and began to study massage. Sara finally found her calling in integrative nutrition and Pilates.
 
She received her certifications in nutrition from the School of Integrative Nutrition, which is accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and from the Teachers College of Columbia University. She received her Pilates certification from the Kane School of Core Integration.  She enjoys writing, and has been published in Dance Magazine, Pregnancy Magazine, the newsletter from her local CSA and created her own holistic health newsletter. 
 
Knowing how important it is to keep ideas fresh, she keeps up to date with the latest information in both Pilates and in nutrition, both at home and in continuing education settings. Becoming a mom, and finding work that she loves has radically changed her life. Sara is passionate about educating others and inspiring them to feel their best and live their lives to the fullest! sara@nourishingmoms.com

Marcela is originally from Brazil. Growing up in a large Brazilian-Italian family has influenced her tremendously in her quest for wellness. Always in her grandmother's kitchen, a keen observer, she learned from a very young age the value of home cooking and family meals.

Once she arrived in NY, Marcela worked in restaurants around the city. She learned a lot about food and cooking during those years in the restaurant business and started imagining herself owning her own restaurant someday, a place where she could share her grandmother's recipes and also her own. But the restaurant lifestyle was not quite what she expected. So she looked to yoga to help her through the stresses of the restaurant business and ended up finding much more than what she was looking for -- a sense of calm energy and balance like she had never felt before.

Marcela decided to deepen her yoga practice and eventually completed a yoga teacher training certification. She spent the following years teaching yoga at studios around NYC, got certified as a prenatal teacher, and continued attending yoga trainings and workshops around the country. Teaching prenatal yoga was truly rewarding to her, and even more so once pregnant with her first child. At that time she became aware of the program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and immediately connected with their program. During her training at IIN she started to incorporate her background in food and yoga, applying all of what she knew and was learning toward raising a family.

Since then Marcela has worked with many clients, lead workshops and retreats in the US and abroad helping individuals and families on their own path to balance and health. Marcela received her certification from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, which is accredited by the American Association of Drugless Practitioners and has completed her certification in Integrative Nutrition from Teachers College at Columbia University. She still lives in NYC with her husband Josh, their two kids and their dog, Woody. Marcela is now working on opening a family focused wellness center in her neighborhood in Manhattan and hopes to help change the face of her community (geographical and virtual!), one meal at a time! marcela@nourishingmoms.com