ABOUT US
At Yin Yang, all of our instructors are highly trained and committed to teaching you in a way that helps you connect to your body.
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MEET OUR TEAM
We are a Pilates and Yoga studio in Lake Zurich, Illinois, and we have been in business since 2007. We serve clients in Lake Zurich, Barrington, Lake Barrington, Forest Lake, and Deer Park, in Illinois.
We have served hundreds of clients over the years to achieve their optimal health and fitness through our classes, which center around optimal health of the body, mind, and spirit. We are dedicated to offering one-on-one training with our certified and experienced instructors.
Our goals include enhancing sports performance, achieving weight loss goals, supplementing rehabilitation from injury, surgery, or chronic diseases, strengthening the lower back, improving posture, improving flexibility, and generally providing you with physical health.
MELISSA CAPITANO
Owner, Yin Yang Pilates & Yoga, Yoga Teacher & Pilates Instructor
I was born and raised in Kankakee, IL. I’m the oldest of three. My mom had six brothers and I grew up surrounded by my uncles, aunts, and so many cousins. I always felt a strong connection to my family and my community. I loved being part of a team and played many sports growing up (basketball, cheer, volleyball, track, softball, bowling, dance). I was never a great athlete or dancer, but I loved the technique. I could tell you how to spike a volleyball or shoot a free throw, but I couldn’t always make my body do it right. I could watch my friends bowl and tell them exactly what they needed to do. I was a swimmer in college and one time I got out of the water after a race and asked my teammate how I did. I’ll never forget what she said – “well, it looked really good, like perfect form, but it just wasn’t very fast.”
When I got married, I moved to North Carolina and started graduate school. As a teaching assistant, I knew I found what I should be doing – teaching! I also found a “team” in my fellow teaching assistants. I started taking yoga around this time (1998) and loved the way I felt connected to my body again! Just like when I was dancing or swimming or pitching a softball. When I feel connected to my body, I am in the present moment and there is no stress or tension, just flow.
After we left North Carolina, we moved another three times before finding our way back to Illinois (in 2015). With each move, I was always searching for connection and community. I joined Moms’ groups, PTOs, book clubs, yoga classes, even a tap dance class! I found Pilates when I lived in Northern Virginia. It took me a while to try it – I was a yoga snob! But Pilates gave me that same feeling of connection, structure, and flow that yoga had given me.
In 2021, I found my community at Yin Yang. When I’m teaching Pilates or Yoga, I feel connected to my clients and to the present moment. I hope you find that here as well.
Lori ELO
Pilates Trainer
Lori first joined Yin Yang as a client, but always had an interest in becoming trained in the STOTT PILATES methods. In 2016, her journey began right here in our certified training facility. Lori has completed STOTT PILATES Intensive Mat and Reformer training, along with STOTT’s CORE Instructor Foundations course and a number of workshops, strengthening her knowledge base. Besides STOTT PILATES, Lori has participated in Cardio Fitness, Weight Training, Boot Camps, Yoga, Barre, and TRX. Lori entered the fitness world after giving birth to twins, looking to recover from her experience.
Lori Saltzman
Yoga Teacher & Pilates Instructor
In 2005, Lori received her 200-hour RYT and began teaching. She is currently working on her 500-hour RYT and her Para Yoga certification with her teacher Rod Stryker. Lori is also certified in Freedom Style Yoga with Erich Schiffmann, who has been a major inspiration in her life and her practice of yoga. Lori has also been trained by many master teachers such as Seane Corn, Paul Grilley, Anna Forrest, Saul David Raye, and Gabriel Halprin. In addition, Lori is certified in Pre & Post Natal Yoga, pilates, and Quantum-Touch. Lori’s yoga style is flowing with a focus on breath, meditation, and asana together.
ERIN O’NEILL
Yoga Teacher
Erin first discovered yoga as a teenager when she practiced it as a complement to her blended martial arts training in Kenpo karate. She went on to complete three Teacher Training with YogaFit, and recently completed a 200 hr Yoga Teachers Training Program through The Lotus Yoga Centre with Anita Maher. She is a Registered Yoga Teacher through the Yoga Alliance and currently teaches a variety of classes in the area along with working here at Yin Yang. Erin’s teaching style draws from the Vinyasa tradition, which she finds to be beautiful, graceful, and alive. Using a strong flow and mindful interplay of the body and breath, she seeks to leave her students feeling revitalized, expansive, and nourished by the end of each class.
MERRY WURSTER
Pilates Teacher
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