My Pilates Studio is mine, it’s yours, it’s ours. It’s a place to move your body freely, safely and without judgement. A place to explore and marvel at the endless possibilities our beautiful bodies are capable of.
Melissa Macchione - Founder of My pilates studioAt My Pilates Studio, we’ve built a dynamic team of Pilates & movement experts to help expand your practice. Each instructor brings their own expertise and perspective.
Meet your Instructors
Evangeline Connelly- Miller (Eva)
Certified Pilates Instructor (Mat & Reformer certified; CCTB trained)
Eva (she/her) is a movement facilitator with certifications in Pilates, Barre, and Yoga. As a professional contemporary dancer, Eva has found a regular Pilates practice to be integral to stave off injury and keeping a mobile and strong base to move from.
Eva aims to create an environment that leaves you at ease in your own self. Her practice is anchored in curiosity and compassion, and she meets students where they are at. She shares with a caring heart and hopes to instil her pure love of movement in each person she has the pleasure of teaching. She creates a space in which you can challenge yourself by digging deeper and finding precision and care in each moment of movement.
Her sessions are sure to leave you feeling like your best self.
Melissa Macchione
Fully Certified Pilates Instructor and founder, My Pilates Studio
Melissa holds numerous professional qualifications, including being a Registered Holistic Nutritionist (Canadian School of Natural Nutrition, 2010), BASI® Pilates Fully Certified Instructor, STOTT PILATES® Certified Matwork and Reformer Instructor, TRX® Suspension Trainer and Yoga Instructor (YTT 200hr YogaSpace).
Melissa entered the fitness industry in 2001 as a Personal Trainer. Curious about Pilates, Melissa took her first Pilates Matwork class in 2003. From that first class, Melissa was hooked and realized there was so much more to learn and offer her clients - so she decided to pursue Pilates professionally.
Throughout her career she has had the opportunity to work with a variety of students, ranging from: new and soon-to-be moms, breast cancer survivors, athletes (she taught the Toronto Raptors during their championship season), the aging population, and clients with special needs (scoliosis, Multiple Sclerosis, spinal rehabilitation, low back pain, postural problems, injury rehabilitation).
Melissa takes pride in helping her clients develop more body awareness and strength, creating a foundation for transforming everyday movement patterns and improving their daily lives. Her enthusiasm, creativity and technicality bring you fun, energetic and safe classes.
Melissa has done countless trainings over the years and continues to "be the student" in order to deepen her understanding and better teach her clients.
In the Fall of 2022, she opened My Pilates Studio in the heart of the Beach Community, where she has lived and worked for nearly 20 years. She looks forward to welcoming you and it is her hope you’ll make My Pilates Studio, YOUR studio.
Sara Simon-Vermot
Fully Certified Pilates Instructor
Sara relocated with her family to Toronto from the UK 4 years ago, leaving behind a career in the fashion industry. She took advantage of that time off to focus on raising her two boys and build on her classical music training.
Sara has always had an active lifestyle. As a child, she was a gymnast before playing competitive softball and volleyball. As an adult, she grew bored of traditional forms of exercise and took up dance as a way to stay fit.
When she moved to Toronto she had trouble finding a dance studio that offered the types of classes she was used to taking back in London so she decided to give Pilates a shot and was instantly hooked.
Her love of the practice motivated her to certify as an instructor and hopefully inspire others to take up Pilates.
When not in the studio, you will probably find Sara either chauffeuring her boys around the city, on the tennis courts or singing with a choir.
Emma Collinson
Fully Certified Pilates Instructor
Emma’s journey with Pilates started when she endured an injury. At the time she was a professional dancer on the west coast who was looking for a way to rehab her injury as safely and effectively as possible. She fell In love with the low-impact strength training that Pilates provides and has never looked back.
Emma has taught dance and fitness for 10 years and loves to inspire others through movement. She hopes to bring creativity and abundance to her classes while focusing on proper alignment and getting a satisfying workout using STOTT method principles.
Sonja Boretski
Certified Pilates Instructor (Mat & Reformer certified; CCTB trained)
As a passionate mover herself, she is constantly inspired by the beauty of mind and body awareness. Having dealt with many chronic injuries throughout her career, she understands how dealing with constant pain can impact mental health. For these reasons, she was drawn to deepen her understanding of the body and the benefits of functional movement by doing her pilates teacher training. She enjoys connecting with people, and to empower them to rediscover their bodies, find healthier movement patterns, and welcome ease into their everyday lives.
Outside of her Pilates practice, Sonja takes joy in adventuring with her dog, cooking, hand-making earrings, and playing with fashion.
Fahmida Bhabha
Fully Certified Pilates Instructor
Fahmida is a Certified Pilates Instructor, Pilates Teacher Trainer, Personal Trainer and holds certifications in 3 fascial modalities, the MELT Method, Roll Model Massage Therapy and Fascial Stretch Therapy.
Her goal for her clients is to have a better understanding of their bodies thru movement resulting in a better quality of life, whether that means improved performance in a sport or being able to handle every day activities like gardening, carrying groceries or getting something from that top shelf.
Before finding Pilates Fahmida was a professional photographer for 15 years. Looking for ways to strengthen her body to deal with the toll of carrying photographic equipment for long periods of time she discovered Pilates.
Starting with a group mat class and then group equipment classes she fell in love with the method. She got her certification in 2005 at the age of 40 and has never looked back.
With LEARNER as one of her top strengths, she strives to continually discover more about the body and how it functions in order to help herself and her clients. Fahmida’s most recent training is working with OOV – a tool that allows the body to find new strategies to control movement by challenging your balance and stability.
Having suffered with sometimes debilitating headaches most of her life, she discovered the incredible healing properties of essential oils, starting her 7 year journey with doTERRA. The power of plant medicine has changed the way she takes care of herself, her clients and her customers.
When not teaching & coaching, you can find Fahmida spending time with her cats, Tux and Jax, enjoying coffee & wine, riding one of her bikes, paddle boarding or hiking.
Haley Zheng
Certified Pilates Instructor (currently enrolled in CCTB training program)
I took my first private Pilates session in 2017 because of my Scoliosis. Immediately I knew Pilates was exactly what my body had been missing and desperately needed.
Pilates has been life changing for me. It has made me stronger, more flexible and more balanced in both my body and mind. As Pilates has helped me, I want to help others achieve the same mobility, strength and balance whether they are new to Pilates or working on advanced movement.
I began the Balanced Body teacher training in September of 2022 and started teaching Pilates in July 2023. I also teach the GYROTONIC® and GYROKINESIS® method since June of 2022. I love the similarities in each of these methods.
I love teaching, especially when the client experiences a connection in their body they haven’t felt before. I try to make Pilates approachable and fun for everyone.
I continue to take Pilates training and GYROTONIC® training. I love learning and gaining new knowledge that can help my clients to achieve their goals.
I look forward to meeting you and helping you reach your movement goals here at, My Pilates Studio.
