Our Mission & Facility
The Health Movement has been in operation since 2001, during which time we have created a positive impact within our community of clients and friends. We are located in the residential neighborhood of Avenue O in Huntsville, Texas. Our facility is a three-story home which has been redesigned to accommodate the needs of our growing business. We offer various forms of wellness conditioning such as massage, Yoga, Pilates, dance movements, and Ayurveda counseling. What is unique about our facility's mission is that all of our offerings to clients are based on each individual's unique needs for optimum wellness. Care is taken to create a program centered on each client's current needs and future goals.
You will find the quiet, shaded neighborhood welcoming. Our entryway is a gathering place for fellow clients to greet one another. Session rooms feature hardwood floors which are the perfect surface for exercise mats. Large windows allow comforting filtered light to shine into our session rooms. If temperatures permit, windows open for cooling breezes. If not, ceiling fans provide the refreshing airflow. Various rooms are defined for purposes of Yoga, Pilates, massage, or counseling. Our clients have much in common and attending a class or sessions is often a way to de-stress; other benefits are also realized with each particular session.
Many of our established clients have been attending classes since we first offered our services to the community. Our Health Movement blog highlights the positive achievements of our clients. Be sure to check out our new blog articles. You may find someone with similar circumstances who has obtained positive results from their involvement with our client-based programs. We also add content to our agenda by offering new workshops or retreats on monthly schedules. Health Movement Huntsville sponsors an annual "Tex Fest" focusing on dance conditioning techniques.
The Health Movement meets the needs of a variety of clients. So be sure to check out our entire site for information. Notice that the menu buttons at the top of each page include "Contact Us" if you have any question you would like addressed individually.
Thanks for spending time with us and please return often for schedule updates. The flash animation above gives an overview of our site. In addition to the menu buttons on the top of each page, clicking on the Chakra symbols above will also take you to the items visually described. We appreciate your interest and offer you much Health & Movement.
Client comments:
"We are very fortunate to have such an excellent wellness center for supporting healthy lifestyles... we're lucky to have Sarah in Huntsville."
- Betsy Marlin
"All you have to do is show up!"
- Fred Holland
Sarah Imhoff-Jones has over 10 years experience in Somatic Therapies which include: Pilates, Yoga, Meditation, Ayurveda, and Thai Yoga Massage. Sarah began her training in Somatic Therapy at Texas Woman’s University in 1996, where she began pursuing her Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Dance. During this time she was trained by Elizabeth Jones-Boswell, a leader and innovator within the field of Somatic Therapies. Following her training, she was invited to join Elizabeth’s staff at the Physical Conditioning Centre in Houston, Texas. During this time she expanded her knowledge of Somatic Therapy by closely working with various specialists in the fields of Neurological Medicine, Massage Therapy, and Pilates. While on staff with the Physical Conditioning Centre, she joined the dance faculty at Sam Houston State University (SHSU) as an adjunct Pilates Instructor in 1998. In 1999 she tendered her resignation with the Physical Conditioning Centre to accept a tenure-track position at SHSU. While at SHSU, Sarah realized that many of the dancers she was training in modern dance lacked a basic knowledge and understanding of body awareness. To assist the students in gaining the basic knowledge, Sarah established a somatic curriculum that used Pilates as its core principal. She quickly developed a unique style of Somatic Therapy that significantly enhanced the capabilities of the dancers she was training and it quickly became evident that everyone could benefit from the Somatic Therapy she developed. In 2000, Sarah established the Prep Program, which allowed community members within Huntsville to participate in dance and Pilates classes at SHSU. The response to her technique was overwhelming, and it was at this point Sarah realized that she needed to increase her availability to serve the community in Somatic Therapy by providing a holistic alternative to the traditional physical conditioning typically done at health clubs around the world. She has received certification in Neuromuscular Fitness and Therapy, Pilates (1997), Yoga (2001), Ayurveda Yoga (2005), Thai Massage (2007), and Sivananda Yoga Teaching (2008).
Our Staff
Sarah Imhoff-Jones
Facilitator
In 2001, Sarah left the faculty of SHSU and established the Huntsville Health Movement. The Movement serves clients from all walks of life and all age groups. Sarah has assisted numerous clients in rehabilitation and pain mitigation. Her ability in Somatic Therapy has been recognized by many dance professionals and is reflected by her appointment to the Dance Faculty of the White Mountain Dance Festival where she has served since 2004, as well as receiving requests to organize and direct the first annual Texas Dance Festival in spring 2008.
Betty Harless Nicolay
Instructor
Betty began dance training with Frank & Irina Pal in Wichita Falls, Texas where she performed as member of the civic company, Whicita Falls Ballet Theatre. She received her B.S. degree from TCU, where she continued her training at TCU preparatory academy and her M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruction from the University of Texas in Austin. She taught elementary school in Houston, Texas while pursuing dance training with Nicholas & Anne Polajenko at Houston Dance Center and with Fred Strobel and Clara Cravey in the Houston Ballet Academy.
At Houston Ballet, Betty was introduced to Pilates for injury rehabilitation and daily conditioning She danced in the semi-professional Roberta Stokes modern dance company. In 1981 she began dancing professionally in Winnipeg's Contemporary Dancers under the direction of Rachel Browne, Bill Evans, and Ted Robinson. They toured extensively, performing works of major choreographers in cities across Canada. She shared her love and practice of Pilates with company members and taught classes in the company's preparatory academy.
In Huntsville, Betty taught ballet in the SHSU Department of Theatre and Dance Preparatory Program. She began full Pilates certification in autumn of 2005 under the direction of Wendy LeBlanc Arbuckle at the Pilates Center of Austin. She has completed over 500 hours of observation, assisting, personal workouts, and student teaching at PCA, in the Dance Program at SHSU, and at Huntsville Health Movement. She has received continuing education in workshops from master teachers and Pilates elders Mary Bowen and Michelle Larsson. In March of 2007, she received her comprehensive Core Connections Pilates Certification to teach fundamentals, matwork, Reformer, Cadillac, Chair, Barrels, and small equipment. Since 2006, Betty has taught Fundamentals and Pilates mat classes and is a personal trainer on equipment at Huntsville Health Movement under the direction of Sarah Imhoff-Jones.
Molly CampbellInstructor
Molly Campbell attained her MA degree in Dance and Art from SHSU with an undergraduate degree in Speech and Drama. Dr. Mary Ella Montague was Molly’s mentor throughout her studies in dance. She also studied dance two summers, one with Martha Graham in New York and the other with Hanya Holm in Colorado. Molly taught dance at SHSU and taught women in prison with WISD. Upon retirement, Molly has studied Pilates and Yoga for about 10 years. Her latest training with Sarah has been for teaching Pre-Pilate and Thai Yoga Massage.
Molly says: “My love for movement and the sculpting of the human figure in clay gave me the desire to understand the human body through massage. Teaching Pilates is a natural after having taught dance so many years.”
Today, Molly is active in her church’s Spirit Moved Dancers,
teaches pre-prelates, gives Thai Yoga Massages, creates sculptures and
paintings, performs and directs for the Huntsville Community Theater, and
writes and illustrates children’s fantasy books with hopes to publish.
Crystal Lewis
Instructor
Crystal Lewis started out as a gymnast at the age of 10 training at Take Five Dance Academy, where she took tumbling classes weekly and then transferred to Arizona Aerials in Glendale, Arizona. It wasn’t until high school where Crystal started her technical training in dance when she enrolled in a ballet and modern dance class at Westview High School in Avondale, AZ. These classes ignited her passion for dance as she continued to study and grow in techniques such as jazz, classical ballet, modern, modern jazz, Contact Improvisation, and Pointe.
Crystal danced semi-professionally for a few years with companies Triple Threat and Physical Graffiti under the artistic direction of Linda Frane and Lenna DeMarco; both companies were located in Phoenix, AZ. During her time spent with Physical Graffiti, Crystal had the opportunity to perform in an evening length piece, choreographed by Jennifer Walker and Apryl Seech, which was presented in the ODC Theater in San Francisco, CA in January 2007. Crystal holds a BFA in dance from Southeast Missouri State University and is currently working on her MFA in dance at Sam Houston State University. She was mentored and participated in Pilates classes under Jennifer Walker who is certified in Classical Pilates. Crystal tested and earned her Pilates certification through Global Expert Rating in May 2007 and has taught Mat Pilates classes at various dance studios, as well as at Yoga on Broadway located in Cape Girardeau, MO.
Crystal’s Mat Pilates class
focuses on breath and body awareness.
The class usually starts off with exercises designed to help align the
pelvis and imprint the body into the mat before beginning to engage and focus on
the deeper abdominal exercises. The
purpose of Pilates and this class is to develop a strong core while focusing on
proper body alignment as you flow through each exercise with fluidity. This class will work at the advanced beginner
to intermediate level. The class starts
off and finishes with simple breathing exercises as to prepare the body for
physical activity for the class and also to allow the body to rest and recover
before entering into the rest of your day.
You feel taller, stronger, more aligned, and healthier when leaving this
class.