​Ofie Dates
​OWNER/FOUNDER
Ofie Dates, founder and owner of Ofie’s Elite Physiques, Inc., a Pilates based Health and Fitness Studio, is renowned in the Pilates and fitness industry for her years of experience, passion, and dedication to the art. Ofie is a graduate of the University of Southern California/USC Early Childhood Education Program and for over 25 years, has devoted herself to mastering the various disciplines of the fitness industry. After studying all entities of fitness and dance, her career flourished, and for ten years, Ofie maintained a dual career as an international model/fitness promoter and as an Executive Director for Health and Tennis Corporation of America. Her accomplished career extends beyond the fitness industry to professional performances in dance, theatre, film, television, and video.
Ofie’s personal commitment to her craft heightened her career further when she earned her credential as a Certified Exercise Physiologist from the American College of Sports Medicine/Loma Linda University. She is an Accredited Athletic Trainer with the American College of Sports Medicine/ACSM and Master Trainer with the National Academy of Sports Medicine/NASM specializing in biomechanics/kinesiology. Additional certifications include Certified Personal Trainer & Group Exercise Specialist with the American Council on Exercise/ACE. Ofie is a Nationally Certified Pilates Teacher/NCPT with the Pilates Method Alliance and in the Pilates Method with classical training from the PhysicalMind/PMI Institute under the guidance of Master Trainer Maria Leone and was designated their West Coast Regional Examiner. As a dedicated teacher with a strong commitment to helping others, Ofie further enhanced her qualifications with Body Arts and Science International/ BASI organization as an Accredited Pilates Educator with a Dance Intensive Specialty from Cal State University Long Beach. Ofie’s academic achievements, coupled with her unrelenting pursuit of health fitness excellence, has enabled her to find her passion and true connection with BASI Pilates. As she continued her Pilates’ journey and further immersed herself in the depth of the work, Ofie successfully completed the Legacy Program including the Mentor Program, Master I Program , Master II Program, and Honors Program under the guidance of world renowned practitioner and teacher of Pilates, Rael Isacowitz. With Rael as her mentor and source of inspiration, Ofie is currently a proud Principal Faculty member of BASI Pilates, a position she holds very dear to her heart. Ofie’s passion for the philosophy and integrity of the BASI organization creates opportunities for her to share her knowledge, embrace each student, and teach BASI Pilates Comprehensive Teacher Training Courses, Learn from the Leaders/LFTL Conferences and Workshops both nationally and internationally.
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With an unrelenting commitment to conquer the limitations of a congenital heart defect, Ofie began her quest to fitness and health at an early age. From the enthusiastic beginner to the elite athlete, Ofie’s passion for helping others is personified in her highly skilled individualized strength, cardiovascular, and sports specific Pilates based programs that transforms, revives, and reconstructs the bodies and minds of those who seek a greater purpose in life. The Pilates Method as implemented in Ofie’s studio, is recognized for its rapid results and developmental focus on the mind and body. Ofie has shared this gift nationally and globally through her features in PilatesStyle Magazine and honored with the opportunity to work with the American College of Sports Medicine’s delegation of People to People Citizens Ambassador Program to develop and implement the “Exercise is Medicine” initiative. With this recognition, Ofie has positioned herself to expand her horizon to help people achieve a greater sense of physical and well –being. Ofie’s deep understanding of a truly healthy lifestyle and love for her calling in life has become an inspiration for everyone she embraces.
Ofie resides in Rancho Palos Verdes with her wonderful husband Clifton. She is an active independent fundraising coordinator for several charities including, the American Heart Association, City of Hope, MDS/Cancer Foundation, Feed the Children, LA Union Rescue Mission, and the Professional School of the Arts. Her special interests and activities include Pilates, dance, modeling, music, art, running, sports, athletics, and is fluent in Spanish!
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“My passion for life and belief in appositive healthy lifestyle is the key to overall wellness. To be able to offer individuals personal gains and positive achievements is one of the greatest gifts I can give to everyone!
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Pilates Instructors:
Irina Aghajanyan
Certified Pilates Instructor / BASI
Certified Personal Trainer / NASM
Irina Aghajanyan was born and raised in Yerevan, Armenia and came to the United States when she was 16 as an exchange student. After receiving her B.A. and M.B.A. from Woodbury University, she actively pursued a career in fashion but life had different plans for her. Although Irina had a long-standing passion for fitness and health, years of chronic back pain resulted in spinal fusion to correct her many spinal problems. From there she continued struggling with pain that various medications and rehabilitation techniques were unable to solve. It was then when she found Pilates, and a new passion was born. Through learning and practicing Pilates she healed her body and now teaches others to do the same. Irina’s love for Pilates and desire to help others discover the enormous benefits that can be achieved through body mechanics and alignment, motivated her to pursue a career as a Pilates instructor.
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Irina is a BASI Certified Pilates Instructor and a NASM Certified Personal Trainer. She has been teaching since 2014. She continues to further her education and knowledge of the body through ongoing workshops such as Rael Isacowitzs: F2 Chair Workshop, Sheri Longs: Pilates for the Mature Client and Ofie Dates: Enhancing Athletic Performance and Pilates Mat with the Fit Ball.
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Irina specializes in corrective exercises and build custom Pilates based programs for each client according to their goals. Her new passion has helped connect with many wonderful and inspiring people. She has learned that the body is capable of healing itself if we take care of it and treat it with love and respect. Irina’s goal is to help as many people as possible find the power in them to heal their body and mind through intelligent movement and breathing.
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Yoga Instructors:
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Rachel Hartshorn
Certified Yoga Instructor / Open Space Yoga
Rachel began her yoga journey in 2010. Initially she was apprehensive because
she felt that being flexible was a requirement and she lacked flexibility. It then became clear that flexibility became her goal and motivation in her Yoga practice. It wasn't until she began her Yoga Teacher Training Course through Open Space Yoga in Oahu, HI in 2016 that she realized that Yoga is so much deeper and so much more than just training the physical body to get into complex poses.
Rachel’s philosophy is that Yoga is the stillness between the breaths. It is the moment you have reached your "edge" in an asana (posture/pose) and it is the harmony between the mind, body, and breath. Yoga surrounds us in every moment of every day and Rachel’s goal in teaching is to share that wonder with as many people as she can.
Rachel’s Yoga practice embraces the love and light within her that honors the love and light in within you!
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Jenny Joy Tamera Arredondo
​Certified Yoga Instructor / Master Purusha Hickson
The flower of our teaching is rooted in the diligence of our practice and the depth of our inner inquiry"
Jennifer Tamera Arredondo was raised and still resides in Palos Verdes Estates. As a certified Yoga instructor, her past experiences include the styles of Vinyasa Flow, Hatha and Iyengar. Her skills became nothing short of eclectic when she began her training under the skillful Hatha/Iyengar Master Purusha Hickson. While training with Purusha, Jenn incorporated a more gentle, soothing flow that allows students to become more in touch with their bodies no matter what their ability level. Jenn's classes tend to be a relaxing gentle flow, with focus on alignment and strength building. Being a Certified Massage Therapist, she becomes effortlessly in tune with her students' bodies and energy in order to guide her students in a class that is suited for them. On an individual aspect, she discusses difficult areas for the individual and finds ways of strengthening, tuning and healing those areas.
Jenn's other passions lie in dance and the holistic healing arts. As a Holistic Healing Artist she hopes to combine her fine skills into movement therapy in the future. She has also founded two organizations aligned with the holistic healing arts. Breathe Bodyworks, a network for holistic healing artists, and Soul Space, which organizes the holistic healing arts, visual arts and music communities into a yearly summer festival.
Most recently, Jenn has become a multiple #1 Best-Selling Author, and she has co-founded The Book Doulas where they help others Birth their #1 Best-Selling Books into the world."You are invited to join Jenn as we practice, study, investigate, question, experiment, transform and blossom."
Studio Administration:
AlEJANDRA Gonzalez
Studio Coordinator
Born and raised in Southern California, Alejandra is a proud graduate of the University of California, Santa Cruz, where she earned her Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Art and Psychology. Alejandra is passionate about the arts and vigorously expresses her enthusiasm through drawing, painting, and sculpting projects that she freely shares with others. As a gifted teacher, she enjoys the challenge of teaching art to children while working toward becoming an elementary school teacher. Alejandra enjoys an active life filled with jogging, yoga, bike riding and dancing, which sustains her belief that a healthy mind is as important as a healthy body.
As the Studio Coordinator at Ofie’s Elite Physiques, Alejandra feels incredibly grateful for the opportunity to work with Ofie and seeks to pursue the advancement of her knowledge about health, mindfulness, and fitness.
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Yolanda Garcia
Consultant
Yolanda Garcia, Ofie’s gifted and talented sister, provides consultative and technical support for the day-to-day business operations at Ofie’s Elite Physiques, Inc. She has spent her entire career in the insurance industry. Yolanda’s professional expertise spans across a wide variety of business functions including management, operations, licensing, compliance, finance, regulatory data analytics, documentation, capacity reporting and proficient computer skills. Yolanda’s invaluable input and knowledge in these critical areas are an occupational necessity for the longevity and sustainability of the studio’s business operations. Yolanda has been married to her wonderful husband for over thirty years. Together they have two adult children; her son works in print media and her daughter is a nurse. In her spare time, Yolanda is an active member and volunteers in her church community. Yolanda’s been known to build databases, create flyers, and helps her friends with their resumes. She is an avid fan of the Los Angeles Dodgers. She, like Ofie, attributes her strong work ethics to her late father Luz, and to her many years of Professional Mexican Folklorico Dance.
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